10 Most Influential American Acts On British Rock

Iggy And The Stooges have gone through several stints together. But their most significant (and most volatile) was between 1967 and 1973. During this period they released three albums. Although they performed fairly poorly at the time, they went on to become highly regarded and seminal works in rock's evolution.

As the title of their third record, Raw Power (1973), would suggest, they championed high energy driven rock, fuelled by passion, rather than outright skill. Their live shows were raucous events, with Iggy Pop doing his upmost to entertain, shock and enthral. The guitars presented a wall of distorted sound, for Pop to punctuate with his Jim Morrison-esque vocals, and erratic wild-man screeches. It was punk rock before punk had a name.

Their early records would go on to inform British groups during the mid to late '70s. Both the Sex Pistols and the Damned made a name for themselves performing covers of, I Wanna Be Your Dog, No Fun and I Feel Alright. But it wasn't merely punk groups who drew inspiration from the Stooges. David Bowie was a huge fan of Iggy Pop, not only as a musician but as an onstage presence. He would go on to help revive Pop's solo career in the mid '70s, but he also derived the name Ziggy Stadust from Iggy's.