Iggy Pop

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 that led to the artist's reptilian moniker, Iggy. Inspired by the likes of Lou Reed and Jim Morrison, Pop had dreams of becoming a frontman and in 1967 got together with brothers Ron and Scott Asheton (guitar and drums) and bassist Dave Alexander, to form the Psychedelic Stooges, later becoming The Stooges. The band's live performances quickly became a thing of legend, with Pop throwing himself into the crowd, rolling in broken glass and being sick on stage. 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, and James Williamson was recruited to play guitar. The boys entered a brief period of clean living in England before the underwhelming reception of Raw Power provided a new reason to turn to drugs, killing the band for the second and final time in 1974. Bowie stepped in once more, helping secure Pop a solo record deal and seeing the two work together on a number of projects before finally severing ties three years later. Since that time Pop has been in and out of the spotlight whilst fighting drug addiction and collaborating with James Williamson, ex Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones and the B-52's Kate Pierson.