IGGY POP & THE STOOGES

Also known as: Iggy & The Stooges, Iggy Pop & The Stooges, The Psychedelic Stooges
Origin: Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Genre(s): Protopunk, Garage Rock, Psychedelic, Glam Rock, Heavy Metal
Years active: 1967—1974; 2003—present

Members

Current lineup:
* Iggy Pop - vocals (1967–1974, 2003–present)
* Ron Asheton - guitar (only guitarist 1967–1970 and 2003–present; with Bill Cheatham 1970, then with James Williamson 1970-71); bass (1972–1974)
* Mike Watt - bass (2003–present)
* Scott Asheton - drums (1967–1974, 2003–present)
* Steve MacKay - saxophone (1970–1971, 2003–present)

Former members:
* Dave Alexander - bass (1967–1970)
* Billy Cheatham - guitar (1970)
* Zeke Zettner - bass (1970)
* Jimmy Recca - bass (1971)
* Bob Sheff - piano (1973)
* Scott Thurston - piano (1973–1974)
* James Williamson - guitar (1971, 1972-1974)

The Stooges are an American rock band that was first active from about 1967 to 1974, and then reformed in 2003.

The Stooges sold rather few records in their original existence and often performed for indifferent or hostile audiences. Nevertheless, The Stooges are often regarded as hugely influential both on the nascent heavy metal and punk rock. Singer Iggy Pop and his wild onstage antics were often the focus of attention.

Iggy Pop (born James Newell Osterberg) played in several Ann Arbor, Michigan-area bands as a teenager, including The Prime Movers and The Iguanas. Osterberg was first inspired to form The Stooges after meeting legendary bluesman Sam Lay during a visit to Chicago. He returned to Detroit with the idea that simply copying black men's blues wasn't enough—he had to create a whole new form of blues music. Ron (guitar) and Scott Asheton (drums), two brothers, along with their friend Dave Alexander (bass guitar) rounded out the rest of the band, with Osterberg taking vocal duties. Shortly after witnessing a Doors concert in Ann Arbor, Osterberg began using the stage name Iggy Pop, a name that he has used ever since. The band's debut was at a Halloween concert at the University of Michigan in 1967. During this early period, The Stooges were originally billed at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan and other venues as the "Psychedelic Stooges", where they played with the MC5 and others.

The Stooges soon gained a reputation for their wild, primitive live performances. Iggy, especially, won fame for acting crazy onstage—smearing his naked chest with hamburger meat and peanut butter, and cutting himself with shards of glass. At one concert, he played a vacuum cleaner like a musical instrument. Iggy is also sometimes credited with the invention or popularization of stage diving.

In 1968, The Stooges were signed by Elektra Records, who had sent a scout named Danny Fields to see the MC5. He wound up signing both acts. (Fields would later go on to discover and manage The Ramones.)

1969 saw the release of their self-titled debut album The Stooges, but it did not sell very well, nor was it well received by critics at the time. Legend has it that half of the album was written the night before the first session, which was produced by former Velvet Underground member John Cale. A second album, Fun House, followed in 1970. Many consider Fun House to be the best representation of The Stooges, as the main goal of the album was to capture the manic energy of their live performances. On June 13 of that year, television captured footage of the band at the Cincinnati Pop Festival. While performing the songs TV Eye and 1970, Iggy leapt into the crowd, where he was hoisted up on people's hands, and proceeded to smear peanut butter all over his chest. It has since become an iconic rock image.

Fun House, much like their debut, was poorly received by both the general public and the critics. The band decided to expand their line-up, adding a second guitar player in James Williamson and a piano player in Bob Scheff. Scheff was only in the band for a short period before being replaced by Scott Thurston. Alexander was soon fired from the band and replaced by a string of new bass players: Zeke Zettner and James Recca. At this point, The Stooges had all become serious drug users, with Iggy being the worst example. Their performances became even more unpredictable, and Iggy often had trouble standing up on stage due to his extreme drug abuse. Elektra soon dropped The Stooges from its lineup, and the band went on hiatus for several months.

With the band in limbo, Iggy met David Bowie in 1972 and the pair became good friends. Bowie, then at the height of his Ziggy Stardust-era fame, brought Pop and Williamson to the UK, and got them a deal with Columbia Records. The pair attempted to reconstitute The Stooges with British musicians, but finding nobody suitable, brought the Asheton brothers back into the band (this "second choice" decision rankled with Ron Asheton, as did his demotion from guitar to bass). This line-up, billed as Iggy & The Stooges, recorded their third album, the massively influential Raw Power (1973), which Bowie mixed. This album would go on to become one of the cornerstones of early punk rock, although the album sold rather poorly, and was regarded as a commercial failure at the time of its release.

After several months of touring, The Stooges disbanded in February 1974 as a result of Iggy's ever-present heroin addiction. One of the band's last-ever performances was captured on the classic live album Metallic K.O..

After going through rehab, Pop began a solo career in 1976 (most influentially with the albums The Idiot and Lust for Life). In March of 1977, Pop toured with a backing band consisting of David Bowie (keyboards), Ricky Gardiner (guitar), and brothers Tony Sales (bass) and Hunt Sales (drums), sons of Soupy Sales. The Asheton brothers formed a band named New Order (not to be confused with the English band of the same name), which quickly fell apart. Ron Asheton later joined Destroy All Monsters, while Williamson worked with Iggy as a producer and engineer during his early solo career.

The Stooges reunited in 2003, appearing on the Skull Ring album with Iggy on vocals, Scott Asheton on drums, and Ron Asheton on both guitar and bass. The Stooges have performed a series of live shows in the United States and Europe with Mike Watt of The Minutemen and fIREHOSE on bass completing the lineup, and Fun House saxophonist Steve MacKay rejoining it as well. Their Detroit homecoming show, postponed by the 2003 North America blackout, was immortalized on the DVD Live in Detroit. They have since contributed a cover of Junior Kimbrough's "You Better Run" to a tribute album for the late blues artist, and completed an album of all-new material for 2007 release with Steve Albini producing. On December 11, 2006. the final album title of The Weirdness was announced after the album was mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London, England.

On August 16, 2005, Elektra Records and Rhino Records issued newly remastered 2-CD editions of the first two Stooges albums, featuring the original album on disc one and outtakes (including alternate mixes, single versions, etc.) on disc two. Iggy Pop himself dedicated a lot of time to cleaning up the recordings and adjusting the mix, going for a more aggressive sound; the re-issues are generally regarded as having superior production, but the bonus tracks are not seen as essential additions to the catalog.

The Stooges played three dates in August 2005. The first of which at Leeds festival, on Friday the 28th. This was followed by a date at Reading Festival on Sunday 29th, to which the crowd shouted "Iggy" repeatedly, even non-fans joining at his wild stage antics. This included pretending to make love to a guitar amplifier and climbing down off stage and shaking audience members hands.

The next date on August 30, 2005, The Stooges played a special one-off show at London's Hammersmith Apollo (their first London performance since 1972, and only their second London show ever) performing their entire Fun House album in chronological order followed by songs from the first album and Skull Ring. The show, which was the first in the All Tomorrow's Parties-organised "Don't Look Back" concert series, sold out well in advance and was rapturously received by the music press and the fans—which incidentally invaded the stage—alike.

In September of that same year, The Stooges were nominated yet again to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Stooges have been nominated six times for the Hall of Fame, but have yet to receive the requisite number of votes to be inducted.[1]

In January 2006, Iggy and the Stooges toured Australia and New Zealand for the Big Day Out music festival. They have also played in festivals through Europe and South America.

In December 2006 Iggy and the Stooges co-headlined the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival in Minehead with Sonic Youth and the MC5.

On February 3, 2007, they played at the wedding of Bam Margera and Missy Rothstein (now Margera).

Beginning in March 2007, The Stooges are set to play a couple of festivals (including Electric Picnic in Ireland) and a ten-city U.S. tour in April. Bassist Mike Watt told Bass Player magazine that he expects most of his 2007 to be dominated by Stooges duties, suggesting that more tour dates in the U.S. and elsewhere are in the planning stages.

In April 2007, The Stooges celebrated Pop's 60th birthday on the stage of San Francisco's Warfield theater.

In May 2007 they played in Memphis, Tennessee, at the Beale Street Music Festival.

On June 23, 2007, The Stooges played at the Glastonbury Festival. The performance ended with a stage invasion when Pop invited the audience up onto the stage to sing and dance along with "Real Cool Time". The crowd increased in size as Pop performed "No Fun". It took some time before the crowd was cleared and the performance was able to continue, but there was no crowd trouble reported.

On August 5, 2007, The Stooges played the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago. Highlights of the set included "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and "No Fun", during which Pop incited a near riot by inviting the crowd onto the stage.

On March 10, 2008 Iggy appeared at Madonna's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. Together with The Stooges he sang raucous versions of two Madonna hits "Burning Up" and "Ray of Light". Before leaving the stage he looked directly at Madonna quoting "You make me feel shiny and new, like a virgin, touched for the very first time." from "Like A Virgin". According to guitarist Ron Asheton, Madonna asked The Stooges to perform in her place, as a protest to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for not inducting The Stooges despite six appearances on the nomination ballot.

A biopic entitled The Passenger is currently in the works chronicling both Iggy and The Stooges entire career, Elijah Wood is cast to play Iggy Pop.

Influence

* Iconic punk writer Lester Bangs was especially fond of Iggy and The Stooges, and championed them in many of his magazine columns.
* The Sex Pistols recorded the first high profile Stooges cover, "No Fun", in 1976, introducing The Stooges to a new generation of audiences, particularly in England, where Pop was then based. Sid Vicious also regularly performed "I Wanna Be Your Dog", "Search and Destroy" and "Shake Appeal (Tight Pants)" in his post-Pistols solo shows, and both songs feature on his Sid Sings album.
* The first album by a British punk band, The Damned's Damned Damned Damned concludes with "I Feel Alright", a cover of The Stooges' "1970" under its accepted alternate title. Another British punk quartet, Charged GBH, also covered "I Feel Alright" on their album City Baby's Revenge.
* Jello Biafra says he bothered his whole neighborhood as a kid by blasting Stooges records on his stereo. He also says he bought the first Ramones album because "they looked like they played music in the style of the Stooges."
* The Dictators included a cover of "Search and Destroy" on their 1977 album Manifest Destiny.
* In 1982 The Birthday Party released Drunk on the Pope's Blood, a live EP with a belting version of "Loose". On multiple occasions, the Birthday Party performed entire sets of Stooges covers. Their live version of "Fun House" can be found on their live album "Live 1981-82."
* In 1983 Sonic Youth recorded a cover of the song "I Wanna Be Your Dog" on Confusion Is Sex.
* Henry Rollins devoted much of a 1985 Spin magazine article to Fun House (the rest was about the Velvet Underground's White Light/White Heat - Rollins considered these to be the two best rock records ever made); in his 1994 book Get In The Van: On The Road With Black Flag, he would also declare of Fun House, "Everybody should own a copy of that album."
* Kurt Cobain consistently listed Raw Power as his #1 favorite album of all time in his "Favorite Albums" lists from his Journals.
* Guns N' Roses included a cover of "Raw Power" on their 1993 covers album, "The Spaghetti Incident?".
* In the mid 1990s thrash band Slayer recorded a cover of the song "I Wanna Be Your Dog" with some altered lyrics and an altered title ("I'm Gonna Be Your God") for their hardcore cover album Undisputed Attitude.
* Jack White (White Stripes) has said Fun House is the best rock and roll album ever made.
* In August 1995, all three Stooges albums were included in British music magazine Mojo's influential "100 Greatest Albums of All Time" feature. Fun House was placed the highest, at 16.
* The late 1990s saw two significant Stooges record releases. In 1997 a version of Raw Power remixed by Pop was released to widespread acclaim. The result was far more aggressive than the original release, which had been mixed in one day by David Bowie. Two years later, re-issue label Rhino Handmade released the seven disc box set 1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions. Just 3,000 copies were pressed and the box set is now a collectors' item, although selections featured on the Fun House 2-CD reissue in 2005, and the entire box set was released as a digital download on the iTunes Music Store.
* Lead singer of Gypsy Punk band Gogol Bordello, Eugene Hutz, says this about Fun House: "the usual, you know, the best rock album ever made."
* Most recently, The Stooges got a boost of notoriety with their single "Search and Destroy" being featured in RedOctane's Guitar Hero II for the Playstation 2.
* The Red Hot Chili Peppers recorded a cover of "Search and Destroy" during the sessions for Blood Sugar Sex Magik; the song appeared on the B-side of the "Give It Away" single, and later on the Iggy Pop tribute CD We Will Fall and the compilation CD Under the Covers.
* In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked The Stooges #78 on their list of 100 of the most influential artists of the past 50 years.[14]
* Skateboarding team S.A.D. (skate and destroy) got their name for The Stooges' single "Search and Destroy".
* Mission of Burma released a live cover version of "1970" on their then-posthumous live album The Horrible Truth About Burma.
* The Norwegian punk band Wannskrćkk recorded a tribute to the song "I Wanna Be Your Dog" called "Doggen" ("The Dog" in English).
* During his last tour before his death, Joe Strummer regularly performed cover versions of "1969".
* Joey Ramone's posthumous album Don't Worry About Me also featured a cover of "1969".
* The Sisters of Mercy recorded "1969" for the Alice EP and performed the song regularly on stage. It can also be found on the Some Girls Wander by Mistake compilation.
* Nebula recorded a version of I Need Somebody on their album To the Center with Mudhoney's Mark Arm on vocals.
* Welsh band Stereophonics recorded a cover of "I Wanna Be Your Dog" during the sessions for their Language. Violence. Sex. Other? album. The song appeared as a b-side on the Superman single and was played often during their 2005 world tour.

Discography


Studio albums:

* The Stooges August 5, 1969 (US)
September 1969 (UK) Elektra Records
* Fun House July 1970 Elektra Records
* Raw Power February, 1973 (US)
June 1973 (UK) Decca Records
* The Weirdness March 6, 2007 Elektra Records


Live albums:

* Metallic K.O. 1976 Skydog Records
* Live At Whiskey A Go-Go 1988 Revenge Records
* California Bleeding 1997 Bomp Records
* Telluric Chaos May 3, 2005 Skydog Records


Compilations:

* Rough Power 1995 Bomp Records (original mixes of Raw Power)
* Year Of The Iguana 1997 Bomp Records
* Original Punks 2006 Music Club Deluxe


Box sets:

* Night of Destruction 1991 Revenge Records
* 1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions 1999 Rhino Entertainment
* Heavy Liquid 2005 Easy Action Records


Singles:

* "I Wanna Be Your Dog" mono version b/w "I wanna Be Your Dog" stereo version (Elektra, 1969), for promotional use only
* "I Wanna Be Your Dog" b/w "1969" (Elektra, 1969), US
* "1969" b/w "Real Cool Time" (Elektra, 1969)), France
* "I Wanna Be Your Dog" b/w "Ann" (Vedette, 1969), France
* "Down On the Street" b/w "I Feel Alright", (Elektra, 1970), US, France and Japan
* "Search And Destroy" mono version b/w "Search and Destroy" stereo version (Sony, 1973), for promotional use only
* "Shake Appeal" b/w "Search and Destroy" (Sony, 1973), both in playback versions coming with Jesse Ed Davis' tracks "She's a Pain" b/w "Keep me coming"
* "Raw Power" b/w "Search and Destroy" (Sony, 1973), Japan
* "I got a right" b/w "Gimme some skin" (Siamese, 1977), US
* "I'm sick of you" b/w "Tight Pants" b/w "Scene of the Crime" (Bomp, 1977), US
* "Johanna" b/w "Purple Haze" (Revenge, 1988), France
* "My Girl Hates my Heroin" b/w "How it hurts" (Revenge, 1989), France
* "She creatures of Hollywood Hills" b/w "Untitled Scratch 5 UK" (sold with the paper "Spiral Scratch", 1989), UK
* "TV Eye" live version b/w "What you gonna do" (Revenge, 1990), France
* "Till the end of the night" b/w "I'm sick of you" (Revenge, 1990), France
* "She Creatures of Hollywood Hills" b/w "Tight Pants" b/w "Jesus loves the Stooges" (Revenge, 1990), France
* "Open up and bleed" studio version b/w "I got a right" b/w "Gimme some skin" (Revenge, 1990), France
* "Nowhere" b/w "Consolation Prizes" b/w "Johanna" (Revenge, 1990), France
* "I'm sick of you" b/w "Tight pants" b/w "She creatures of Hollywood Hills" (Melodia, Soviet Union), 1990
* "I got a right" b/w "Gimme some skin" (Bomp, 1990), US
* "I got nothing" b/w "Cock in my pocket" (Jungle, 1998), UK
* "Gimme Danger" b/w "Heavy Liquid" (Munster, 1999), Spain
* "Search And Destroy" b/w "Penetration" (Sundazed reissue, 2005)
* "Free & Freaky" (Virgin, 2007)

IGGY POP



James Newell Osterberg, Jr. (born on April 21, 1947 in Muskegon, Michigan), better known by his stage name Iggy Pop, is an American rock singer, songwriter, and occasional actor. Although he has had only limited commercial success, Pop is considered one of the most important innovators of punk rock and related styles. He is sometimes referred to by the nicknames "the Godfather of Punk" and "the Rock Iguana", and is widely acknowledged as one of the most dynamic stage performers of rock.

Pop was the lead singer of The Stooges, a late 1960s/early 1970s garage rock band who were highly influential in the development of punk rock and post-punk. The Stooges became infamous for their live performances in which Pop leapt off the stage (thus inventing the "stage dive"), smeared raw meat and on one occasion peanut butter over his chest and cut himself with broken bottles. Many subsequent performers have imitated Pop’s antics.

Although he would never revisit the primal vitality of his days with the Stooges, Pop has had varying degrees of success in his 25 years as a solo artist. His best-known songs include "Lust for Life", "I'm Bored", "Real Wild Child", the Top 40 hit "Candy", and "The Passenger" (the latter based on a poem written by Jim Morrison).

A film about Pop's life and career titled The Passenger is currently in production.

Discography:
> The Idiot / March 18, 1977
> Lust for Life / September 9, 1977
> TV Eye Live 1977 / May, 1978
> New Values / April, 1979
> Soldier / February, 1980
> Party / June, 1981
> Zombie Birdhouse / September, 1982
> Blah Blah Blah / October, 1986
> Instinct / June, 1988
> Brick by Brick / July, 1990
> American Caesar / September, 1993
> Naughty Little Doggie / February, 1996
> Avenue B / September 20, 1999
> Beat 'Em Up / June 18, 2001
> Skull Ring / September 30, 2003
> A Million in Prizes: The Anthology / July 30, 2005