If you want to experience rock 'n' roll in its purest form, you are strongly advised to see Iggy Pop live. What the Godfather of Punk delivers on stage is pure madness! After all these years and an eventful life, to say the least, the bundle of energy still puts on a performance that most of his younger colleagues can only dream of. Not only with evergreens like "The Passenger" or "Lust for Life" does the live performance go wild. "Raw Power", the title of The Stooges' third album from 1973, still hits the nail on the head.
As a concertgoer, you become awestruck by this raw energy at the latest the moment you realise that Iggy Pop was born in 1947 and has been making music since his teens. In the beginning, the teacher's son, born James Newell Osterberg, sat behind the drum kit in a combo called "Iguanas". From then on known as "Iggy", he founded The Stooges in 1967 together with the brothers Ron and Scott Ashton and Dave Alexander, in which he took over the vocals. To the displeasure of the record company, the three albums "The Stooges", "Fun House" and "Raw Power" were not commercially successful and the band broke up in 1974. Today we know: The Stooges were ahead of their time - the influence on the punk and indie scene would only become apparent after the end of the band. This is also proven by the highly acclaimed reunion in the new millennium, which resulted in the albums "The Weirdness" and "Ready to Die".
"The Idiot" and "Lust for Life" herald the solo career
In 1976 Iggy Pop moves to West Berlin with David Bowie, who had already produced the last Stooges album, where with his help he gets a record deal with a major label. 1977 saw the release of two solo albums, "The Idiot" and "Lust for Life", with Bowie once again producing. Established as a solo artist, Iggy Pop released numerous works in the following years, sometimes more, sometimes less successfully. In addition to music, Iggy (to this day) regularly appears as an actor. Jim Jarmusch, for example, got him in front of the camera for "Coffee and Cigarettes", "Dead Man" and "The Dead Don't Die". He also appeared in "Cry-Baby", "The Crow" and an episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine".
Iggy's mainstay, however, remained music. In 1986, his career, which was somewhat dormant at the time, picked up again with "Blah Blah Blah" and the single "Real Wild Child (Wild One)". Iggy Pop is back in full force - and is able to stay on top. Especially the album "Brick by Brick" and the catchy duet "Candy" with Kate Pierson from the B-52's are well received by the fans. On "Skull Ring" in 2003 some new songs with the Stooges boys can be heard - the beginning of the aforementioned reunion.
With a "Post Pop Depression" into the future
Iggy Pop wouldn't be who he is, though, if he didn't always step it up a notch. After a four-year break, he is back in 2016 with "Post Pop Depression", for which he has brought Queens Of The Stone Age boss Josh Homme on board. The album and the accompanying tour are a complete success - the video album recorded at the Royal Albert Hall in London impressively proves that Iggy Pop 100% deserves his status as a living legend. And because he is not resting on that status, he is coming up with something new again in 2019: "Free" surprises with unusually calm jazz sounds.
That the master is now completely at rest, however, is probably not to be expected. And that's a good thing! Because what would an Iggy Pop concert be if the rebellious punk rock icon simply stood at the microphone? Unthinkable!
