Born on April 21: Iggy Pop, punk trailblazer and wild provocation patriarch

He was born in 1947 in Muskegon, Michigan and very quickly decided he would never conform.

Registered under the name James Newell Osterberg Jr at his hometown's Civil Registry, the man who never recorded even a single truly pop chorus undoubtedly chose his stage name, Iggy Pop, with a keen sense of irony! His two most well-known nicknames, Grandfather of Punk and The Iguana (he was a drummer for a band called The Iguanas in the mid-60s), continue to delight him after six good decades of a career conducted at full throttle. While he will become an octogenarian in a few years time, Iggy sometimes seems to have mellowed down. But one of the last times I saw him on stage in August 2022, he was performing somewhat incongruously at the Jazz Middelheim Festival near Antwerp (Belgium). Although he was well-supported by a rather inaudible brass trio, jazz was scarcely the subject for even a single second. As usual, he was shirtless by the second track, still enthusiastically shoving his microphone into his trousers. In his repertoire, the devastating Stooges anthems such as I Wanna Be Your Dog and Fun House still occupied a central place. Iggy Pop will therefore always remain true to himself although it must be acknowledged that his still slender chest now shows the weight of the years...

As it turns out impossible to summarise the prolific career of the man, we’ll settle here for a few important milestones. Beginning, of course, with the Stooges alongside whom the most hardcore punks and death metal aficionados seem like gentle choirboys. In four albums with explicit titles such as Raw Power (1973) or the live Metallic K.O. (1976), they rocked the United States. Performing a quarter of a century later, the Stooges even managed the feat of maintaining their explosive danger that was their trademark. Fragile ears beware…

After the break-up of the Stooges, wracked by excess of all kinds, Iggy Pop went through a very rough patch. He lived on the streets, indulged in the hardest of drugs and could have died from it. He even spent a year in a psychiatric hospital. Supported by David Bowie who also wanted to rid himself of certain demons, the two men moved to Berlin and formed a solid friendship and an artistic collaboration. While Bowie was refining what would later be known as his Berlin Trilogy, Iggy Pop also embarked on a path of creative redemption recording two of his best albums in quick succession in 1977. Borrowing its title from a Dostoevsky novel, The Idiot possesses a surprisingly experimental edge and includes China Girl which Bowie would popularise in 1983 by softening its edges. Nightclubbing would become an indelible marker in Grace Jones’ career. A few months later, in 1983, is an unambiguous declaration of a return to life. Literally. On the same record, there’s also The Passenger, undoubtedly his greatest popular success. Now back on track, Iggy Pop went on to record around twenty studio albums subsequently without losing his touch and even with some brilliant moments such as Blah-Blah-Blah (1986) and its Real Wild Child.

To complete the portrait of an elusive artist, let us also mention his interpretation of In The Death Car for Emir Kusturica's film Arizona Dream (1993) and the strange but fascinating The Acid Lands (2020) in which his deep voice performs wonders. Not to mention his many film appearances for his friend Jim Jarmusch (three times), for John Waters, or Tim Pope.

This devil of a man always loves to appear where he's least expected and will certainly reserve some surprises known only to him for his upcoming European tour, which will include the United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, France, Ireland, and Belgium, where he will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Rock Werchter festival.

(MH with Stéphane Soupart - Photo: © Etienne Tordoir)