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Iggy is one of my favorite rockers of all time and is undoubtedly the godfather of punk. Iggy grew up outside of Detroit and got the name “Iggy” because he played drums in a high school band called The Iguanas. Iggy formed the Stooges around 1967 and released 2 great records, their self-titled 1969 debut, and Funhouse in 1970, on Elektra Records, who had recently seen great success with The Doors, and were eager to sign high energy rock acts. The two Elektra albums were commercial failures but attracted a small but passionate following including burgeoning Glam star David Bowie. When the Stooges were dropped, Bowie helped get them signed to Sony Records for whom they put out Raw Power adapting their name to “Iggy and the Stooges” because Bowie was primarily interested in Iggy. Though now seen as an influential classic, Raw Power was a commercial failure as well, and the band imploded around 1974. Iggy dealt with drug addiction issues for the next few years, but maintained his friendship with Bowie. In 1977 Iggy and Bowie collaborated in Berlin on a pair of Iggy’s albums, The Idiot and Lust For Life, yielding songs like “Nightclubbing”, “China Girl”, “Lust For Life”, and “The Passenger”. To me, these two albums represent a creative high point for Iggy, and though I love Iggy’s Stooges material, I think the Berlin albums don’t get the love they deserve because they don’t fit a genre archetype the way the Stooges records set the template for punk. This poster was created from the canvas I painted of Iggy based on a Berlin era 1977 photo taken by Ed Perlstein. I think the image captures Iggy’s intensity, which has remained undiminished, and his trademark, even as he has matured. Iggy has done great material since 77/78 including collabs with Steve Jones, and the Teddybears, but I think this poster may reflect Iggy at the peak of his powers. For a good career overview get the two disc “A Million in Prizes” or just pick up all the Stooges records and the two Berlin records.
Check out this interview between myself and Iggy Pop for Interview magazine. It highlights our conversation that lasted about an hour and a half. http://www.interviewmagazine.com/art/shepard-fairey/ We are hoping to get the full transcript from Interview soon.
-Shepard
Photography by Ed Perlstein, www.MusicImages.com
Release Date: 7/1/10
