Iggy Pop

The course of the Iguana

1963-1967: Before Stooges

Before becoming leader of his own group, James Osterberg was beater of 1963 to 1965 for The Iguanas (where he will inherit his nickname d'" Iguane" , quickly shortened in " Iggy"), then for the group of blues The Precedes Movers.

1967-1974: The Stooges

It is with the brothers Ron and Scott Asheton that the Iggy young person carries out a Big Bang musical, as of 1967. Fan of the Rolling Stones (Keith Richards, its " hero of toujours" with which it will dedicate its autobiography " I need more" ), from Frank Sinatra and the Doors, it however comes out disappointed from a concert of the men of Jim Morrison: “If Doors are able to fill of the rooms, one can also do it. ” It then has just founded " The Psychedelic Stooges" , and takes the pseudonym Iggy Stooge temporarily.

The concerts, carried out initially in tiny rooms, produce a strong impression on the public which heard such a brutal music forever. The sound is hard and points out that of the garages of Detroit (the Motor City ). When the group signs at Elektra (the label of Doors and Love), in 1968, it is called from now on simply " The Stooges ". As for the Iguana, it definitively adopts its new name of scene: " Iggy Pop".

On Iggy scene, directly inspired by naked Morrison, exhibe, lacerates themselves, coats themselves with peanut butter, vomits on its public. It popularizes a style with him all alone: the " training course-diving" , or " slam" , which consists in being thrown in the public and letting it carry by him. The most beautiful services finish at the hospital.

Drugs and conflicts of interest will have first once reason of the group. They do not know it yet, but “the accomplices” (since they are named thus), have just carried out 2 albums among most influential of the history of the rock'n'roll ( The Stooges , 1969, produced by John Cale, and Fun House , 1970, produced by Don Galluci).

David Bowie, him, included/understood it, and gives in 1972 Iggy (which suffers then from a solid dependence to the Héroïne) and groups it on foot. Iggy refuses that Bowie produces their new album, but this one will however mix the bands of them. The disc is entitled Raw Power (1973). James Williamson joined the formation, with the guitar, relegating Ron Asheton to low. This one fulminates, and will remain always persuaded that James Williamson had a terribly harmful influence on Iggy and the group.

The album receives a contrasted reception, some regarding it as the best album of Stooges, while others are made a duty hate it, considering the influence of Bowie on the mixing too invading. The album will be republished besides in 1997, completely remixé by Iggy.

The group tears again interior, the Asheton brothers in particular badly supporting that Iggy, consciously or not, forsakes them for James Williamson and car the cover with him, at the point to change the name of the group (" Iggy And The Stooges") and to only be reproduced on the small pocket of the album. Before to have had time to finish a fourth album (which the demonstrations will leave later under the name of Open Up and Bleed ), the group separates again. The last concert of Stooges will be fixed on the disc, Metallic K.O , completely inaudible and yet sometimes considered as a standard meter on the matter. Iggy Pop appears there washed, even exceeded, while beer quills launched by bikers in anger explode on the scene and the instruments.

1974-2003: Iggy in solo

The continuation is less glorious. Iggy only carries on its road, is inserted more in drug, tries to improvise singer for the ex- Doors Ray Manzarek, lives in the street, awakes in its vomit, is mutilated on scene at the time of extreme artistic performances, loses its teeth in a fight with surfers, and records, with the ex-Stooges James Williamson, an album ( Kill City , 1976) which will be refused by all the recording companies. The forfeiture is close, and Iggy and Bowie, to escape from the life from rockstar and their addiction with the Cocaïne, escape towards the Old continent.

Artistic complicity between these two boys with the radically different styles develops to with it. Between Paris and Berlin, the iguana and the chameleon compose, in a fright accentuated by a nutrition with heroin and sausages. From their work are born the first two true albums solo from Iggy Pop, The Idiot , then Lust for Life , both left in 1977. With these two albums and Kill City which finally leaves (to be put in parallel with the " trilogy berlinoise" of Bowie), Iggy Pop joins again finally with success.

Given up one moment per David Bowie, Iggy sees then its new success decreasing quickly. It approaches James Williamson again, arranged guitars and smashes, and become producer. With a sound new wave, it composes three albums where it returns to a style of music much more violent: New Been worth (1979), Soldier (1980) and Party (1981). In front of the commercial failure of these albums which, in spite of the artistic control of the production company, well are too with share compared to the musical tastes of the consumers of the time, Iggy decides that its following album will card-index desideratas of the recording companies completely: Zombie Birdhouse (1982) follows, relative artistic success but, once more, cooking commercial failure.

The rebirth will be for the third time made possible by his/her old friend David Bowie. At the top of its glory at the beginning of the the Eighties, this one takes again on its albums a few pieces coécrits with Iggy in 1977. Iggy touches blow of the tons of royalties, and, for the first time of its life, can refund its debts. Finally serene, Iggy decides to be posed, stop excesses definitively, and to try to carry out more ambitious albums. Bowie supports it and gives him some knacks for the design of its new album, Blah Blah Blah (1986), which rubs successfully with the rock'n'roll FM with in particular the resumption of Real Wild Child . Besides the piece will become the first tube of its career.

Success is confirmed at the end of the Années 1980 with Instinct (1988), album of hard rock melancholic person without concessions, and in the Années 1990 with the very commercial Brick by Brick (1990). Whereas this one is finally unanimously recognized by the rock'n'roll-critics, the musicians grunge are not long in asserting heritage of Iggy. Besides this musical new wave, Sonic Youth, Mudhoney and Nirvana at the head, give him the desire for offering a small cure of youth, of which it does not seem yet not returned today. The Iguana gathers around him a new group of young fellows, average The Trolls, musicians but enthusiastic fans of the Master, who know the repertory of Stooges on the end of the fingers.

One will then note in this decade the very ambitious (and length) American Caesar (1993), the Californian Punk Naughty Little Doggie (1995), the intimist Avenue B. (1999) on which Iggy exerts his talents of crooner, and Beat EM Up (2001), an album resolutely the metal, probably most radical (most opportunist some will say) of the artist.

2003-? : Reformation

In 2002, it joins again the bonds with the Asheton brothers and the saxophonist Steven Mackay, at the time of some concerts and of the recording of four songs on its last album in date with the Trolls, Skull Ring (2003). Nearly 30 years after, Stooges are thus again joined together with their line-up original (the bass player Dave Alexander, deceased in 1975, nevertheless is replaced by Mike Watt), and launch out to the attack of the scenes of the whole world, under the name of " Iggy And The Stooges".

Besides in 2005 leave simultaneously Telluric Chaos , a concert collected on March 22nd 2004 in Shibuya Axe, with Tokyo, and has Million In Prizes, triple best-of compiling all greatest successes of the Iguana in solo and with Stooges. A DVD of a live performance of Stooges, Live in Strait , is born also. Iggy Pop appears even in a spot of pub for SFR, singing the song of Stooges " I Wanna Be Your Dog".

At the beginning of October 2006, Stooges new enter in studio to Florida with the producer Steve Albini to give a little brother to their preceding disc, Raw Power. The album, The Weirdness, leaves in March 2007, and makes it possible the group to start a true world tour.

September 15th 2007: Iggy Pop and Stooges occur in France with the Fête of Humanity.

Cinema and television

Iggy Pop made many appearances with the cinema, in particular at Jim Jarmusch ( Dead Man , 1995, and Coffee and Cigarettes , 2004). It is also seen, amongst other things, in Cry-Baby (1990) of John Waters, or The Crow: City off Angels (1996) of Tim Pope.

It also takes part in BOs, in particular that of Arizona Dream (1993), of Emir Kusturica, from which individual the In the deathcar was extracted that it interpreted and who collected a business success with the international scales and was also a tube in France.

It also composed and sang the credits of the cartoon Zinzins of space .

A film on Iggy Pop is currently in preparation. It should be called The Passenger . Elijah Wood should incarnate there the Iguana, while the realization was entrusted to Nick Gomez, come from the world of the TV.

It also held a small role in the televised series " Pete and Pete" and Fastlane .

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