Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop (born James Newell Osterberg, Jr. on April 21, 1947 in Muskegon, Michigan) is an American punk rock singer and occasional actor. Although he has had only limited commercial success, Pop is considered one of the most important innovators of punk rock and related styles.
Pop was the lead singer of The Stooges, a late 1960s/early 1970s band that was highly influential in the development of hard rock. The Stooges became infamous for their live performances in which Pop leapt off the stage (thus inventing the "stage dive"), smeared raw meat and peanut butter over his chest and cut himself with broken bottles. Many subsequent performers have imitated Pop’s antics.
Although he would never regain the vitality of his days with the Stooges, Pop has had varying degrees of success in his 25 years as a solo artist. His best-known songs include "Lust for Life", "I'm Bored" and "The Passenger."
History
Born in Muskegon, Michigan, he began his musical career as a drummer in different high school bands. One band was The Iguanas, where he acquired the name Iggy. After exploring local blues-style bands he eventually dropped out of the University of Michigan and moved to Chicago to learn more about blues. Inspired by Chicago blues, as well as bands like The Doors, he formed The Psychedelic Stooges and adapted his name to Iggy Stooge, then Iggy Pop. The band was composed of Pop on vocals, Ron Asheton on guitar, Asheton's brother Scott on drums, and Dave Alexander on bass. After almost two years they made their debut in Ann Arbor, Michigan (where Pop grew up).
One year after their debut, and now dubbed The Stooges, the band were signed to Elektra Records in 1968. The Stooges first two albums, The Stooges and Fun House, sold poorly, although they had a lasting influence on the burgeoning punk rock movement. Shortly after the new members joined the band broke up because of Pop's growing heroin addiction.
David Bowie salvaged Pop's career by producing an album with him in England. With James Williamson signed on as guitarist, the search began for a rhythm section. However, since neither Iggy nor Bowie were satisfied with any players to be found in England, eventually the decision was made to re-unite The Stooges. It would not be a true reunion, technically, in the sense that Dave Alexander would not play on the album. He had become a full-on alcoholic and would be unable to play on the record. He died in 1975. Also, Ron Asheton moved from guitar to bass to make way for Williamson to play guitar. The recording sessions produced the punk rock landmark Raw Power, in 1973. After the release of the album a new member was added to the band and Bowie continued his support, but Pop's drug problem persisted. The Stooges' last show ended in a fight between the band and a group of bikers, documented on the album Metallic KO. Drug abuse put his career on hold for a couple of years.
After the second breakup of The Stooges, Pop made some recordings with James Williamson, but these weren't released until 1977 as Kill City. The record was credited jointly to Pop and Williamson. Pop was unable to control his various drug habits, however, and checked himself into an mental institute to try and clean up, yet again. David Bowie was one of his few visitors there. He continued to support Pop, despite the latter's lingering drug problems. In 1976, "when I wasn't doing much" as Pop euphemistically put it, Bowie took Pop along as his companion on the Station to Station tour. This was actually Pop's first exposure to large scale professional touring, and he was impressed; particularly with Bowie's work rate.
Bowie and Pop relocated to Berlin to wean themselves off their cocaine addiction; it should be noted at this time that Bowie himself was existing solely on milk and cocaine. Pop signed to RCA and Bowie helped write and produce The Idiot and Lust For Life, Pop's two most acclaimed albums as a solo artist, both released in 1977. Among songs they wrote together were "China Girl" and "Tonight," both of which Bowie performed on his own albums later on. Bowie also played keyboards in Pop's live performances, some of which are featured on the album TV Eye (1978), and helped Pop focus on his career.
Pop was unhappy with RCA, however. He later admitted that he'd made TV Eye as a quick way of fulfilling his RCA contract and moving on elsewhere. That turned out to be Arista Records for whom he released New Values in 1979. This album was something of a Stooges reunion, with James Williamson producing and latter-day Stooge Scott Thurston playing guitar and keyboards. Not surpisingly in such company, the album's style veered back to the guitar sound of the Stooges. Although well regarded by Pop's fans - some preferring it to the Bowie albums - New Values was not a success. During the recording of Soldier (1980), Pop and Williamson quarrelled over production - the latter, apparently wanted a big, Phil Spector type sound - and Williamson was fired. David Bowie appeared on the song Play It Safe with, rumour has it, backing vocals supplied by members of Simple Minds. The album and its follow up Party (1981) were both commercial failures, and Pop was dropped from Arista. His drug habit varied in intensity, but remained, during this period.
In 1982, Pop released what would be his final album for some time, Zombie Birdhouse. This was released on Chris Stein's Animal label, with Stein himself producing. Commercially, the album was no improvement on the Arista albums.
In 1983, Pop's fortunes changed. David Bowie recorded a version of the song 'China Girl', which had originally appeared on Pop's The Idiot album. Bowie's version was a wordlwide hit single, and as co-writer of the song, Pop received substantial royalties. In 1984, Bowie recorded another old Pop-Bowie song, Tonight, bringing more royalty money to Pop. For the first time in his career, he was financially secure; at least, for the short term. This enabled Pop to take a three year break, during which he overcame his heroin addiction, took acting classes and got married.
In 1985, Pop recorded some demos with guitarist Steve Jones, previously of the Sex Pistols. He played these demos to David Bowie, who was sufficiently impressed with what he heard to offer to produce an album for Pop. The result was 1986's New Wave-influenced Blah Blah Blah, featuring the single "Real Wild Child." The single was a Top 10 hit in the UK and also successful around the world. It remains Pop's solitary brush with major commercial success. The follow up, Instinct' 1988, was a complete turn around in musical direction, however. It's stripped back, guitar based sound leaned further towards the sound of The Stooges than any Pop solo album to date. His record label, who had most likely been expecting another Blah-blah-blah, dropped him.
In 1995 he remixed Raw Power to give it a rougher, more hard-edged sound; fans had complained for years that Bowie's production was too slick and generic. He co-produced 1999's Avenue B with Don Was, and produced 2001's Beat 'Em Up, with members of Guns n' Roses and The B-52's. Pop's latest album, 2003's Skull Ring, features collaborations with Sum 41 and Green Day, as well as the Asheton brothers. He also made a guest appearance in electroclash artist Peaches's song ""Kick It."
In 2003, having enjoyed working with the Asheton brothers on Skull Ring, Iggy reformed the Stooges with former The Minutemen/fIREHOSE bassist Mike Watt replacing the late Alexander, and Fun House saxophonist Steve MacKay rejoining the lineup.
Film career
Pop has had limited presence as an actor. To date, Pop has been in fifteen movies, including Sid and Nancy, The Color of Money, Hardware The Crow: City of Angels, The Rugrats Movie, Snow Day, Coffee and Cigarettes—Somewhere in California, "Cry-Baby" and Dead Man.
He has been featured in five television series, including Miami Vice, Tales from the Crypt, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in which he played Yelgrun.
Although Pop had nothing to do with the movie, Ewan McGregor's sexually ambiguous, drug-fueled character in Velvet Goldmine is considered by most critics to be modeled on him.
Pop has been profiled in four rockumentaries and composed songs for eighteen soundtracks, including Crocodile Dundee and Trainspotting.
Elijah Wood recently won the coveted lead role in an untitled biographical film about Pop's life and career.
Influence
Pop earned a place in punk rock history by popularizing many of the stage routines that are now commonplace among musicians: He was among the first to stage dive and "crowd walk," for example. Some of his stage antics have yet to have been topped by even the most "outrageous" of contemporary bands: among other things, in his prime he was known to cut himself and roll around in peanut butter on stage, and is rumored to have once received oral sex from a fan in front of an audience.
Although Pop has never had a Top 10 album or best-selling single, his impact on rock music is immense; musicians who have claimed him as an influence include The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Nirvana and The Misfits.
The song Punk Rock in the album Come On Die Young by Mogwai is also a tribute to Pop, as it samples a speech he gave on punk rock, purportedly in an interview.
The speech is below.
"I'll tell you about punk rock: punk rock is a word used by dillitantes and uh... and uh... heartless manipulators, about music... that takes up the energies, and the bodies, and the hearts and the souls and the time and the minds, of young men, who give what they have to it, and give everything they have to it. And it's a... it's a term that's based on contempt, it's a term that's based on fashion, style, elitism, satanism, and, everything that's rotten about rock'n'roll. I don't know Johnny Rotten but I'm sure, I'm sure he puts as much blood and sweat into what he does as Sigmund Freud did. You see, what, what sounds to you like a big load of trashy old noise... is in... fact the brilliant music of a genius, myself. And that music is so powerful, that it's quite beyond my control. And ah... when I'm in the grips of it, I don't feel pleasure and I don't feel pain, either physically or emotionally. Do you understand what I'm talking about? Have you ever, have you ever felt like that? When you just, when you just, you couldn't feel anything, and you didn't want to either. You know, like that? Do you understand what I'm saying sir?"
Discography
With The Stooges
- The Stooges (1969)
- Fun House (1970)
- Raw Power (1973)
- Metallic K.O. (1976)
With Various Guest Artists
Solo
- The Idiot March, (1977)
- Lust for Life September, (1977)
- Kill City (1977)
- New Values April, (1979)
- Soldier January, (1980)
- Party June, (1981)
- Zombie Birdhouse September, (1982)
- Blah Blah Blah October, (1986)
- Instinct July, (1988)
- Brick by Brick July, (1990)
- American Caesar September, (1993)
- Naughty Little Doggie March, (1995)
- Avenue B September, (1999)
- Beat 'Em Up July, (2001)
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||||
| US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | US Mainstream Rock | UK | ||||
| 1989 | "Livin' on the Edge of the Night" | - | #16 | - | - | Black Rain [Soundtrack] | |
| 1990 | "Home" | - | #2 | - | - | Brick by Brick | |
| 1990 | "Candy" (with Kate Pierson) | #28 | #5 | #30 | - | Brick by Brick | |