Iggy and the Stooges

Muskegon, a city nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan, isn’t particularly well known for its reptiles... But on 21 April 1947 it saw the birth of an iguana unlike any other. An iguana - or, rather, The Iguana! The one and only Iggy Pop, born James Osterberg. Considered the Godfather of punk rock, this wild animal that shook the world of rock in the early 70s is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating figures in American pop culture. The Stooges’ first three albums (The Stooges, Fun House and Raw Power) are nothing short of a holy trinity. Iggy Pop would later continue his electric contortions alone (with the help of a certain David Bowie) - a trajectory which would solidify him as a true legend...

The Stooges began their adventure Ann Arbor, a city just a stone's throw from Detroit. The band was named after the American comedy trio, The Three Stooges, who were popular during the middle of the 20th century. A factory town couldn't but give birth to rock music as aggressive as the noise of its machines. As you might expect, this industrial city is the birthplace of a lot of aggressive rock. The Stooges' first seismic tremor was released in the summer of 1969, and it caused quite a stir among critics and the general public. Armed with flimsy wah-wah and fuzz pedals, Ron Asheton's guitars thundered a wake-up call; the prehistoric rhythms of Scott Asheton and Dave Alexander hammered away; and the lizard-Caruso couldn't but call for rebellion. The war in Vietnam was grinding on, and America's youth was pissed off (it was 'No Fun', in the truest sense of the phrase). The Iguana and his band of cretins channelled that sentiment into their music, revelling in their stunning manifesto of nihilism: a kind of shamanic garage rock, carried by such hymns as 'I Wanna Be Your Dog', '1969' and 'No Fun'. This first jaw-dropper of an album from Iggy Pop 's Stooges was produced by former Velvet Underground member John Cale. It's a bold record which doesn't shy away from experimentation, as is evident on all ten minutes of 'We Will Fall', where the band's instruments are entangled with John Cale's viola. People at the time would have struggled to believe that their next release would be even more cataclysmic...

Fun House, which was released the following year, is a real trip. Their electric, free-flowing rock takes the form of a high mass officiated by Father Osterberg and his band of degenerate freaks, cast here as... choirboys? The great guitar guru Ron Asheton seamlessly weaves his riffs around the reptilian voice of his lead singer, who always seems to end his concerts half naked, torso raked in slashes from broken bottles. Their primitive rhythm keeps everyone in line, while Steven McKay's surprising free saxophone adds a voodoo flavour to this unusual ceremony. With Fun House, rock'n'roll had never smelt so pungently of death, drugs, sex and the end of the world...

It would be almost another three years before Iggy and his Stooges released the third instalment of their adventures. By now, Dave Alexander had left the band, passing on his bass to Ron Asheton, with James Williamson entering the fold to take care of the guitars. With Raw Power, Iggy consolidated his status as a legend. Pushed into the studio by David Bowie, the group concocted a bomb of an album—and Iggy was the detonator. Just look at the song titles! 'Search & Destroy', 'Penetration', 'Gimme Danger', 'Raw Power', 'Death Trip'... Iggy wails, howls, mewls and cries, singing as if fire and blood were spewing from his gullet. The Stooges' frontman would later criticise Bowie for making the whole thing less wild than it originally was. In fact, in 1997, he would remix the album to restore all its original power and ferocity. Many would rank Raw Power in the Top 10 greatest rock albums of all time... However, drugs, alcohol, and big egos would eventually bring an end to the Stooges, with Iggy ending up in a psychiatric hospital...

The Iguana’s solo career rolled on, nonetheless. He even had moments of genius, like the two incredible releases ‘The Idiot’ and ‘Lust For Life’. In 2003, Iggy reconnected with the Asheton brothers again and the saxophonist Steven Mackay. The Stooges (or what was left of them at least) took to the stage once more and released The Weirdness in 2007. Two years later, on 6th January 2009, Ron Asheton was found dead. His brother Scott followed suit on 15th March 2014, as did saxophonist Steve MacKay on 10th October 2015. The album Ready to Die, released in April 2013, would round off The Stooges’ discography. To make up for Ron Asheton’s absence, Iggy called James Williamson back to the fold for a furious rock’n’roll festival, which saw him singing in true punk style like never before. On 22nd June 2016, while the band was the subject of Gimme Danger, (a documentary directed by filmmaker Jim Jarmusch), the guitarist, to no-one’s surprise, made an official statement: ‘The Stooges are over. Basically everybody’s dead but Iggy and I. So it would be sort of ludicrous to try and tour as Iggy and The Stooges when there’s only one Stooge in the band.’ Six years later, in 2023, Iggy is still around. At 75, he has replaced his Stooges with an assembly of all stars including Duff McKagan (Guns & Roses), the guitarists Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam), Dave Navarro (Jane’s Addiction) and the drummer Chad Smith (Red Hot Chilli Peppers), for his new album, Every Loser, where he shows that he has lost none of his former ardour.