Iggy Pop Biography

Fast Facts

• Played the drums in his first band, the Iguanas, in the early 1960s
• He went on to play in the blues-inspired Prime Movers in 1965 and then became the front man for the Psychedelic Stooges in 1967
• Soon afterward, the band's name was shortened to the Stooges and he officially adopted the moniker of Iggy Pop
• Landed first record deal with the Stooges with Elektra in 1968
• The band released a self-titled debut in 1969, Fun House in 1970 and Raw Power in 1973
• Though all sold poorly, the albums are now considered rock classics
• (Rocker Jack White calls Fun House "the definitive rock album of America
• ") The band broke up in 1971, reunited briefly and then broke up again in 1974
• Formed a close friendship with David Bowie, one of Pop's most notable fans, in the 1970s
• Bowie helped Pop land a solo-record deal in 1976, produced several Iggy Pop records and even played the keyboards in Pop's 1977 world tour
• Pop also composed "China Girl" with Bowie, who had a hit single with the song in 1983, and he and Bowie penned Pop's best-known song, 1977's pulsating "Lust for Life," since used in TV and on film
• Penned the autobiography I Need More in 1982
• Has appeared in numerous movies starting in the 1980s, including two acclaimed 1986 films, Sid and Nancy and The Color of Money
• He also landed a semi-regular TV role on Nickelodeon's The Adventures of Pete & Pete
• Said to be an inspiration for the character of Curt Wild, played by Ewan McGregor, in the 1998 glam-rock film Velvet Goldmine
• Put together a Stooges reunion in 2003 when he and Ron and Scott Asheton collaborated to write and record four songs for Pop's solo album Skull Ring