Rewind: The Idiot - Iggy Pop (1977)

The Idiot is the debut solo album by frontman of The Stooges Iggy Pop. It was the first of two LPs released in 1977 which Pop wrote and recorded in collaboration with David Bowie (the other being Lust For Life).

The album was recorded in Berlin at the same time that Bowie was recording Low and Heroes. It was the first album of Iggy's (including his stuff with The Stooges) that had charted in the UK. Two singles were released Sister Midnight and China Girl, both had the same B-Side Baby! Neither single charted but six years on from this David Bowie would have a massive hit single with China Girl when he included it on his Let's Dance album. 

It's a very different sound to Raw Power that was released in 1973. But on the UK Tour and parts of the US tour the shows still had a real Stooges-like feel, and if you didn't notice on the keyboards and backing vocals was a certain chap called David Bowie! Here's a recording of a show from Birmingham 1977. They hadn't quite mastered getting many of the tracks from The Idiot into the live setting with only three songs from the album featured in the set.

 The Idiot - Iggy Pop

RCA

Produced by David Bowie

Released 18th March 1977

US Chart #72

UK Chart #30

Personnel
    Iggy Pop – vocals
    David Bowie – keyboards, synthesizer, guitar, piano, saxophone, xylophone, backing vocals, production
    Carlos Alomar – guitar
    Dennis Davis – drums
    George Murray – bass guitar
    Phil Palmer – guitar
    Michel Santangeli – drums
    Laurent Thibault – bass