- 1 day ago
Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the copyright act 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favour of fair use
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00The Music Marathon, only on VH1.
00:04I'm a real wild one.
00:05Wild one.
00:06Wild one.
00:07Wild one.
00:09He's a misfit named Iggy, whose music is anything but pop.
00:13He was famous for being partly naked, having a great body and a big c**t.
00:17Iggy Pop is the high priest of punk, with a rap sheet to match his attitude.
00:22By the time I was 18, I'd had my first mugshot and spent my first night in jail,
00:26and first car accident, first drunken experience, all the good stuff.
00:33First with his band, The Stooges, then later as a solo performer,
00:37Iggy Pop put his soul into his music and his life on the line.
00:41We'll go to the stage and listen to Iggy and The Stooges.
00:47There was something with Jimmy that I hadn't seen him rock and roll.
00:50He never sold out.
00:51He's indestructible in that way, and if that ain't punk rock, I don't know what is.
00:57But the pugnacious punk rocker pushed himself too far.
01:01He took one of my carving knives and cut himself on stage.
01:05I looked down, and I was covered in blood.
01:10I'm living like a dog.
01:13An addiction to heroin almost destroyed him.
01:16I'm pulling needles out of his arm.
01:18That was the serious demise.
01:19He was shooting up every day and passing out every night and drinking and drugging and screwing and defying.
01:28Lost in Iggy's excess was his relationship with his only child.
01:32That picket fence and a Labrador retriever and a house and a mom and dad, that just wasn't the case
01:38in my circumstances.
01:42Now, a VH1 exclusive.
01:44For the first time ever, Iggy, his son, and the surviving Stooges tell the tale of rock and roll's original
01:51Wild Child.
01:52Some people thought I was arrogant.
01:55Some people thought I was crazy.
01:56Some people thought I was funny.
01:59All were correct.
02:02Iggy Pop, the story behind the music.
02:18I would rather be a 100% all f***ing beef for real American dog
02:25than some scum-sucking Johnny-come-on-the-trend masturbation bastard.
02:42For more than 30 years, Iggy Pop has defied the rules, destroyed convention, and disgusted audiences.
02:49He's out there almost daring you to come up and take him on.
02:55You know, he's up there flipping you the bird and pulling his pants down as far as they'll go without
03:00legal sanction.
03:04His music is loud.
03:06His in-your-face attitude is dangerously rebellious.
03:10Together, they earn this prototypical pop star the reputation as the godfather of the punk movement.
03:15I'm proud of everything I've done on stage.
03:20Everything.
03:21So like I say to you, kiss my ass.
03:24Here's my ass.
03:24Come and kiss it.
03:26I apologize for nothing.
03:28You suck f***ing dog turds.
03:30Kiss my butt.
03:31My responsibility is a good show.
03:34Go read a book and flunk a test, you f***er.
03:36Come on, come on.
03:39He put his finger in his throat and, you know, over the edge of the stage.
03:44I've known Iggy.
03:45Where'd he go?
03:46He's gone from the stage.
03:47And Rory's going, oh my god, he's taking a s*** behind the ends.
03:52Iggy says he was just putting on a show, living in the music of the moment.
03:56I wouldn't put too fine a point on it, my dear.
03:59I just, I would just say that, again, that these are things that happened.
04:04It's that angry defiance combined with his sheer will to survive that has made Iggy Pop one of the most
04:10renowned acts in rock and roll.
04:17But Rage's reigning rocker isn't a product of slick makeup and marketing.
04:21According to Iggy, his anger is an emotion he cultivated from an early age.
04:26I went to a school where there were a lot of rich kids and there was a lot of competitiveness
04:30and all the cruel and stupid high school rituals which are detailed in so many movies.
04:39And going through that s*** really made me pissed off.
04:42And I just buried the anger for use at a later date.
04:47The seeds of Iggy's discontent can be traced back to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Iggy was born James Newell Osterberg
04:54in April 1947.
04:56A wealthy Detroit suburb, Ann Arbor has its share of tree-lined streets and lavish homes.
05:02But Iggy says he clearly lived on the wrong side of the tracks.
05:05I grew up in a trailer park on the side of a, by the side of a two-lane U
05:12.S. highway in a rural area with a cornfield directly behind my house or a trailer and a gravel pit
05:20behind that and a lot of forests.
05:23The son of a teacher, Iggy was a smart, hard-working kid who did well in school.
05:28He even ran an ambitious but unsuccessful campaign for class president.
05:32According to classmate Ron Ashton, Iggy was as straight-laced as they come.
05:36He was actually the guy that wore the chinos and the penny loafers with the dime in them or the
05:43penny and, you know, cashmere sweater.
05:45And he was totally straight.
05:47Until I was, like, 17, you know, my dad was still telling me, you know, what socks to wear and
05:54dictating my haircut.
05:59Iggy drummed his way through two local bands while still in high school.
06:03For Iggy, music was the medicine that would unleash the savage beast.
06:07The day I got out of high school, I walked out of school through one of the nicest neighborhoods in
06:14Ann Arbor and I threw my papers all over the place.
06:17I didn't pick them up and I grew my hair as fast as I could down to my shoulders, dyed
06:23it platinum with Clairol Ultra Blue and got myself arrested very quickly.
06:31He needed a new name to fit his new image.
06:34Eventually, mild-mannered Jim Osterberg became freewheeling Iggy Pop.
06:38And in 1966, after just one semester of college, Iggy dropped out to pursue music full-time.
06:45He wanted to front a band, so he gave his old buddy Ron Ashton a call.
06:49I get a phone call from him going, I've decided that I don't want to be a drummer anymore.
06:54I want to start a band.
06:56And he wanted to start a band with my brother and myself.
07:00With Ron on guitar, his brother Scott on drums, and their friend Dave Alexander on bass, the group took shape.
07:07The foursome called themselves the Psychedelic Stooges, and in March of 68, they played their first public gig.
07:13We were all pumped up.
07:14Iggy wanted to do something that was totally different.
07:17So he shaved his eyebrows off, he covered his face with baby oil, and then took hands full of glitter
07:23and threw it into his face.
07:28Few in the audience could believe their ears or their eyes.
07:31Iggy's onstage antics defied description.
07:37What he wanted is to get a reaction out of the audience, and a lot of it was more sexual.
07:42There was a lot of attitude.
07:43I think I was doing a lot of things a lot of people would have liked to be doing.
07:50It was the spring of 1968, and Iggy was celebrating all the freedoms ushered in by the Summer of Love.
07:57Backstage at a gig at the Grandy Ballroom in Detroit, he consummated a relationship with a 16-year-old girl
08:03named Paulette Benson.
08:05We had had a relationship which was semi-Platonic, and we had broken up.
08:13We'd been broken up for a long time, and she had been a virgin.
08:17But one night, she came up to me and said,
08:21Hey, let's, you know.
08:25I said, well, okay, let's.
08:29After their fleeting encounter, Paulette and Iggy went their separate ways.
08:34Unaware, their fling would change both their lives forever.
08:40Iggy, now 21, was hell-bent on pursuing his dreams.
08:44He moved into a farmhouse on the edge of Ann Arbor with his bandmates.
08:48The dream was this.
08:50I could be in a band.
08:52I could live with my friends.
08:54We could pool all our money and buy smoke.
08:58Buy marijuana and buy hash.
09:00We could take acid together.
09:02We could take the living room, which you always hated when we lived to a mom and dad,
09:07and turn that into her practice room and have big amplifiers there.
09:10Life could be a party.
09:12The word on the street became tune in, turn on, and drop out.
09:17And so we did.
09:20But the band did manage to knock out some worthwhile tunes.
09:23And in September of 68, at a gig at the University of Michigan Student Union, the foursome hit pay dirt.
09:30Iggy, as a performer, I mean, was the most incredible thing I'd ever seen.
09:34Danny Fields was at the show that night.
09:36He was blown away by what he saw and rushed to sign the psychedelic stooges.
09:40I said, hi, I'm Danny Fields from Electra Records.
09:43I really liked your act.
09:44And he didn't even look at me.
09:47He approached me after the gig and said, you are a star.
09:55And I thought, well, this guy wants to pick me up or something.
09:59I don't know, you know.
10:00The following morning, Danny tracked Iggy down and offered the foursome $5,000 to sign with Electra Records.
10:07The band promptly accepted and, on Fields' advice, shortened their name to the Stooges.
10:12I certainly knew we weren't going to be the mamas and papas or the Rolling Stones at that point.
10:16But I thought we could, with a little skill applied,
10:20we could find a place that would allow us to make music and grow.
10:26Next, Iggy discovers he's going to be a pop.
10:28She had a little bulge.
10:31And I said, oh.
10:32And she said, yeah, you know, I'm pregnant.
10:36And later, Iggy slams headlong into heroin.
10:39I looked under the stalls and there was Iggy lying on the floor,
10:43passed out with a needle in his arm.
10:45When Behind the Music continues.
10:48The presenters.
10:50Bono, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Sean Puffy Calls,
10:54Lauren Hill, Chris Isaac, Elton John, Bonnie Raitt.
10:58The inductees.
10:59Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Curtis Mayfield,
11:03Del Shannon, Dusty Springfield, the Staple Singers and more.
11:06But every week, over 500 family farmers go out of day to day.
11:14In the fall of 68, the Stooges had a recording contract and four plane tickets to New York.
11:20They were headed to the Big Apple to record their debut album.
11:23The 21-year-old Iggy Pop was about to get the biggest wake-up call of his life.
11:28His backstage fling with 16-year-old Paulette Benson had conceived a child.
11:32And she called me up at one point and said,
11:35Hey, I've got to talk to you.
11:36And she came over and she had a little, a little bulge.
11:40And I thought, Oh.
11:41And she said, Yeah, you know, I'm pregnant.
11:45A few months later, on February 26, 1969,
11:49Iggy's son Eric was born.
11:51Paulette says that when Iggy laid eyes on the baby,
11:54he wanted to do the right thing.
11:56Iggy popped the question, but the marriage was not to be.
12:00I don't think either of us were really, I think we're really ready for that.
12:04The polls weren't, weren't meeting.
12:08A few weeks later, Iggy left Paulette and his newborn son
12:12and flew to New York to record the Stooges' first album.
12:15But when it was released later that summer,
12:17the Stooges attracted little more than a cult following.
12:20We did really well with social deviance, high school dropouts,
12:25people with lousy jobs, alcoholics, drug addicts.
12:31We did great.
12:31It was another year for me and you
12:34Another year with nothing to do
12:37Undaunted, the band returned to the studio the following spring
12:40to record its second album, Funhouse,
12:43then promptly hit the road.
12:45In June of 1970, Iggy popped off a performance
12:48that would pave the way for punk.
12:55I was walking over the crowd.
12:57They just had their hands up like this
13:00and I just knew I could walk on them.
13:02I just walked on them.
13:03It was a beautiful thing.
13:05It felt like Jesus.
13:08He'd antagonize that audience.
13:10Come on, participate in this show.
13:13Be a part of it.
13:14Come on, wake up, you people.
13:16At some point, a hand shot up from the crowd
13:19with a jar of peanut butter
13:20and I just took the peanut butter
13:22and started throwing it.
13:24Just throwing it around.
13:32No one knew what Iggy was going to do next.
13:35Nothing rehearsed
13:37except that he was going to get up there
13:39and let one go.
13:40Iggy was developing into an explosive showman on stage
13:43but admits that he and the other band members
13:46were developing serious drug habits off stage.
13:48We'd all smoke ourselves silly.
13:53Later, I started taking LSD before I'd work
13:56and then there were stimulants
13:58and then there were various depressants.
14:00By the summer of 1970,
14:02everyone in the band but guitarist Ron Ashton
14:05was abusing heroin.
14:06And from that time on,
14:07things started to go downhill.
14:11Things started to break up.
14:14Dave Alexander was the first to go.
14:17He was fired after an important show
14:19because he was so stoned
14:20that he could barely play.
14:22Iggy eventually hired his friend James Williamson
14:25to replace him.
14:26But according to Danny Fields,
14:27the change in lineup was just a quick fix.
14:30They were descending into a miasma
14:33of out of control and drugs
14:36and occasional performances.
14:39I'm going,
14:40gee, I think I'll play the piano today.
14:42Huh?
14:43It's gone.
14:44Traded for dope.
14:45Equipment started missing.
14:47Then there were no practices.
14:49And it was just,
14:51we went through the motions of playing
14:52only to make money to get drugs.
14:56When the band did manage to book a gig,
14:58Iggy could barely make it onto the stage.
15:01I was in the bathroom looking for Iggy,
15:04time to get ready.
15:06And I looked under the stalls
15:08and there was Iggy lying on the floor.
15:14Passed out with a needle in his arm.
15:17He was a junkie.
15:19He was a junkie.
15:21He was on heroin.
15:23I don't think there was any common vision
15:25for the band anymore.
15:27After only six months in the Stooges,
15:29it was clear to newcomer James Williamson
15:31that the band was in shambles.
15:33It just was a bunch of guys,
15:36you know,
15:36that didn't have anything else to do at that point
15:38and didn't really want to be doing that,
15:41but didn't have anything else.
15:48The Stooges were disintegrating
15:50and in the spring of 71,
15:52Elektra Records dropped the band from its roster.
15:55With few gigs and little equipment left the pawn,
15:58Iggy decided it was time to leave the group
16:00and more importantly,
16:01time to kick heroin.
16:03He was either going to
16:04become a total junkie
16:06and die
16:07or get off of it.
16:09I went back to my parents
16:11and they had a friend
16:13who, against the law at that time,
16:15ordered a bottle of methadone
16:17for the pharmacy
16:18and every morning
16:19I would walk a couple of miles
16:20to the pharmacy for the exercise
16:22and take my methadone.
16:25Heroin-free
16:26but now dependent on methadone,
16:27Iggy quickly hashed out some new songs.
16:30In September of 71,
16:31he flew to New York
16:32hoping to meet someone
16:33who would help him revive his career.
16:35Late one night at a downtown club,
16:38he met David Bowie.
16:39Immediately, the two formed a fast friendship.
16:42Bowie was more sociable
16:44than a lot of his American counterparts.
16:48And his manager was a hoot
16:50with a big cigar,
16:51an afro,
16:52and a giant mink coat.
16:54And I thought,
16:54well,
16:55this guy's got an image.
16:57Bowie encouraged his manager,
16:59Tony DeFries,
17:00to sign his new friend.
17:01And in December,
17:02Iggy landed a deal with Columbia Records.
17:05After weaning himself off methadone,
17:07Iggy traveled to London
17:08where the Stooges reunited.
17:09By early 72,
17:11the band started rehearsing
17:12for their third album,
17:14Raw Power.
17:21During the band's entire stay in England,
17:24they only performed one show,
17:26but it proved to be a landmark event.
17:28The whole genesis of punk rock
17:31in England and America,
17:33people look to certain points,
17:36and there's certainly
17:37the Iggy and the Stooges show
17:38in London, 72.
17:40That show changed
17:41the history of English music
17:42because of who was there.
17:45And people checked us
17:46and realized that
17:47we changed the playing field
17:49of what was cutting edge.
17:52Iggy came out there
17:53and was jumping
17:54and grabbing girls by the hair
17:55and, you know,
17:56stuff was happening
17:57and they couldn't,
17:58they were absolutely,
17:59you know,
17:59running for the doors.
18:01I mean,
18:01it was just unreal.
18:02People were frightened of us.
18:05By the end of 72,
18:07after several months
18:08in the studio,
18:09the Stooges were finished
18:10with their album.
18:11Or so they thought.
18:13The record was rejected
18:14by the label
18:15and David Bowie
18:16was hired to remix it.
18:18Management decided
18:19to ship Bowie
18:19and the Stooges,
18:206,000 miles to Los Angeles,
18:22to complete the chore.
18:24They put us up
18:25in the Beverly Hills Hotel,
18:26which was very cool.
18:27And we'd come down
18:29to Sunset Boulevard
18:30every day
18:30and Bowie was mixing,
18:32mixing the album.
18:33But even with Bowie's help,
18:35raw power didn't sell.
18:36And consequently,
18:37the band only played
18:38a handful of shows.
18:39With idle time
18:40on their hands,
18:41Iggy and his three Stooges
18:42returned to their old habits.
18:44We got bored.
18:46And after a while,
18:47hey,
18:48well, you know,
18:48a little,
18:49they'd always smoke marijuana,
18:50but,
18:51oh, you know,
18:51a little Sekinol tonight,
18:54won't be,
18:55you know,
18:55that's okay.
18:56And then it started slowly,
18:58because we weren't playing
18:59or doing anything,
19:00slowly kind of got back
19:02into that old grind.
19:03After raw power,
19:04we lived in California
19:05and there was a lot
19:07of drugs out there.
19:10And we were doing them.
19:14Next,
19:15Iggy Pop lands
19:16in the cuckoo's nest.
19:17I got a call
19:18from a psychiatrist.
19:19He said,
19:20I've got a Santa Claus,
19:22a Jesus Christ,
19:23two Virgin Marys,
19:24and an Iggy Pop
19:25that says you're his manager.
19:26You know,
19:27what's the story here?
19:28And later,
19:29a son follows
19:30in his father's footsteps.
19:32One night,
19:33he went out
19:33with one of his little friends
19:34and drank a fifth
19:36of Jack Daniels
19:37and vandalized a school.
19:39When Behind the Music continues,
19:42there's the news you need.
19:44Then,
19:45there are the stories you want.
19:47I said she wasn't a bra
19:47in the back of the car.
19:48I mean,
19:49the girl's got great cans.
19:50What can I say?
19:51VH1's new news magazine,
19:53Rock Candy.
19:54Party!
19:55Hard-hitting questions.
19:56You think you can take
19:57Hanson in a fight?
19:58Yeah, I do.
19:58Undercover Expo.
19:59Leave free.
20:01In the spring of 73,
20:03Iggy Pop and the Stooges
20:04were in Los Angeles
20:05anxious to tour
20:06to support their third album.
20:07But their management decided
20:09a full-scale tour
20:10wasn't a viable option
20:11because the band
20:12had a limited following.
20:14It had been
20:14a very frustrating time.
20:16We were not allowed to tour
20:18because supposedly
20:19there was no demand for us,
20:22et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
20:25With little to do,
20:26the band grew bored.
20:27After two years
20:28of struggling to stay clean,
20:30Iggy says temptation prevailed.
20:32We were doing anything but music
20:33because we didn't have
20:34any music to do.
20:35I mean,
20:35we'd go out to clubs every night.
20:37We'd have girls over.
20:38We'd hang out.
20:40Drugs were just there.
20:42Everybody had them.
20:43If you had a girlfriend
20:44or two or three,
20:45they all had drugs,
20:46so then you had
20:47three suppliers of drugs
20:49right there.
20:49Give me a dangerous
20:50little stranger
20:52and I'll give you a fee.
20:55The band's drug use,
20:57coupled with their lack
20:58of commercial appeal,
20:59was enough to convince
21:00Columbia Records
21:01to drop the Stooges.
21:02By the summer of 73,
21:04so did their management.
21:06While the band struggled
21:07to find its footing,
21:09Iggy fell deeper
21:10into drugs and alcohol.
21:11He was just, you know,
21:13destructing, right?
21:13He's just, you know,
21:15he's got a lot of energy.
21:16He's just,
21:17he was misdirected
21:18at that point.
21:19Just getting drunk
21:20and crazy or wild
21:21or whatever, you know.
21:22Iggy was drinking a lot
21:24and it was a mess.
21:27Danny Sugarman,
21:28who worked with The Doors,
21:28was a fixture
21:29on the L.A. music scene.
21:31He says Iggy was out of control,
21:32but still possessed
21:33something special.
21:35I had total faith in him.
21:36I mean,
21:37especially after I saw him perform.
21:39I mean,
21:39I was certain
21:40that he would rise
21:41above his circumstances
21:43and make a great record
21:45and do a great tour.
21:48Within a few months,
21:49the band found new management
21:50and set out on a U.S. tour.
21:52But by then,
21:53Iggy was again abusing heroin
21:55and his performances
21:56were becoming increasingly obscene.
21:58I was shooting up every day
21:59and passing out every night
22:01and drinking and drugging
22:03and screwing and defying.
22:05So here we're doing a show.
22:07He goes rolling around
22:08semi-nude doing something
22:10to some woman
22:11or a few times.
22:13My God,
22:13what's she doing to his?
22:15He would go to shows
22:17and people would joke about it
22:18in the lobby, you know.
22:19What's Iggy going to do tonight?
22:21Is he going to pull his pants down?
22:22Is he going to dive into the audience?
22:24The more outrageous Iggy was on stage,
22:26the more the crowds flocked.
22:28And while his antics
22:29had always been disturbing,
22:30in July 1973,
22:32at a club in New York,
22:33they turned dangerous.
22:35Somehow I got cut
22:37on the bottom of a broken-off cocktail glass
22:42on the stem
22:43and there was a lot of blood.
22:45And I didn't notice it at first.
22:47I just kept singing along
22:48and the more I sang
22:49and the more I moved,
22:50the more the blood pumped
22:51and I looked down
22:52and I was covered in blood.
22:56People were turning their heads
22:57and trying not to look.
22:59He saw the reaction he got on them
23:01and I think he liked it.
23:08Iggy had definitely gotten
23:10the crowd's attention,
23:11but in doing so,
23:12he had unleashed a monster.
23:14Where once fans threw pantyhose
23:16and pills on stage,
23:17now they began hurling beer bottles
23:19and lit cigarettes.
23:21It got to be
23:22where it was no longer fun to play.
23:25It was just a job
23:26and going through the motions
23:28and to be afraid.
23:30I was seeing all kinds of,
23:32the cameras whizzing by my ears
23:34and bottles
23:35and it's breaking all over the place
23:37and it was pretty wild.
23:38I think everybody sort of was going,
23:40you know,
23:40why do we need this?
23:45In February 1974,
23:47the Stooges called it quits.
23:49By then,
23:50Iggy was a full-fledged junkie
23:51living on the streets
23:53or wherever his search
23:54for drugs took him.
23:56Nevertheless,
23:56he managed to make
23:57a bizarre and bloody
23:58solo appearance
23:59at a club on L.A.'s Sunset Strip
24:01in August 1974.
24:04I wrote a concept piece
24:06called The Death Murderer of a Virgin
24:08and decided to perform it
24:10at Rodney Bingenheimer's
24:11English Disco.
24:13He called me up
24:14and said,
24:15hey, I want you to be a Nazi.
24:16Beat me on stage.
24:18He wanted me to call
24:19everyone in town
24:20and tell them
24:20this would be
24:21his greatest performance ever
24:22and he took
24:23one of my carving knives
24:25and cut himself on stage.
24:28The end of the show was
24:29Iggy in,
24:30this is what he wanted,
24:31mind you,
24:32Iggy in Gunny Sack
24:33and drug out
24:35and thrown in the gutters
24:37of Sunset Boulevard.
24:38And I think that's the last time
24:40I ever saw him
24:40in a long, long time.
24:45By early 75,
24:46Iggy's body could no longer
24:48handle the drug abuse.
24:49When Iggy woke up alone
24:51in an abandoned building
24:52vomiting,
24:53Iggy says he knew
24:54he needed to get help.
24:56Soon after,
24:56he checked himself
24:57into a psychiatric hospital.
24:59I got a call
25:00from a psychiatrist.
25:01I'll never forget it.
25:03He said,
25:03this is Dr. Murray Zucker.
25:06I'm in charge of admissions
25:08at UCLA's
25:09Neuro Psychiatric Institute
25:11and I've got a Santa Claus,
25:15a Jesus Christ,
25:16two Virgin Marys,
25:17and an Iggy Papa
25:18says you're his manager.
25:20You know,
25:20what's the story here?
25:21I checked myself
25:23into the Neuro Psychiatric Institute
25:25in LA
25:26because there were
25:27no system of rehab
25:29in America at the time.
25:30I just wanted
25:31to get locked up
25:32for a month.
25:33For Iggy,
25:34the month-long stay
25:35in the hospital
25:36was a humbling experience.
25:38His years of hard living
25:40and hard drugs
25:41had destroyed his career.
25:43Sober for the first time
25:44in years,
25:45Iggy began to face
25:46the consequences
25:46of his past.
25:48I really had
25:49absolutely nothing
25:50going on in my life.
25:52It was really,
25:54things looked grim
25:56and I had to go on faith
25:58at that point
25:59and that was very,
26:01very rough
26:01to keep going.
26:04It was David Bowie
26:05who helped Iggy
26:06get back on his feet
26:07after visiting Iggy
26:08several times
26:09in the hospital.
26:10Bowie convinced his friend
26:11to join him on tour.
26:13In late 75,
26:14after Iggy's release,
26:15the two set out
26:16on a trip
26:16around the world.
26:17I am a passenger
26:21and I ride,
26:22I ride.
26:24The experience
26:25inspired Iggy
26:26to get his life
26:27back on track.
26:28That included
26:29reaching out
26:29to his six-year-old son,
26:30Eric,
26:31whom he hadn't seen
26:32in several years.
26:33While on the road,
26:35Iggy wrote to him,
26:36sharing the tales
26:37of his journey.
26:38Dear Eric,
26:40I am writing this letter
26:41on a train
26:41going from Holland
26:42to Paris, France.
26:44I had my birthday
26:45in Russia
26:46and we had a party
26:47right on the train.
26:48I am 29 years old now.
26:51Love, Dad.
26:53Looking at these letters
26:54brought a warm feeling,
26:55you know,
26:56knowing that he's
26:57experiencing things
26:58for the first time
26:58in Europe,
26:59taking trains
27:00across the countryside
27:02and expressing to me
27:03what he's seen
27:04and experiencing.
27:06After the tour,
27:07David and Iggy
27:08moved to Berlin,
27:09where they were
27:09determined to create
27:10new music together,
27:11free from the influence
27:13of drugs.
27:13I think both myself
27:16and Iggy
27:16indulged ourselves
27:17tremendously
27:18and we decided
27:19we'd clean up.
27:21So we chose Berlin,
27:24the heroin capital
27:25of Europe,
27:27as we found out later.
27:29That's pretty accurate,
27:30actually.
27:31Go to the heroin capital
27:33to kick heroin.
27:34Typical day,
27:35it would work like this.
27:37If a week has seven days
27:39and out of the seven days,
27:40there would still be,
27:41for old times sake,
27:43two binge days.
27:44Then the next two days
27:46after that
27:46were recovery days.
27:48But that leaves
27:49three days a week
27:50to do normal things,
27:53which is a lot
27:54for a musician.
27:57Despite their binges,
27:58Ziggy and Iggy
27:59managed to create
27:59some classic songs.
28:01Long before Bowie
28:02made it famous,
28:03Iggy recorded
28:04China Girl
28:05on his album
28:06The Idiot.
28:19Bowie produced
28:20Iggy's first two
28:21solo albums
28:21and played keyboards
28:23and tour with him
28:23in 1977.
28:25With Bowie's help,
28:26Iggy was exposed
28:27to audiences,
28:27he never dreamed
28:28of reaching.
28:30Iggy Pop
28:30is considered
28:31to be the originator
28:32of what is called
28:33punk rock today.
28:43The proto-punk
28:44took his R-rated act
28:45to Dinah Shore's
28:46G-rated show.
28:48But instead of
28:49the usual talk show
28:50chit-chat,
28:51Iggy shocked Dinah
28:52and Housewives
28:52across America
28:53with stories
28:54about his notorious past.
28:56You were doing
28:57things to yourself
28:57physically that were...
28:59Yeah,
28:59and to other people
29:00too.
29:04But you cut yourself
29:05with a bottle.
29:06Yeah,
29:06well,
29:07that was because
29:07I'd done something
29:09really foolish
29:10the night before
29:10and I was ashamed
29:12and I felt so bad
29:13that I thought
29:14the heck with it
29:15and I grabbed a glass
29:15and chit-chit.
29:16Oh,
29:16but that was...
29:17Well,
29:18I've since...
29:18I've had treatment
29:19for that sort of thing
29:20in that sense.
29:22Yeah,
29:22helped a lot.
29:24Iggy made a big impression
29:25on middle America,
29:26especially on his
29:27seven-year-old son
29:28who was watching
29:29at home in Detroit.
29:30Though he had spent
29:31little time
29:32with his father,
29:33Eric was proud
29:34of his pop.
29:34The understanding
29:36was that,
29:37you know,
29:37my dad worked
29:38and he was gonna be
29:39away when he was
29:40working
29:40and that was
29:41pretty much
29:41all the time,
29:43so...
29:43In the fall of 77,
29:45Iggy played
29:46the Motor City.
29:46For the first time
29:47in several years,
29:49Eric had the rare chance
29:50to spend time
29:51with his father.
29:52Just noticing
29:53all the attention
29:54that people paid to him,
29:55you know,
29:56it's...
29:56For a little kid
29:57to see that,
29:58I think it was
29:58a pretty big impact
30:00and, you know,
30:00just spending some time
30:01with him backstage
30:02and, uh,
30:04and...
30:05getting to know him,
30:06I guess, you know.
30:07And I was happy
30:08to see him
30:08and it was nice,
30:09it was moving.
30:11I think it was
30:11one of those moments
30:12where he was looking
30:13at me,
30:14I was looking at him.
30:15It's kind of like,
30:16oh, you, you know.
30:17Though he was far
30:18from a full-time dad,
30:20from then on,
30:21Iggy saw his son
30:21more frequently.
30:23But soon after
30:24his relationship
30:24with Eric was starting
30:25to bloom,
30:26his partnership
30:27with David Bowie
30:28was beginning to sour.
30:29After two albums
30:30and a tour,
30:31the two decided
30:32it was time
30:33to go their separate ways.
30:34We'd had enough
30:35of each other.
30:36It's like,
30:36I don't like the way
30:37you smoke your cigarette
30:38anymore.
30:39More like that,
30:40you know.
30:40I don't like your hair.
30:42Oh, yeah?
30:43Well, I don't like
30:44your shirt.
30:44Oh, yeah?
30:45Well, I don't like
30:45your girlfriend.
30:46Oh, yeah?
30:47Well, I don't like
30:47your mother.
30:48You know,
30:48it's like silly
30:50musician.
30:54By late 1978,
30:56Iggy had moved
30:56to London
30:57to work on
30:57a new solo album,
30:58but he soon became
30:59as absorbed in alcohol
31:01as he was in his music.
31:03I'm living like a dog.
31:05I'm bored.
31:08I was really
31:09starting to fall apart
31:11by this point,
31:12toward the end
31:12of the 70s.
31:13I had a foot
31:14in the gutter
31:15and one in the office.
31:20Next,
31:21Iggy's addiction
31:22takes center stage.
31:23I've lost the ability
31:24to recollect my past
31:25as of 16 hours ago.
31:27I can't imagine
31:28where I was.
31:29And later,
31:30like father,
31:31like son.
31:32He was a young,
31:33good-looking kid.
31:34He had girls flag,
31:35he had girls flag out
31:36and dramas
31:37and substances
31:39and the works.
31:41When Behind the Music
31:42continues.
31:45You're watching
31:46a Behind the Music
31:47marathon
31:47only on VH1.
31:51On Wednesday
31:52at 9, 8 central,
31:54Paul, Bruce,
31:55Billy,
31:55and more music legends
31:56are getting into
31:57the Rock and Roll
31:58Hall of Fame
31:58in a ceremony
31:59you'll only see
32:00on VH1.
32:01While you're watching,
32:02look for the VH1
32:03Rock and Roll
32:04Hall of Fame
32:04sweepstakes phone number.
32:06Give us a ring
32:06and you can be
32:07the big winner.
32:08We'll fly you
32:09and a guest
32:10to Cleveland,
32:11put you up
32:11in a swanky hotel,
32:12hand you a thousand bucks
32:13and take you
32:14on a VIP tour
32:15of the Rock and Roll
32:16Hall of Fame.
32:17Plus,
32:18you'll go home
32:18with a rock and...
32:23By 1980,
32:25Iggy Pop
32:25was in trouble again.
32:26He was touring heavily
32:28in an effort
32:28to jumpstart his career,
32:30but life on the road
32:31soon led him down
32:32the familiar path
32:32of alcohol
32:33and drug abuse.
32:34Listen,
32:35I mean,
32:36what am I doing
32:37but laying on my
32:37back,
32:38you know,
32:38I mean,
32:39I mean,
32:40you know,
32:41I mean...
32:42In this rare interview,
32:44it's clear Iggy
32:44was intoxicated,
32:45angry,
32:46and disillusioned.
32:47For years,
32:48you've been
32:49basically a cult,
32:50what they call
32:51a cult artist.
32:52What,
32:52you're telling me?
32:54What the f***
32:55do you know?
32:56Is rock and roll
32:57just entertainment
32:58or is it more than that?
33:00A lot of it
33:01has to do
33:01with a way
33:03to be so relaxed
33:04you can sit
33:04on your back
33:05while some turd
33:06is talking to you,
33:07you know,
33:07you know what I mean?
33:08Look at my friend,
33:10take heart in the fact
33:11that you've got me
33:11in your wonderful
33:12camera eye,
33:13you know,
33:13what more can you
33:13ask me?
33:193,000 miles away
33:20in Los Angeles,
33:21Iggy's 11-year-old son,
33:22Eric,
33:23was following
33:23in his father's footsteps.
33:25He may have been living
33:26with his mother,
33:27but he was behaving
33:28more like his pop.
33:29He'd gotten to the point
33:31where his,
33:32a lot of anger,
33:33probably a lot of it
33:34having to do
33:35with me,
33:36had come to the surface
33:38and he was punching
33:39holes in the walls
33:40and skipping school.
33:42The way a kid acts out
33:43is,
33:44you know,
33:45does what other kids
33:46are doing around him.
33:47And at that time
33:48it was drinking
33:49and doing drugs.
33:51His mother called me,
33:52she said,
33:53this kid's out of control,
33:54I can't handle him anymore,
33:55I've had enough,
33:56you take him.
33:57And I said,
33:58send him out,
33:59I can handle anything.
34:04In late 1980,
34:06Eric went to live
34:07with Iggy in New York,
34:08but Iggy's world
34:09was no place for a kid.
34:11Instead of going to school
34:12and doing his homework,
34:13the sixth grader
34:14was going to bars
34:15and watching his father
34:16do drugs.
34:17He lived
34:19the life I lived
34:20exactly as I did
34:22and just hit
34:23all the bars
34:24day and night
34:25and did everything.
34:26Did drugs,
34:28girls.
34:29He could only,
34:30I mean,
34:30he was a little young
34:32for the girls.
34:33Night clothing,
34:35we're night clothing,
34:38we're what's happening.
34:42I ran around the city
34:43with him at night
34:45and to a small degree,
34:47you know,
34:47helped take care of him
34:48in some instances.
34:50You know,
34:50it wasn't a place
34:51for a kid to be around,
34:52but that's where I was.
34:53That may have
34:54its horrifying aspect
34:56to some people,
34:57but that's who I was
34:59and I shared that with him.
35:01At least.
35:03It wasn't the kind
35:04of guidance
35:05Eric's mother
35:06had hoped Iggy
35:06would provide their son.
35:08Within months
35:09of his arrival,
35:09Eric was back home
35:10in L.A.
35:11More than a year
35:12would pass
35:12before father and son
35:14were reunited again.
35:15In the spring of 83,
35:17Iggy checked himself
35:18into a West Coast hospital
35:19once again
35:20trying to beat
35:21his addictions.
35:22Eric and his mother
35:23visited me in hospital
35:24a couple times,
35:25you know,
35:25tried to give me support
35:26and all that.
35:27They, you know,
35:28that's the typical
35:29food,
35:29you need family support.
35:32I remember going
35:33to some therapy sessions
35:35with him
35:36and just visiting him
35:37in his room,
35:38you know,
35:38and he seemed tired,
35:39but yet at peace
35:41and just relaxed
35:42and wanting to get better.
35:44It was, you know,
35:46good for me to be there
35:47and be supportive,
35:48but in the end,
35:49you know,
35:49he had to do it
35:50for himself.
35:51But Iggy checked out
35:53before he completed
35:54his treatment.
35:55In June,
35:55he set out
35:56on a tour of Japan.
35:57It was there
35:58he fell in love
35:59with a fan named Suchi,
36:00whom Iggy says
36:01gave him the strength
36:02to kick drugs
36:03once and for all.
36:05Suchi played
36:05a large role
36:06in helping Jim recover.
36:08She helped take care
36:09of him for many years
36:10and for him
36:11to get back
36:12on his feet
36:13and, you know,
36:14not just emotionally,
36:16but physically,
36:17I think,
36:18and it made him
36:19a stronger person.
36:20I depended on her
36:22in certain ways
36:24and we've both
36:26gotten a lot of rewards
36:27out of that.
36:28Perhaps I leaned on her
36:30as you might lean
36:31on somebody
36:31who would be there
36:32to keep you
36:32from getting yourself
36:33in trouble.
36:34The very month
36:35he met Suchi,
36:36Iggy got another boost.
36:38China Girl,
36:39a song he had written
36:40five years earlier
36:40with David Bowie,
36:41went top ten.
36:42The publishing royalties
36:44allowed Iggy to stay
36:45off the road
36:45and settle down.
36:47In October 1984,
36:49Iggy and Suchi
36:50got married.
36:51At that point
36:51in his life,
36:52you know,
36:53getting normal
36:54was probably
36:54the most radical
36:55thing he could do.
36:56He kind of
36:57found out
36:58how he could
36:59channel himself
37:00into family life.
37:02But just as Iggy
37:04settled into
37:04a life of sobriety,
37:06his son Eric
37:07dove headfirst
37:08into the party circuit.
37:09Despite witnessing drugs
37:11nearly destroy his father,
37:1215-year-old Eric
37:13was now abusing drugs himself.
37:16You say to yourself,
37:18you're not going to make
37:19those same mistakes,
37:20but in the end,
37:21you do and you have to
37:22learn from them
37:22on your own.
37:23He was a teenager
37:26and he came to visit
37:28one time
37:29and stay for a week.
37:31One night,
37:31he went out
37:32with one of his
37:32little friends
37:33and drank a
37:34fifth of Jack Daniels
37:35and vandalized
37:36a school,
37:37smashed all the windows
37:38in some school
37:39and got caught.
37:41So I had to come
37:42and haul him
37:42out of jail.
37:44While Eric spent
37:44the next few years
37:45struggling with his
37:46addictions,
37:47Iggy's own sobriety
37:48was paying off.
37:50In 86,
37:51Iggy reunited
37:51with David Bowie
37:52for his seventh
37:53solo album.
37:55Soon after its release,
37:56Iggy scored his first
37:57U.S. hit single,
37:59Real Wild Child.
38:09In the early 90s,
38:11Iggy hit pay dirt again
38:12with Brick by Brick.
38:14Finally,
38:14it seemed as if
38:15his unique brand of music
38:16was striking a chord
38:17with a mainstream audience.
38:19Whether he liked it or not.
38:21They had to drag me
38:23in screaming and kicking
38:24to get me anywhere
38:25near commercial success.
38:27What I had to do
38:28was to please myself
38:29in all the music
38:31I've made
38:32and all the words
38:34I've had to say
38:35is to please myself.
38:36And then,
38:37if you like it,
38:38great.
38:38If you don't,
38:39f*** you.
38:42Next,
38:43Iggy battles dope
38:44one last time.
38:45I told him
38:46when he was a kid
38:47for years,
38:48when you're old enough,
38:49I'll take you out
38:50of the road with me
38:50and it was a bloody disaster.
38:53When Behind the Music
38:54continues.
38:57Making music
38:58they believed in
38:58made R.E.M.
38:59a monster success
39:00with the constant pressure
39:02I felt forced
39:02to talk about
39:03my sexuality
39:04at its price
39:05and a lot of fun
39:06right up until right now.
39:07I'm sorry.
39:08VH1 Behind the Music
39:10coming up next,
39:11R.E.M.
39:12Behind the Music
39:13is sponsored by Visa.
39:15It's everywhere
39:15you want to be.
39:1890,
39:19Iggy Pop
39:20had taken on
39:20sobriety and success
39:22with the same passion
39:23that had once
39:23fueled his addictions.
39:25Once I decided
39:26to sober up,
39:27I really took the ball
39:28and ran with it.
39:29And as I did so,
39:31I found,
39:32I found my,
39:33my orientation
39:36changing.
39:36In 1991,
39:38at age 44,
39:39he was ready
39:40to take a more
39:40fatherly role
39:41in his son Eric's life.
39:43Iggy recruited
39:44the 22-year-old
39:45to work with him
39:46on tour.
39:46It was partly
39:48an effort on,
39:48on his part,
39:49I think,
39:49to give me
39:50some direction
39:51and get out
39:52of Los Angeles,
39:53basically,
39:54and do some things
39:55more positive
39:56for myself
39:57and,
39:57and learn.
39:58I told him,
39:59when he was a kid
40:00for years,
40:01when you're old enough,
40:02I'll take you
40:03out of the road
40:03with me
40:04and it was
40:04a bloody disaster.
40:06He was like
40:06a kid in a candy store,
40:08a young,
40:09good-looking kid.
40:10Wow,
40:11I'm on tour,
40:12I've got room service,
40:13I got cash,
40:14we're in a different
40:15town every day
40:16and he had girls
40:17flying in,
40:17girls flying out
40:18and dramas
40:20and substances
40:21and the works.
40:24As the tour
40:24wore on,
40:25Eric's drug use
40:26escalated
40:27and by 1993
40:28it was out
40:29of control.
40:31Finally,
40:31in May of 1994,
40:33Eric got the help
40:34he needed.
40:34I got him
40:35professional help,
40:36basically.
40:37He was,
40:38there are people
40:39who do that.
40:40I'm,
40:40I'm not really
40:41the kind of guy
40:42that's gonna
40:43sit you down
40:44and give you
40:44some good life advice.
40:46That's not my forte.
40:48Today,
40:48both Eric and Iggy
40:49are drug-free
40:50and their relationship
40:51is as solid
40:52as it is unconventional.
40:54In fact,
40:54Eric is training
40:55to be Iggy's tour manager.
40:56His best line
40:57about it now
40:58is,
41:00you know,
41:01people ask me,
41:02how does it feel
41:02to have to
41:03pull your dad
41:04out of the crowd
41:04when he's stage diving?
41:06On stage,
41:08his energy level
41:09is so high.
41:10The adrenaline
41:11is so much
41:12that I really
41:13try to keep an eye
41:14on him
41:14and watch him
41:15to make sure
41:15he's not gonna
41:17hurt himself.
41:18He's very protective
41:19toward me
41:20in a way
41:21I don't think
41:22anyone could be
41:23outside of a relationship
41:25of basically
41:26being the closest
41:28blood relative
41:29that a man can have.
41:36Now in his 50s,
41:38Iggy is enjoying
41:39more success
41:39than he ever
41:40dreamed possible.
41:41Here comes
41:42Johnny
41:42again
41:43Not only
41:45has he connected
41:46with his son,
41:46he's now connecting
41:47with fans
41:48the world over.
41:50Somewhere in
41:51the 90s,
41:52all the old
41:53records that
41:54didn't sell
41:55at the time
41:56started to sell
41:57a little more
41:58and a little more
41:59and there he started
41:59getting used
42:00in films
42:01and then after
42:03the films,
42:03advertisers.
42:07I'm a ski-walking
42:08cheater
42:09with a hat
42:09full of name
42:10pounds
42:13My policy
42:14on that
42:15is
42:15use them
42:16for sausage,
42:17use them
42:17for cars.
42:18I do not care
42:19because they
42:21were not
42:21commercially conceived.
42:22I'm a wild one
42:25I'm a wild one
42:28Those great news
42:29I'm a wild one
42:31Swingin' baby
42:32I'm a real wild
42:36But the success
42:37Iggy worked so hard
42:38for came with a price.
42:40It cost him
42:40his relationship
42:41with the one woman
42:42who stood by his side
42:43for 14 years.
42:45In 1999,
42:46he and Suchi divorced.
42:48And me I'm sittin'
42:50in my castle
42:53On the verge
42:55of a divorce
42:57The cumulative weight
42:59of all the work
43:01we did together
43:02in bringing my career
43:04from zero to 60
43:05pretty much killed
43:06my marriage
43:07with Suchi.
43:08There wasn't
43:09a life there
43:10for us
43:11that was
43:12sustainable.
43:16But the lessons
43:17of the breakup
43:17haven't been lost
43:18on him.
43:19Despite the divorce
43:20Iggy is looking
43:21for love and family
43:22to balance his career.
43:25I'd like to have
43:25another child
43:26I'd like to have
43:27the experience
43:28of raising it
43:30I'd like to have
43:31a wife and a family
43:34totally outside of this
43:36On the other hand
43:37I don't think
43:37that's very realistic
43:39because that's not
43:40who I am
43:41so perhaps
43:42I'll find
43:42something in between.
43:48Today,
43:49Iggy lives in Miami
43:50and spends much
43:51of his time
43:51in New York.
43:52After more than
43:5330 years of
43:54wild parties
43:55world tours
43:56and raging excess
43:57Iggy Pop
43:58has accomplished
43:59what many once
44:00thought impossible
44:01He survived.
44:03I sort of feel
44:04like a rocking
44:05old dude
44:06Yeah
44:06I don't have
44:08any vice
44:08for anybody
44:09or anything
44:11like that
44:12but yeah
44:14I like
44:14I like where I am
44:17He survived
44:18the things
44:19that he did
44:19to himself
44:20He survived
44:21the things
44:21that the business
44:22did to him
44:22He's older
44:23than I am
44:23and he's out
44:24there jumping
44:24into the mosh pits
44:25and yet
44:26here he is
44:27He only gets bigger
44:28and better
44:29When you're
44:30an entertainer
44:31to the degree
44:32that he is
44:33then you don't
44:35want to stop
44:35Tuesday night
44:37spend some time
44:38with the legends
44:38of rock and roll
44:39Stevie Ray Vaughan
44:41John Fogerty
44:42The Bee Gees
44:42John Lennon
44:43and Queen
44:44Tuesday night
44:45starting at 6, 5 central
44:46and don't forget
44:47to catch the class
44:48of 99
44:48as they get inducted
44:50into the Rock and Roll
44:50Hall of Fame
44:51Wednesday night
44:52at 9, 8 central
44:53only on VH1
45:02revenge
Comments