Iggy Pop
Born in 1947 - James Osterburg started out on his most rock'n'roll of careers as a drummer in blues bands in Detroit in the sixties - as well as the Prime Movers, in a band called the Iguanas. And that's how the Iggy Pop persona was born, as a completely different character moved centre stage to do vocals, and indeed offstage into the audience - his live act is legendary now and hasn't changed much in nearly 40 years - as Iggy will be covered in scratches and bruises at the end of any gig. He formed the Psychedelic Stooges whose first gig was on Halloween 1967, and they were quickly signed to Elektra Records by Danny Fields, who later managed the Ramones. Their eponymous debut, produced by the Velvet Underground's John Cale, and its followup, Funhouse, are now acclaimed as classics, but at the time poor sales and various excesses saw them dropped by the label.
David Bowie was a fan of the band and tracked them down, took them to England, and produced Raw Power, released under the name Iggy and the Stooges. However, drugs and disappointing sales again led to the band splitting and they returned to New York. Iggy himself moved to Berlin with Bowie, and recorded Lust for Life, co-wrote Bowie's number one single China Girl and became a punk icon - the Sex Pistols covered No Fun and he later worked with guitarist Steve Jones. The much-rumoured Stooges reunion never materialised, but Raw Power was eventually remastered nearly 30 years after its release. Iggy had a major solo revival cropping up everywhere from the Trainspotting soundtrack to the recent Commonwealth Games coverage and can be found, most summers, at a rock festival near you.