“Get out of bed and confront life!” The Big Interview: Iggy Pop

The godfather of punk talks to Florian Obkircher and The Red Bulletin about how liberating it was to pose nude for Jeremy Deller’s life drawing class, conquering doubt, collaboration as the key to currency – and what happened when he “fell flat on his face”…

Things don’t get any more rock ’n’ roll than this. Iggy Pop is credited as being the first ever punk; the man who, in 1970, invented stage diving. His work with other artists including David Bowie, Balkan composer Goran Bregović and pop princess Kesha, has cemented his status as one of music’s most versatile and vital stars. Here, the pop icon explains that it’s precisely this creative exchange with other musicians that keeps his body fit and his mind inquisitive.

You’re one of the rare few artists in the history of music with whom, it seems, everyone wants to work. How did you get to this stage?

Iggy Pop: Like a lot of other artists, I was unsure of my own abilities early in my career.

Success through insecurity? Tell us how that works…

As a young artist, you throw yourself into all sorts of insecure situations and that’s how you grow, through the import of other people and through failure and rejection. You get together with other musicians. You can conceal your insecurity when you work with other people.

And do you become a better musician by concealing your shortcomings, whether they’re imagined or not?

You learn to think in new ways and you’re forced to experiment. That’s the key to success. It’s only when you have a broad range of knowledge that you become a master of your art. Yes, it’s a rocky road and you’ll fall flat on your face along the way…

Hold on a minute… What happened when Iggy Pop fell flat on his face?

Early in my career, people used to throw pennies at me. And I’d guess that no other artist got spat at as much as I did in those early years with The Stooges.

How come you didn’t give up on music?

My motto has always been: “Get out of bed and confront life!” That’s still the case now. You have to challenge yourself. You have to develop. So I’m always ready to jump into the fire with anybody I think is good, and I think that’s the best thing that happens to anybody.

How come you still most enjoy collaborating with others? Surely you’ve overcome any self-doubt?

I don’t really go out and plan these things; I’m just kind of a free spirit. But you have to be careful, because as soon as you begin to succeed, the tendency is to become isolated and surround yourself with people who agree with you, and that leads to creative block. That’s a catastrophe!

How do you find the ideal partner to inspire you?

Most of the time I’ve met my best partners by chance. A few years back, I was stuck in a van full of journalists on the way to an alternative awards ceremony – something I never want to experience again…

How sweet of you to say so!

Ha! But it turned out to be a useful trip, because one of them told me to check out this new singer called Peaches. I did, and I was blown away by her energy and attitude. Not long after that, we were in a recording studio together [with Kick It, 2005, pictured top].

How did she inspire you?

Peaches introduced me to a whole new music scene. She introduced me to great bands I’d never heard of before, like Le Tigre. Collaboration is also a learning process, which is very important. You learn not only about the people you’re working with, but about their scene, too. To be effective as an artist, you need to know about the different spheres and how they can help you.

You recently posed nude and in total silence for art students in New York [pictured, above]…

Oh yes, I enjoyed that a lot. But it was so hard to sit still for four hours.

Would you recommend the experience?

Absolutely. It was liberating to be able to stand naked in front of other members of the human race who were going to regard you seriously. Those things help me to stay human.

Florian Obkircher

This article was originally commissioned by The Red Bulletin Magazine, and is co-published here with thanks. Find the full article in the next issue (out this Friday) or online here, as well as other interviews and features across culture, lifestyle and sport

See Iggy Pop Life Class by Jeremy Deller at the Brooklyn Museum, New York, until 26 March 2017. Part of A Year of Yes: Reimagining Feminism at the Brooklyn Museum, a yearlong series of ten exhibitions celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. 

Images, from top: Iggy Pop & Peaches, Kick It, 2005. Still from YouTube. The Red Bulletin Magazine front cover Jan 2017. Pages taken from IGGY POP LIFE CLASS By Jeremy Deller; foreword by Anne Pasternak, HENI Publishing, 978-0-9933161-3-5