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Like many performers, Iggy Pop's life as a musician began in school, playing drums in various bands. It was one such group, The Iguanas, which led to the artist's reptilian moniker, Iggy. Inspired by the likes of Lou Reed and Jim Morrison, he had dreams of becoming a frontman and in 1967 got together with brothers Ron and Scott Asheton, who played guitar and drums, along with bassist Dave Alexander, to form the Psychedelic Stooges, later becoming The Stooges. The band's live performances quickly became legendary, with Iggy throwing himself into the crowd and performing acts of self-mutilation. It wasn't long, however, before the excitement got too much and the various members' addictions saw them dropped by their record label and later split up. A meeting with David Bowie soon had things back on track, however, and James Williamson was recruited to play guitar. They entered a brief period of clean living while in England before the underwhelming reception of 'Raw Power' (1973) provided a reason to throw that aside for their past vices, ending the band for the second and final time in 1974. Bowie stepped in once more, helping secure Iggy a solo record deal that saw the two work together on a number of projects before finally severing ties three years later. Since that time Iggy Pop has been in and out of the spotlight whilst battling addiction issues, collaborating with Williamson, ex-Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones and the B-52's Kate Pierson. Later albums included 'Instinct' (1988), 'Brick By Brick' (1990), 'American Caesar' (1993), 'Naughty Little Doggie' (1996) and 'Avenue B' (1999) with the new millennium bringing 'Beat 'Em Up' (2001), 'Skull Ring' (2003), 'Préliminaires' (2009), 'Après' (2012) and 'Post Pop Depression' (2016). He also worked with Danny Boyle on the soundtrack to 'Trainspotting' (1996) and collaborated with Underworld on their new project World of Underworld for the track 'Bells & Circles' in 2018. He released his 18th studio album, 'Free', in September 2019.
Artist biography compiled by BDS/West 10. All rights reserved
