Iggy Pop, 1979
"You won't get any fuckin' freak show from me… what you're getting is rock'n'roll."
I’m celebrating this week so I’ve picked out one of my favourite, and earliest, reviews to share with you. It’s from the Liverpool University student magazine and it’s a review of the Iggy Pop gig on 21st April 1979.
Iggy evidently had a different reputation back then from the international treasure he has become.
And, yeah, “The Stooges” is still a great record… 54 years later.
Iggy Pop - Eric's
Guild and City Gazette, April 1979
I was not expecting great things from Iggy. I went along merely out of curiosity, dreading to see another has-been like Johnny Thunders on his disappointing visit two years ago. I was surprised. On the night of his 32nd birthday, Iggy looked remarkably healthy, and there was no outrage. "You won't get any fuckin' freak show from me… what you're getting is rock'n'roll."
He was as good as his word. With a tight and professional band to sustain him, Iggy was able to put in a fine performance. He does have stage presence, and his voice is at once menacing and uplifting: the glamour of vicarious decadence.
Most of the material was new: he has an album to promote, and a new single "I'm Bored" (great title). We were however treated to two songs from the first Stooges LP, still a great record ten years later. The thrill of recognising the classic "I Wanna Be Your Dog" heard live for the first time was almost equal to that of hearing David Johansen doing "Looking For A Kiss".
It's good to see a living legend (and a rather dubious legend at that) give a show as exciting and immediate as anything Eric's has seen for a long time.
Happy birthday to Julian Cope
For tomorrow, 21st October.
Enjoy the Teardrop Explodes’ first interview, before it goes behind a paywall in a week’s time.
And look out for a piece on the legendary Club Zoo here next month.
Happy birthday to me
It’s my Substack birthday. I published my first post on 21st October 2022.
For those of you who weren’t with me back then, here’s my introduction.
Things I’ve learnt so far:
I seem to have written about Echo and the Bunnymen more often than any other band. I didn’t realise until I started going through all my cuttings books.
There’s a great community on Substack. I’ve found lots of music enthusiasts to read, as well as other interesting writers. Check out the “Reads” list on my profile to see who I follow.
The comments are priceless. When I started out, I thought this would be just about my own archive, but it's turning into a kind of oral history of Liverpool music. So many other memories and perspectives, often richer than my own one-sided viewpoint as an introverted journo, adding up to something bigger. Huge thanks to everyone who's joined in.
From now on, most posts more than a year old will be for paid subscribers. New posts, and everything up to a year old, are available free to all readers. Please consider taking out a paid subscription. I’m freelance, and these take a lot of time to put together, so it would really help.
Thank you to everyone who’s subscribed, shared and commented so far. Just for you, here’s an incredibly young-looking Iggy doing “I’m Bored” in 1979.
Congrats on the first year! This 'Stack is a joy to read, and I'm really happy I found it.
Working at Tower Records circa '79 when New Values was released. Saw him (If I remember correctly) at the Fabulous Mabuhay Gardens that year, and still consider his show to be one of the most powerful performances I've ever seen out of the hundreds and hundreds over the years. Iggy had incredible presence, powerful delivery, and a great band with Glen Matlock on bass.