Product Description
“Fellow rock stars, casual members of the public, lords and media magnates, countless thousands of people will talk of their encounters with this driven, talented, indomitable creature, a man who has plumbed the depths of depravity, yet emerged with an indisputable nobility. Each of them will share an admiration and appreciation of the contradictions and ironies of his incredible life. Even so, they are unlikely to fully comprehend both the heights and the depths of his experience, for the extremes are simply beyond the realms of most people’s understanding.”

—from the Prologue

The first full biography of one of rock ’n’ roll’s greatest pioneers and legendary wild men

Born James Newell Osterberg Jr., Iggy Pop transcended life in Ypsilanti, Michigan, to become a member of the punk band the Stooges, thereby earning the nickname “the Godfather of Punk.” He is one of the most riveting and reckless performers in music history, with a commitment to his art that is perilously total. But his personal life was often a shambles, as he struggled with drug addiction, mental illness, and the ever-problematic question of commercial success in the music world. That he is even alive today, let alone performing with undiminished energy, is a wonder. The musical genres of punk, glam, and New Wave were all anticipated and profoundly influenced by his work.

Paul Trynka, former editor of Mojo magazine, has spent much time with Iggy’s childhood friends, lovers, and fellow musicians, gaining a profound understanding of the particular artistic culture of Ann Arbor, where Iggy and the Stooges were formed in the mid to late sixties. Trynka has conducted over 250 interviews, has traveled to Michigan, New York, California, London, and Berlin, and, in the course of the last decade or so at Mojo, has spoken to dozens of musicians who count Iggy as an influence. This has allowed him to depict, via real-life stories from members of bands like New Order and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Iggy’s huge influence on the music scene of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, as well as to portray in unprecedented detail Iggy’s relationship with his enigmatic friend and mentor David Bowie. Trynka has also interviewed Iggy Pop himself at his home in Miami for this book. What emerges is a fascinating psychological study of a Jekyll/Hyde personality: the quietly charismatic, thoughtful, well-read Jim Osterberg hitched to the banshee creation and alter ego that is Iggy Pop.

Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed is a truly definitive work—not just about Iggy Pop’s life and music but also about the death of the hippie dream, the influence of drugs on human creativity, the nature of comradeship, and the depredations of fame. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Not Right
The onstage persona of Jim Osterberg, Iggy Pop, is -- like many other such fictional stage personas (Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson, Gene Simmons, Ozzy Osbourne, Criss Angel) -- a marked departure from the actor behind the mask.It is also an unsustainable fiction; in that the excesses and the legends surrounding these characters can lead to public expectations which take on lives of their own.The men behind these WWF-like characters must learn to separate their real lives from the fictional characters they portray, or risk falling down the very rabbit hole they use to scare their audiences.

Iggy or Jim came closer than most.He more-or-less lost himself for a good long while, living the rock & roll lifestyle and indulging in the depravity expected of Iggy rather than leaving him onstage.That Jim has survived to re-emerge in the mid-1990s as a cleaned-up (but scarily ugly) aging rock star is a remarkable and in its own way inspiring story.

Paul Trynka's "Open Up and Bleed" tells the story with balance (neither a fanboy nor a scold), with just the right level of detail (the hundreds of interviews are implied but rarely quoted) and with compulsively readable pacing.It is one of the best musician biographies ever written whether or not you consider the fictional character at the center to be a pioneering genius or a self-destructive idiot.Many greater talents have not survived the cauldron of fame.

Excellent!
A fair, accurate and complete "warts and all" portrait of probably the world's most under rated rock icon.It clears up a lot of misconceptions about the circumstances surrounding the recording of all of Iggy's works.

Also offers a lot of insight regarding the original Stooges and Iggy's and James Williamson's shameful treatment of them.Neither of them would be where they are in life without the Asheton brothers and Dave Alexander.

Ron Asheton R.I.P
Dave Alexander R.I.P.

Head On!!
Great book, long overdue. It really fills in the gaps on all the "lost" eras of the Stooges. Even if you're not a fan, you should read this. You'll be amazed at the tales of ordinary madness.

Still waiting on Ben Edmond's book about the MC5.

Check out Mighty High...In Drug City.

Where there's one GLARING ERROR ...
For the most part, I am very impressed by the seeming double checking of facts by the author. He often provides quotes that give differing viewpoints from people who were actually there or who were participants in a situation or event. WHAT WORRIES ME, however, is his quote from the bass player for New Order stating that "Metallic K.O." was playing on the turntable when Ian Curtis hanged himself in his parents home. WRONG IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE!!!!!!!!!!!

Where you been, Paul Trynka? New Order admitted 2 decades ago that Curtis most likely died from an accidental overdose of prescribed medication (for, I believe, diabetes). It may have been a suicide, but it is unlikely.And he certainly did NOT hang himself!!!!! That is the fantasy/legend out of which New Order claimed its fame, which is why they didn't dispel the rumor until they had become quite successful without Curtis.They fessed up in a video has been internationally released (documentary called, I believe, "Ceremony" -- I taped it from TV in the 1980s) and admitted to some extent they should be ashamed of the way they exploited Curtis' death.

Such a glaring error makes me question the validity of other "facts" in the book. I like to think this is the only one, but who knows?

Sex, blood, drugs, rock'n'roll
Some rock stars fade away. Some self-destruct at a young age. Some kept on chugging away despite it all, and are still going today (see: David Bowie and Mick Jagger).

But a few seem to be truly indestructible -- they bounce back from anything, whether it's drugs, madness, or their own genius. And in Paul Trynka's "Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed" is a pretty brilliant look into the chaotic life, influence, and constant ups and downs of one such rocker.

Pop was born Jim Osterberg, to some slightly quirky parents in 1950s Michigan. And Ann Arbor turned out to be the perfect place for him to bloom into a musician -- he became part of the Stooges, a fledgling band that gained and lost contracts like underwear. And they soon developed a reputation for two things: raw, wild, powerful punk, and a tendency to have really wild'n'violent concerts.

And Iggy's own life was just as volatile -- a cocktail of drugs, sex, creative eruptions, and extremely volatile personal life. But as the Stooges fragmented over time, Iggy's own life began seesawing between order and chaos, the bottom of the barrel with the rock'n'roll heights. And even now, as the godfather of punk rock, he spills over with wild energy and creativity.

The core of "Open Up and Bleed" is that Jim Osterberg and Iggy Pop are almost like two different people, like a demon possessing someone's body and making him wreck his life. As Trynka -- and many people he interviewed -- put it, Osterberg is intellectual, polite, clever man, while Pop is a force of self-mutilating destructive chaos.

It actually makes a lot of sense. And Trynka's detailed, intricate recountings get a lot of information from many people who knew Pop -- some fondly, some angrily, and thankfully there's no whitewashing of his personal flaws. But the authorreally makes you feel and see why Pop/Osterberg is such a powerful presence in rock'n'roll, since he poured his body and soul into his work.

And Trynka strikes a nice balance between his work and personal life, outlining marriages, drug problems, possible mental issues (is he or is he not bipolar?), and his repeated rises from the ashes. Despite all the chaos, he also focuses on the quieter parts of Pop's life, such as domestic bliss with Wife No. 2. And occasionally we even get a funny story, such as the "peanut butter sandwich on Iggy's chest anecdote.

One of the best parts of the book is his ongoing friendship with David Bowie. The past bond between these two men is the sweetest part of the book, especially when Bowie and Pop joined forces musically. It's a bit sad when they drift apart.

Trynka also paints a dark, gritty portrait the burgeoning punk scene of the time, as well as the proto-punk ferocity of the Stooges -- they were SO groundbreaking and raw that the record companies didn't know what to do with them. It took decades for them to be appreciated for what they truly were, and for Iggy Pop to be appreciated as a musical pioneer.

"Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed" is not just a biography of a brilliant musician, but a portrait of the rapidly-changing music scene that he first bloomed in. Definitely a must-read for rock'n'roll fans. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (18)

Best Book on Rock, bar none.
Can't remember how I first found this book, but it has been my favorite ever since I picked it up.I was only buying extra copies on Amazon to give as gifts.Personally I prefer Nick Kent to Lester Bangs, but that is just a taste thing.

Buying The Dark Stuff and Please Kill me would bookend a fabulous book collection on late 20th Century Pop Music.

Rolling Stone - When it was edgier
This book is a collection of stories and interviews of artists from the 60's all the way through the present (the updated edition).As someone who used to be a habitual Rolling Stone reader, and not longer is as a result of the change in people covers (which is a reflection of music today) this book is a reminder of the good old days before publicists, when artists did not hide and gave full access.The stores are great, and not necessarily flattering, as a result of the honest nature.This book is a great way to learn more about music history in an entertaining way.

Brilliant
Ok so he had a fascination wikth Keith Richards and sometimes tended to identify a bit too much with his heroes. However he was a most brilliant writer at the best rock weekly ever, the NME. This book is brilliant and could have been longer.

The expanded 2007 edition
The Dark Stuff was first published in Britain in 1994 and always available in the USA since its 1996 publication. In the UK the book had been out-of-print for eight years until the 2007 edition appeared. Compiled from 1970s interviews for the New Musical Express plus 1980s magazine articles, this new edition includes the essays Sly Stone's Evil Ways & Phil Spector's Long Fall From Grace, a portrait of French pop icon Serge Gainsbourg, a recent interview with Iggy Pop and a concluding essay titled Self-destruction in Rock and Elsewhere. All in all twenty-two of the most talented and self-destructive artists in rock history are profiled.

Kent was the New Musical Express's star attraction in the 1970s at a time when the publication was selling 300,000 copies per week. It was at the forefront of reporting on the punk explosion, punk personalities, the style and its offshoots. The NME's influential position gave Kent unique opportunities as a rock writer. Kent may be older & wiser but there's something to be said for the energy and enthusiasm of youth, since the recent stuff amongst the new additions is less gripping than the original writings from the 70s and 80s for NME and magazines like The Face, Arena and Spin.

The value of each chapter is directly proportional to the communication skills of those interviewed: that is why the Guns 'N' Roses piece is a complete waste of time and paper and shouldn't even have been included, whilst I loved the Roy Orbison interview although I've never really been into his music. I found the Brian Wilson piece too long and disagree with the author's assessment of the Rolling Stones after the 1960s. Kent seems to think that Jagger and Richards produced their best music in the late 60s and early 70s because they were tormented by the 'wild women' Anita Pallenberg and Marianne Faithfull.

There's a thought-provoking chapter on the ill-fated Brian Jones (Tortured Narcissus) that discusses his contribution to The Stones, his decline and death. Kent's view of Kurt Cobain is a bit harsh and the non-interview with Roky Erickson rather pointless. Kent's 1988 portrait of Serge Gainsbourg is sad and pathetic but he concludes it by graciously praising the French singer's musical legacy. I loved the pieces on Jerry Lee Lewis, Lou Reed, Elvis Costello and Miles Davis and in my opinion the book's crowning glory is the chapter titled Neil Young and the Haphazard Highway that leads to Unconditional Love. Young's care and concern for his disabled child impress more than a thousand stories of excess and substance abuse.

Most of these rock stars thought that they were exempt from the law of cause & effect, with the predictable disastrous consequences. What amazes me is how some of these artists managed to consistently produce sublime music while they were abusing themselves physically and mentally to such a gruesome degree. I suppose that is one of the messages of this book: no matter how low down you are, you can always pull yourself together again. It certainly demonstrates the ability of the soul and the body to restore themselves.

This is great rock writing, on a par with the work of Lester Bangs. The stylistic difference is that Kent's writing is character-based & analytical: looking at musicians in the context of what they're doing and how they're living in order to analyze how this context influences them. Bangs on the other hand wrote from a more intimate, personal perspective, an angle that describes the effect the music had on him, often in stream-of-consciousness prose.

Other classics of rock writing that I recommend are James Young's Nico, Songs They Never Play on the Radio, alternatively titled Nico: The Last Bohemian, Clinton Heylin's From the Velvets to the Voidoids: The Birth of American Punk Rock, Gerri Hirshey's Nowhere To Run: The Story of Soul Music, Let It Blurt by Jim DeRogatis, Scars of Sweet Paradise by Alice Echols, Memories, Dreams and Reflections by Marianne Faithfull, Lipstick Traces by Greil Marcus and Angry Women in Rock by Andrea Juno.

Dark and delicious
A large part of the seemingly eternal appeal of rock music is the seamy underbelly of the movement itself. Kent is a master at exploring this underbelly, mainly (it seems) because he lived it himself. The man briefly toured with the Sex Pistols, befriended some of the most disturbed musicians of the 1970's, acquired and beat some serious drug addictions, and never lost an inch of his literary edge. The articles, essays and interviews in "The Dark Stuff" are compelling, exciting, repulsive and entertaining all at once. Kent knows who to write about: he chooses the pioneers, the masters and the mysteries. Some of the best music journalism of our time. ... Read more

Product Description
First-ever look at the intertwining, outrageous lives of three rock legends. When Lou Reed and Iggy Pop first met David Bowie in the fall of 1971, Bowie was just another English musician passing through New York City. Lou was still recovering from the collapse of the Velvet Underground, and Iggy had already been branded a loser... Yet within two years they completely changed the face of popular music with a decadent glamour and street-level vibe. With Bowie producing, Reed's Transformer album was a worldwide hit, spinning off the sleazy street anthem "Walk on the Wild Side." Iggy's Raw Power, mixed by Bowie, provided the mean-spirited, high-octane blueprint for Punk. Bowie boosted elements from both Iggy and Reed to create his gender-bending rock idol Ziggy Stardust. Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell is the story of this friendship and the incredible productivity and debauchery that emerged from it. Presented here for the very first time are their stories interwoven in a triple helix of sexuality, glam rock, and drugs - as seen through the eyes of the people who made it happen. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Excellent and Engrossing
Just finished this book and I found it to be a fun and easy read. It's thoroughly researched and well-paced, and Thompson is an excellent writer. Sure, there are plenty of books that delve deeper into their respective careers, but few focus on their inter-connectedness and relevance during such a pivotal time in 20th century music. Essential for anyone with an interest in dangerous and thought-provoking rock and roll.

WorthShelfSpaceCertainly
A little surprised about the prior review. I thought, considering the length and breadth of the subject matter, that for 300 odd pages, Mr. Thompson does an admirable job. Recall, other books on the subject have already been written, see Open Up and Bleed, Waiting for the Man (and the more seedy biographies) and the plethora of Bowie books out there. Like "Bowie in Berlin," gives one more perspective via an examination of the broader context of the players, their influences and subsequent cross pollination. Good Job!Though I think he might have included Nico on the cover as well. (GRIN)

Three Glittering Prizes, But short on Details sometimes.
I knew I wanted to Read & learn more about that Magical Pre-Punk Glitter Period where these three Icons Crossed Paths, shared stages & studios. For the Most Part I say Good job to Dave Thompson.
I learned a Lot, But Each time it moved from Guy to Guy, there were more passages that were crying out for More details. Lou went on tour...That was All he Did?? David went to the Studio...& the Album just Popped out, Iggy decided to work again... I hate to say this, But I think I expected More Drug Talk/details. I loved the Inner workings of a Crazy Organization like MAINMAN, But still left wanting to know more of the Details!!

I was just Left a bit Wanting. I Read it Pretty Quickly, & look forward to learning even More about these 3, from more Detailed Books. David Has been dissected in Lots of Books, but Iggy & Lou need more! But their mystique does seem to remain intact, Lou's Especially! Which I think I prefer!

Check this one out, But Don't expect the story to be all Told!
... Read more

Amazon.com Review
With his collection of personal vignettes, I Want More,Iggy Pop gives us a highly charged and stylized view into one of rockmusic's more colorful and important characters. Ranging from a fewterse paragraphs to several pages, the book's sections chronicle thepatchwork of Iggy's early life, following Jimmy Osterberg as he makesthe complete transformation into Iggy Pop.

While detailing the escapades in his life and career up to the 80s,Iggy's nakedly autobiographical style bridges the public view of therock innovator (first famous for rolling in glass onstage) with theprivate man from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who swore that "I will notlet myself disappear." We see Iggy high on coke, stabbing himselfwith drumsticks, and living through what most people can only readabout. But by the end of the book, Iggy has become more than a punkrock icon; he has become a real person with a tangible history.

The anecdotes and philosophical musings in I Need More aresurrounded by a wide variety of black-and-white photographs as well aslyrics from songs written throughout Iggy's rise to internationalstardom. The photos are diverse, with baby photos of Jimmy Osterbergand Iggy's first bands, The Iguanas and The Prime Movers, set next toones taken during Stooges years and during Pop's collaborations withDavid Bowie. Many of the photos are live and candid, though there arealso a number of professional rock portraits familiar to RollingStone readers.

I Need More provides an open, honest view into one musician's lifeat the beginning of the punk rock movement, a musical and political periodboth inspired and influenced by Iggy and his best band, The Stooges. Thebook's raw prose manages to capture the excess and power that marked punkrock's rebellion against the establishment, drove the Stooges' sound, andpropelled the man and the band to a rock-and-roll recklessness that hadbeen lost in popular music. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Less is not More
If you want a transcript of an interesting cat talking into a tape recorder for a few hours, check this out.Practically no information of interest or entertainment to be had here.Just an extension of style far, far better served by listening to the great music he's produced over the years.Stick to that unless you want a graphically puffed up magazine article, as presented in this "book".

THE IG ON THE IG
Good book. Iggy writes about Pre-Iggy, Iggy and The Stooges, and Post-Stooges. Also some really cool photos as well as lyrics to a few songs.
While Iggy offered some good insight into him and his band, I felt the book was a little unfocused and did not really follow any particular format and was not really in any type of chronological order. I persoanlly feel this book would have been better served with an actual author who could have done a more in depth profile on this true innovator. An author would also have given us a more chronological and more focused book.
It was also dissapointing that the book only covered up til the early 1980's. Who knows what kind of condition and state of mind Iggy was in when he wrote this book.
I still give it 4 stars and reccommend due to the fact that there are not alot of other options and it was cool to hear Iggy in his own words. There are also some cool pics as previously stated.
Hopefully we will soon see a true autobiography by a true author giving Iggy Pop the coverage he so deserves.
Perry

I need more, too
Iggy is the man.. plain and simple. No one will ever be like him. We all know about his crazy stage antics, so I won't get into that.

This autobiography is great. It tells about his life in Detroit, some of his crazy stories, including when he lost his virginity (which is hilarious). He also talks about shows with the Stooges, which is very entertaining. However, the book is short, and Iggy has a unique way of writing. It may take some getting used to, but I recommend this book to any lover of Iggy Pop, the Stooges, or just a good book.

Iggy in his own words!!!
I've got a lotta love, respect, and admiration for a man who keeps rockin' well into his 50's!!! Thank god some people never grow up! Here is the man who fronted the Stooges, pretty much the inspiration for the NY Dolls, the Dead Boys, and much of the punk movement which started during the mid 1970's. Unfortunately the music industry didn't know what to do with the Stooges in 1969, when they released their first album. If you're a Stooges fan, of course you already know that. Iggy is the godfather of punk. If you haven't already read this book, GET IT NOW. It's a must have for any Stooges/Iggy fan. Iggy starts with his life in the trailor park, becoming a crazy rock'n'roller, gigging with the MC5, working with Bowie. Hey, I didn't know Iggy had Nico living with him! The best thing about this book is it's Iggy in his own words. He's a funny guy! His life with and without the Stooges is definitely entertaining, to say the least! Great read!

The Godfather Of Punk Lets It All Hang Out
First off, I can't think of anybody in modern music more influenial than James Jewel Osterberg, a.k.a. Iggy Pop.His hugely influential and energetic music and charismatic stage presence have made him a truly sublime entertainer.This book is presented in first person form, like an interview, and in it, Iggy discusses everything from his humble beginnings in an Ann Arbor trailer park to his days as the Stooges frontman to his infamous drug addiction in the mid-1970's to his relationship with David Bowie and his late-70s comeback as a solo artist.Fascinating stuff from one of rock music's most well-traveled characters. ... Read more

Product Description
In a career that begun in the late Sixties Iggy Pop always set out to shock. But his attention-grabbing tactics including self-mutilation always disguised a musician and artist more complex than the image suggested.In this solid biography Joe Ambrose does full justice to the original spirit of Iggy Pop through a rich and revealing selection of interviews, offering many shrewd insights into the personality of a man whose own comments often seem more confused than anarchic. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Iggy Pop's ride.
If you didn'tknow enough about Iggy after reading this you will know more.
This book will take you throught the twists and turns of the rollercoaster life of Iggy Pop.
I think you will enjoy the ride. This man has been down and out and completely on top of the world. Iggy's music is getting it 's due after all these years. Enjoy the book.

There are better books on Iggy than this one.
This book isn't terrible, but it certainly isn't the "definitive biography" that it claims to be. It's a mediocre hack job pieced together from previous books and articles. Here's my favorite stupidly bizarre blunder: On page 63 the author states "The company (Elektra) let the band down badly by not releasing '1969' or 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' as a single; possibly turning one of those tracks into, at the very least, an airplay hit".What? The first Stooges single was 'I Wanna Be You Dog' backed with '1969'!!! Any Iggy fan knows that! It's right there in the discography in the back of this book! Ambose must have been totally unfamiliar with his subject to make a stupid mistake like that. Thinking that 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' could have been a big hit is laughable in itself. Great song, but certain not commercial in any way. If you wanna read about Iggy get "Open Up And Bleed" by Paul Trynka. It's much better and the one I would maybe consider the "definitive biography".

Not a fun read
This book was very hard for me to wade through despite being a huge fan. (I named my first cat Iggy!) Lots of disparaging remarks about Iggy, as well as portraying him as a huge misogynist made it hard to want to finish. But what really makes it a difficult read is the disjointed nature. It goes from a quote from someone in MC5 talking about a gig in Romeo Michigan, to a quote from Iggy about something else that happened elsewhere years later.

I grew up in Michigan and saw Iggy at least a dozen times so I read through it for the descriptions of the many shows he did in Michigan.

I picked up a book the other day in my local library-an autobiography by Arthur Kane (from the NY Dolls). This book looks like a fun read -the first couple of pages were hugely entertaining where he describes his first encounter with Johnny Thunders, and how he - Arthur switched playing Guitar with Johnny. That book is way more colorful and intriguing, it really painted a picture of what it was like to first glimpse Johnny in Central Park.

But Gimme Danger is just quotes and bits of interviews that were in other books and magazines strung together.

Disappointing.

A bit disappointed
This book was published in 2002, which was before the reuion of the Stooges (Iggy, The Astons, & Watt). So a lot of the writers opinions are irrelevant. It's almost like the author didn't l;ike Iggy, and Ig apparantly had no input on this book. Learned a few things, like some albums I didn't know about, but otherwise dissapointing.

classic rock'n'roll writing for intelligent fans
this book is wild, right up there with victor bockris's books on lou reed and patti smith. joe ambrose has taken the bull by the horns and made a serious effort to understand iggy pop, career druf fiend, enthusiastic pro-Regagan Republican, and the maker of some of the finest ever punk rock records. as a lifelong fan of the Igster i was taken aback by some of the less acceptable facts in this elegantly written book but i was still glad to know those facts. i know joe ambrose and regard him as being a generally good and reliable writer with three great novels out. this stuf the drainpipe guy is saying is just sour grapes because joe has some negative things to say about iggy. disfunctional middle aged men like to idolise people like iggy or keith richards but gimmer danger is aimed at the more intelligent readers, interested in culture as much as they're interested in apocryphal tales of on the road excess and "important" ten minute guitar solos. ... Read more

Product Description
An in-depth guide to the career and music of punk luminary and ex-Stooge frontman Iggy Pop and his rise to international stardom.

Iggy Pop (aka James Osterberg of Ann Arbor) is one of rock music’s most original artists, his remarkable longevity defying the popular perception of him as the most excessive and self-destructive musician of his generation. Today, the walking miracle that is Iggy Pop continues to record, perform, and shock. In The Complete Iggy Pop, music journalist Richard Adams covers the 18 studio albums—including commentary on every song, plus background information on the recording process—the David Bowie collaborations, the live albums, the semi-official albums, and the reissues of early material. All the tours and known concert dates are also recorded, as well as videos, films, TV appearances, and the re-formation of his seminal proto-punk band, the Stooges. An indispensable guide to music’s most enduring misfit. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Complete Iggy Pop
This is the most interesting book that I have ever read. It is so complete and comprehensive that I felt compelled to find and listen to almost every CD that was released during the early years of Iggy's career (1960's & 1970's). I was at the Iggy & the Stooges show at Max's Kansas City in New York back in 1973 (the one that was postponed one week after Iggy cut his chest open during the first show the previous week), and this book really took me back to that night on numerous occaisions. The author (Richard Adams) did a fabulous job of bringing out every possible detail of Iggy's amazing life and career, and the Discography sections at the end are unbelievable! And there's even a couple of pages of very rare photos spanning from 1970 - 2001 in the middle of the book. This is a fascinating book. I couldn't put it down! ... Read more

Product Description
Iggy Pop,is an American songwriter, and occasional actor.Although he has had only limited mainstream commercial success, Iggy Pop is considered an influential innovator of punk rock, hard rock, and other related styles.He is sometimes referred to by the nicknames "the Godfather of Punk" and "the Iguana", and is widely acknowledged as one of the most dynamic stage performers of all time.Pop began calling himself Iggy after his first band in high school, The Iguanas. ... Read more

Product Description
Alvin Gibbs' account of playing bass on a world tour with Iggy Pop.Two hundred and thirty nights of Iggy Pop performance in major towns and cities across six continents contain the usual drugs and booze and bizarre rock behavior. Follow Iggy around the globe as he• gets stage fright in front of David Bowie• provokes professional Japanese groupies• attends a Guns N Roses party worthy of de Sade

Hanoi Rocks guitarist Andy McCoy got Alvin Gibbs this dream gig with the rock legend, and he kept a thorough scrapbook, including• previously unpublished photos• tour memorabilia ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Genius at Work
Iggy is a genius. This is confirmed by the late Lester Bangs, so no doubts are accepted. (And I agree.) This book covers some two hundred dates in the period 1988-89 his then current band worked. Gibbs, a survivor of the UK Subs, is asked to join the band by Andy McCoy, a Johnny Thunders-inspired fellow from Hanoi Rocks, and then begins a tour that covers small clubs in the hinterland to Texas Stadium to Brazil, Japan, and even parts of the wilds of Canada to New Zealand and Australia. Iggy is married at the time and civilized, and so is merely a ticking time-bomb (as opposed to the usual exploding one), and thus quits cigarettes and hard drinking. (But check out his Miami temptations.) We hear of the life suffered by those forced to live in 5-Star hotels. the horrors of having to say no to groupies, the pain of Iggy taking the author's last bottle of cognac--yet it all adds up to a pleasant and literate read; the work of man who knows what of he speaks and does it well. While all readers with a knowledge of Iggy would await a book by, say, Ron Asheton, this one will do.

Great inside look at Iggy!
In the sleazy, fly-by-night world of rock'n'roll there are many pretenders to the throne, but few true legends. And in that select group of larger than life icons, few can lay claim to having made a deeper impact than one Iggy Pop (a.k.a. James Osterberg). His groundbreaking work as frontman for the explosive Stooges from the late 1960s through the mid-'70s, as well as his later solo albums (including collaborations with David Bowie) challenged the established ideas of how a rock band could look, sound and behave.

By the time Iggy recorded "Instinct" in the late '80s, the L.A. glam metal scene had taken the music biz by storm, and the album's sound perhaps reflected Iggy's desire to fit in commercially after a series of poorly received albums. For the subsequent tour, Iggy assembled a band of seasoned pro's--including former UK Subs bassist Alvin Gibbs and the eccentric ex-Hanoi Rocks guitarist, Andy McCoy. Many months of touring followed in the U.S. and abroad--and while Gibbs indulged in the offstage debauchery, he obviously also observed the goings on around him with a keen eye and ear. The result was "Neighborhood Threat: On Tour With Iggy Pop" a compulsively readable first-hand account of a major rock tour with none of the dirt excised for the faint of heart.

"Neighborhood Threat" unflinchingly captures Iggy at his best and at his worst: onstage, backstage and out on the town. Gibbs also took care to document the real life "Jim Osterberg" side of Iggy, providing a more fully-fleshed portrait of this rock immortal than any other writer. In addition, Gibbs delves into the excesses of ex-bandmate Andy McCoy whose personal demons may have cost him opportunities at greater glory. ... Read more

Product Description
With 2001­02 marking the 25th anniversary of punk, GaryValentine—founding member of the seminal New Wave band,Blondie—offers a firsthand look at its New York roots. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

It really put me there
I thought this book was an excellent account of the birth of an era.I found it wonderfully subjective and the account felt honest and real.His voice was straightforward and the stories were humorous as seen through a young man's eyes; it all seemed so new and fascinating to him and hinted at some hero worship from Gary to Chris and others.I consider him to be a fine writer with a personal touch to his credit.During that era, I played music in a different scene and declined most offers to visit there but always wondered what I had missed.Witnessing it through Gary's eyes put me there and it felt delighful to associate my personal memories along with it.

Worth reading
Blondie is one of my all time favorite bands so I'll enjoy virtually anything written about the band. True to form I blazed through New York Rocker in a day. While the book contained no major surprises, with the exception of how the song X-Offender was inspired (Making Tracks tells the story but changes the names to protect the innocent), just learning the small details about their lives during this period and reliving some of the band's early experiences was very gratifying. For a first time author the book is also very readable.

With that said to me Valentine seemed oddly detached from the scene he writes about and ostensibly experienced first hand. Even as a member of Blondie he seemed on the periphery of the New York punk scene. There are precious few direct insights or interactions with virtually any of the principle players in the New York music scene. Whereas Debbie Harry or Chris Stein were mainstays in the scene, Valentine was seemingly a comparatively minor player who was really just passing through. A memoir from Chris Stein or especially Debbie Harry would be a much richer story. Similarly, while Valentine offers some opinions about other performers, often this information comes from other sources, such as Heylin's history of American punk rock. And even things that would be very interesting in detail, such as his first performance with the band at CBGB's, get passed over too quickly.

As to his tenure with the band and why he got kicked out/quit, Valentine presents the usual creative and personality differences. The main source of personality conflict according to Valentine was not Debbie Harry (who Valentine is honest enough without saying so outright to recognize as the star of the band) but Chris Stein. Valentine questions Stein's musicianship and presents him as tempermental. In this there is nothing exceptional in comparision to myriad other band break-up stories, but it is still worth remembering that this is the point of view of one individual in a two-sided tale. By his own admission, as later events Valentine candidly discusses show, Valentine had his own share of eccentricities and was a willful individual in his own right. Valentine also mentions creative differences, but Blondie's rise to superstardom after his departure compared to his own limited success with his own band, The Know, puts these differences in perspective. Finally Valentine offers an entertaining account of touring with Iggy Pop as a member of his band after his time with Blondie.

In sum, while I would not recommend this as a history of the New York punk rock scene, the book makes no claim to be anything other than a musical biography. As a personal chronicle of the early history of Blondie, it is a book that any fan of the band will enjoy. I may not have learned much that was new, but even reading a different perspective on events I already knew about was worth while.

New York Rocker by Gary Valentine - a Story of Blondie and Other New York Rockers!!!
This is a good book. I don't know if its objective or not, because it was written by Gary Valentine, who was a founding member of Blondie, but he didn't last long with the band. Also, when the band re-united in the 90's, he wasn't asked to re-unite. So consider that when you read it. He did contribute the song "X Offender" and maybe 1 or 2 others to the band.

Gary Valentine was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame along with the other founding members of Blondie, back in 2006. He is a "pretty-good" author, this book covers mainly Blondie, but also briefly covers some others such as Iggy Pop and some of the CBGB New York bands.

Overall, its an interesting book to read, and Gary does have some personal insights into early Blondie, and their founding members.

What ever happened to Gary Valentine?
If you are one of the millions of Blondie fans who ever wondered what happened to Gary Valentine (the composer of Blondie classics "Sex Offender" and "I'm Always Touched By Your Presence Dear") after mysteriously disappearing from the lineup in between the eponymous debut LP and Plastic Letters--and if you wondered why Valentine looked so uncomfortable being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next to Debbie Harry and Chris Stein -- then this is the book for you.Valentine spent ensuing years as a writer and it shows in this gripping, insightful and informative book.Though there are some awkward misspellings--like Ric Ocasek of the Cars' name-- this is an absorbing, entertaining and anecdotal account of the birth of punk, the malaise of latter-day new wave, and the rivalry within a classic band--by someone who lived it every step of the way.

Gary's Valentines
I got this book the other day here on Amazon and I couldn't put it down. Especially during his years with Blondie which were from my point of view the most interesting stories in this book. He has a lot of crazy, funny, scary, and sad stories to tell in this book and they are very entertaining and gripping to read. I couldn't put it down. I had to know more. I love his insight into the whole scene from that period. He links the glitter period to the punk period and back again very well.

Read this book. ... Read more

Product Description
A collection of rock and pop journalism containing 40 articles from over 40 years of music. Articles included are Stephen Davies's report of Led Zeppelin's antics with groupies, the death of Kurt Cobain, and Danny Baker's interview with Michael Jackson. ... Read more

Product Description
Iggy Pop remarked that German photographer Olaf Heine, "is blessed with a clear and inescapable German eye. You better run, or fight back"--and the particularly fierce images that Heine captured of the iconic punk star reveal that Pop did indeed choose to fight back. Heine--due to his ability to get straight to the heart of a person's humanity and individual style--is one of the most innovative and in-demand portrait photographers working today. His portfolio of musicians, actors, athletes, writers and icons is diverse, and includes Michael Stipe, Jared Leto, Sting and Selma Hayek, to name a few. His photos have been used on record covers and in magazines; he has shot advertising campaigns and several dozen music videos. Containing more than 100 works, this volume provides an overview of the photographer's extensive oeuvre, while also presenting Heine's less familiar still lifes, landscapes and architectural photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Whether you love Iggy or not, this is one great bio!
I'm a die-hard fan and I read everything about Iggy that I can get my hands on.This, by far, is the best bio of him.It's hard to find, but it's worth the search!

the best iggy bio around
this one is a real iggy bio. a nice and careful collection of interviews and scrap book work to assembly a close portrait of james osterberg, aka iggy pop...life, friendships, music, misdemeanours and adventures from muskegon to LA, from berlin to NY...lots and lots of news and anedoctes, beautiful b/w pics and a WONDERFUL close-up over iggy's official and unofficial discography until 1987...something to give you a real thrill...if u get to put your hands on it, you're lucky. ... Read more