London's Alexandra Palace hosted immense and mesmerizing Punk royalty last night!
I was only a few months old when Iggy Pop played a show in London for the first time.. and by all accounts, he shook things up in the way only Iggy knows how! Now in 2025, his sinewy, self-battle scarred body is 78 years old, yet this incredible man still OWNS a stage like nobody else.
The stately Alexandra Palace in north London hosted yesterday’s gig in its main hall. A gigantic, greenhouse-roofed space which had been converted with enormous sail-like shading, multiple speaker stacks, and a swarm of security staff..
Hailing from the (unlikely for Punk!) territory of the Faroe Islands, first support band Joe & The Shitboys have been lauded by Iggy Pop as “the most exciting band in the world right now”. Formed with the intention of calling out shitty behaviour in their conservative homeland, where the rock scene is filled with “boneless homophobes and meat-eating misogynists”, they continue to take their aim at general vibe killers everywhere. Iggy uses the band’s single ‘Mr. Nobody’ as his walk-out music for a number of shows, and invited them to join this 2025 UK tour. As a long-standing advocate for the band, Iggy has played their output extensively on his BBC Radio 6 Music show. Signing recently to Alcopop Records, the band will release their new album ‘Greatest Shits‘ at the end of August.
For some reason, only three of the quartet appeared on the stage, with the bass player absent.. regrettably, this meant that the sound coming through the speakers was unbalanced, with the tracked-in bass frequently obliterating the rest of the band whenever it kicked in! The duct tape-dungareed guitarist played some sick riffs, but his vocals were mostly inaudiable. Frontman Joe led the band through a set of short, sharp hardcore / rap crossover numbers, but we were also struggling to hear his vocals clearly. Making his way into the middle of the crowd for ‘Shitboys Theme‘, Joe decided to literally have the Shitboys In The House, rallying the crowd to sing along!
Another support band hand-picked by Iggy himself, the genre-defying Bob Vylan were up next. Vocalist Bobby and drummer Bobbie thanking the punk legend profusely. Flanked by a huge Palestinian flag, frontman Bobby was cheered and applauded loudly as he made it clear that the band support the people of Palestine in their struggle for freedom from genocide. He also praised other bands who have the courage to use their platform to speak up for all those who are oppressed, who otherwise would not have a voice.
After a stretch and warm-up, Bobby kicked off the set with the excellent anti-racist ‘I Heard You Want Your Country Back‘ – and so does he! Matching his energy with Bobbie behind the drums, Bobby leapt around the stage – but that wasn’t enough to contain him! Balancing like a cat, Bobby took a walk along the top of the barrier rail, supported by several helping hands, before taking a dive into the crowd to surf through the mosh pit.
Telling us the story of how he confronted a neighbour over domestic violence – risky but essential – Bobby introduced ‘He’s A Man‘, another great number about the ‘Gammonati’ of this country – look it up if you’ve never heard the term!
Leading a chant of “Free Palestine”, echoed by much of the audience, the band played ‘Pretty Songs‘ from their second studio album ‘Bob Vylan Presents the Price of Life‘. Finishing the set with ‘Hunger Games‘, Bobby and Bobbie took a well-earned bow, to rapturous applause, as they once again thanked everyone for being there, and Iggy for his support.
Backed by a seven-strong band, Iggy prowled onto the stage, rapidly discarding his leather waistcoat, taking front and centre position. Launching into The Stooges‘ ‘T.V. Eye‘ there was no doubt that this man can effortlessly command a crowd of thousands with his immense stage presence. Exuding a wild spirit with his raw, unfettered attitude, this was Iggy’s night from start to finish.
Yes. he’s older, and poor health has slowed him down a little, but Iggy’s voice is as powerful as ever and he’s a mesmerizing performer to watch. A plain black backdrop, minimal stage smog, and absolutely no fancy gimmicks needed here! The crowd went as wild as the man himself, keeping the security staff busy as crowd surfers aplenty were hauled across the barrier.
Massive kudos to the band – guitars, keyboard and horn section were all excellent; I was paticularly impressed with the lead guitar solos. It always makes for a cracking show when all of the musicians are clearly enjoying the music so much!
Continuing to enthrall the masses with more Stooges material – ‘Raw Power‘, ‘I Got A Right‘, ‘Gimme Danger‘, ‘Death Trip‘, ‘Loose‘, ‘Search and Destroy‘, ‘Down on the Street‘, ‘1970‘, ‘I’m Sick of You‘ and of course the hypnotic ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog‘, Iggy threw his mic stand and water across the stage, and even descended its heights to get closer to the fans at either end of the barrier, much to their delight!
I could’ve done without the young woman standing next to me bellowing along throughout the show at excessive volume – I paid to hear Iggy sing, not her shouting and screaming – but selfish gig-goers are out there, spoiling it for those of us unfortunate enough to be in their proximity… Luckily, most of the crowd were just happy to be there, and behaved respectfully towards their fellows.
In addition, Iggy’s solo career was well represented, with ‘The Passenger‘, ‘Lust For Life‘, ‘Some Weird Sin‘, ‘Frenzy‘, ‘Nightclubbing‘, ‘Modern Day Rip Off’, ‘I’m Bored‘ and ‘Funtime‘ all making it into his hour and a half long set. We were also treated to Iggy’s version of ‘Real Wild Child (Wild One)‘, a favourite of mine, I was stoked to hear it live! Iggy isn’t all snarling malevolence – he was clearly delighted by the reaction of the wide age range of fans of the hall, and a I even spotted a quick cheeky smile from him mid-song.
Exiting stage left by being wheeled out in a closed coffin, first Iggy’s arm emerged, before he flung open the lid to wave and blow kisses at the enraptured audience. What a way to end a magnificent show – Iggy Pop truly is is the consummate role model for anyone fronting a Punk band!
Main Photo Credit: WILL SEWELL
May 31 – O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester, United Kingdom
Jun. 3 – O2 Academy, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Jun. 7 – In The Meadows 2025, Dublin, Ireland
Jun. 12 – Nova Rock 2025, Nickelsdorf, Austria
Jun. 14 – Mallorca Live Festival 2025, Calvia, Spain
Jun. 17 – Stadtpark Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Jun. 19 – Zitadelle Spandau, Berlin, Germany
Jun. 21 – Peißnitzhaus, Halle (saale), Germany
Jun. 24 – Tollwood – Gesellschaft für Kulturveranstaltungen und Umweltaktivitäten mbH, Munich, Germany
Jun. 29 – Château de Tilloloy, Tilloloy, France
Jul. 1 – Tanzbrunnen Köln, Cologne, Germany
Jul. 3 – Rock Werchter 2025, Werchter, Belgium
Jul. 5 – Down The Rabbit Hole 2025, Ewijk, Netherlands
Jul. 10 – 12 – Pohoda Festival 2025, Trenčín District, Slovakia
Jul. 10 – 12 – Mad Cool Festival 2025, Madrid, Spain
Jul. 17 – Colours of Ostrava 2025, Ostrava 3, Czechia
Jul. 18 – 19 – RockLand Art Fest 2025, Santo Domingo De La Calzada, Spain
Jul. 26 – Project Pabst 2025, Portland, OR
Jul. 28 – Marymoor Park,Redmond, WA
Aug. 3 – 10 – Smukfest 2025, Skanderborg, Denmark
Aug. 7 – 9 – Way Out West 2025, Gothenburg, Sweden
Sep. 7 – The Town 2025, São Paulo, Brazil
Sep. 12 – Movistar Arena, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Usually found jumping around down the front at gigs, I also relish taking photos and videos, singing, speaking with fellow music fans, and asking musicians the questions nobody else does. Writing about my favourite bands and connecting with people who love music too keeps me more-or-less sane! I’ve worked for over 25 years at a video production company, mainly filming live music events, therefore I have an additional backstage perspective on the scene.
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