Iggy Pop isn’t just a rock star – he’s the Godfather of Punk. His performances are chaotic, violent, and legendary, and his life is a string of bizarre, shocking, and insane moments.
1. He played drums in a blues band before inventing punk
Before Iggy Pop became the frontman of The Stooges, he was a drummer in a blues band called The Prime Movers.
His love for blues later inspired his raw, primitive punk sound.
2. He invented stage diving and was the first rock star to do it
Iggy Pop is widely credited as the inventor of stage diving.
During a performance in 1970, he impulsively jumped into the audience – and a new rock ritual was born.
3. He smeared himself with peanut butter
Iggy’s performances were pure chaos. He hit himself with microphone stands, crawled half-naked across the stage, and sometimes smeared himself with peanut butter, blood, or broken glass.
His show in Cincinnati (1970) became famous because he stood in the middle of the audience, covered in peanut butter, while fans smeared even more on him.
4. David Bowie literally saved his life
In the ’70s, Iggy was heavily addicted to heroin and completely lost.
His good friend David Bowie took him under his wing and helped him get clean. Bowie later produced Iggy’s solo albums The Idiot and Lust for Life, which brought him back to the top.
5. His most successful song was co-written by David Bowie
China Girl, one of Iggy’s best-known songs, was originally written by him and Bowie.
Iggy released it first, but Bowie turned it into a massive hit in 1983.
6. He’s one of the few punk icons to live past 75
Many punk legends like Sid Vicious and Johnny Thunders died young, but Iggy survived it all.
He continued performing, exercising, and even practicing yoga to stay in shape.
7. He once starred in a bizarre credit card commercial
In 2009, Iggy Pop starred in a UK TV commercial for Swiftcover Insurance, but there was one problem: the company didn’t insure musicians.
Fans called it hypocritical, and the commercial was eventually banned.
8. He once broke his arm on stage and kept playing
During a show in 1973, Iggy jumped off the stage and broke his arm in three places.
Instead of stopping, he finished the concert, screaming through the pain.
9. He hated his first solo hit and thought it was a joke
When Lust for Life was released in 1977, Iggy thought the song was too commercial.
It later became one of his most iconic songs, largely thanks to films like Trainspotting.
10. The Stooges only got recognition when it was almost too late
The Stooges released three albums in the ’70s, all of which were commercial flops.
Only years later was their influence on punk and rock acknowledged, and in 2010 they were finally inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
11. He was temporarily homeless and stole food to survive
After The Stooges broke up in the ’70s, Iggy ended up on the streets, penniless and homeless.
He survived by shoplifting food and crashing on friends’ couches.
12. He once recorded an album in a boiler room
Iggy’s album New Values (1979) was partly recorded in an old industrial boiler room in Berlin.
He felt the harsh, cold environment perfectly suited the music.
13. He once performed for an audience that pelted him with bottles
During a show in Detroit in 1974, Iggy was pelted with glass bottles by a hostile crowd.
Instead of getting angry, he provoked the audience even more until he was covered in blood.
14. He still performs like he’s living in the ’70s
Despite his age, Iggy still goes on stage half-naked, stage dives, and screams like a madman.
He proves that punk never dies – and that he himself is probably indestructible too.
The immortal king of punk
Iggy Pop is chaos, energy, and pure rock ‘n’ roll. His wild lifestyle could have destroyed him long ago, but he remains one of the greatest legends in music history.
What do you think: is he the ultimate rock icon, or completely insane?
