The music of Motörhead was said to be something completely different in 1975 with a sound that had not been heard before. In interviews Lemmy Kilmister stated that he modeled Motörhead after the US band MC5. They were his most direct musical influence. Up till last week I had not heard about MC5. This band was completely new to me. But - there was another name that came up and caught my eye. When reading about the MC5 there is another band that is closely connected to them and that is Iggy and the Stooges.
There was a name I knew! Growing up Iggy Pop was played frequently in our house and his music is inevitably connected with my childhood and my stepfather. When I was about 12 years old I even made a window colour-version of the album cover Naughty Little Doggie as a birthday present for him. It must have been 1996 or 1997. Crazy enough this piece of art is still installed on his bathroom mirror today more than 20 years later, still looking creepy as shit. I feel quite honoured :-D
So, up next on my journey to understanding metal was Iggy and the Stooges. Although their music is not metal and has never been this band belonged to a time when the foundations of heavy metal were established. The documentation Gimme Danger from 2016 gives a summary of the bands history and has some nice recordings of performances from 1968 - 1973. I've watched it yesterday and can recommend it.
The Stooges were formed as the Psychadelic Stooges in 1967 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Jim Osterberg, better known as Iggy had been playing the drums since he was a little kid, joining the highschool-band The Iguanas in 1965. From this band he got his nickname Iggy. Iggy played the drums in a lot of bands but at some point he "got tired of looking at other people's butts" and decided to become a singer. He formed The Stooges in Ann Arbor together with the brothers Ron Asheton (guitar) and Scott Asheton (drums) and Dave Alexander (bass). They were not great musiscians by then and they focused on playing simple riffs over and over. They also experimented with sounds, build their own instruments, used kitchen and household utensils on stage like a blender or vacuum cleaner. Iggy's stage performances (inspired by Jim Morrison) were legendary and unprecedented at that time, shocking the audience.
1968 The Stooges (they had dropped the "Psychadelic" by now) got their first record deal with Elektra Records the same day as MC5. While MC5 got 20.000 US$, the Stooges only got 5.000 US$. Nevertheless they recored their first album The Stooges in 1969 and especially Ron Asheton's riffs of "I wanna be your dog" and "No fun" were admired by fellow musicians. In 1970 they released their second album No fun. Neither album had commercial success. Nevertheless they were starting to play for bigger crowds and also big festivals. Their musical performances got better when they were not too high on drugs. Iggy Pop is credited with popularizing stage diving though the first time he leapt on the crowd they moved and he fell flat on his face, losing his front teeth.
Dave Alexander got fired from the band in 1970 after showing up too drunk to play. He died only 5 years later of pneumonia following the treatment of alcohol-induced pancreatitis.
By 1971 the band was using way too much drugs and their performances became unpredictable. They got dropped by Elektra Records. Iggy Pop met David Bowie who got him a record deal with his own
management. After bringing the Ashetons (Ron now playing bass as James Williamson was playing guitar) and James Williamson to London they recorded their next album which was released 1973 titled
Raw Power. The line-up Pop-Asheton-Asheton-Williamson now called themselves Iggy and the Stooges.
Raw Power sold badly as well. Nevertheless this album is today considered one of the most influential albums ever for the evolution of punk rock, grunge and metal.
In 1974 The Stooges were over. Iggy Pop went on to have a solo career; Ron and Scott Asheton kept on working as musicians for several bands, supporting themselves with various day-jobs; James Williamson studied electronic engineering and had a successful career with Sony. In 2003 the band reunited with Scott and Ron Asheton. When Ron Asheton died 2009 James Williamson returned to the Stooges for several live performances. Their last album Ready to Die was released 2013. With the death of Scott Asheton in 2014 The Stooges were officially disbanded.
The story of Iggy and the Stooges is very short compared to the 50 years of Judas Priest. Nevertheless this band influenced so many bands and musicians to come. They opened a door for punk bands like the Sex Pistols, the Ramones or The Damned. Metal bands like Motörhead, Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe stated that the sound of the album Raw Power had a direct influence on what they wanted their own music to sound like. Kurt Cobain was influenced by the guitar playing of James Williamson and listed Raw Power as his favourite album of all times. Amongst other things the speed and aggression of the music are considered groundbreaking for punk and metal.
When watching the documentary Gimme Danger - what really stuck with me was the feeling of how much rock'n'roll was lived by the musicians. It wasn't a livestyle choice. It was just who those guys were. It was their way of expressing themselves, of just doing what matters to them. And it was not pretty. They were poor and they were messing themselves up with drugs until they could no longer stand up straight. And nevertheless there was never another way for them to go. Because it wasn't a choice.
"I don't wanna belong to the glam people, I don't wanna belong to the hip hop people, I don't wanna belong to any of it. I don't wanna belong to the TV-people, or alternative people, none of it. I don't wanna be a punk. I just wanna be."
Iggy Pop in Gimme Danger, 2017
So, here is a link to the album mixed by David Bowie on spotify. Volume up and enjoy.