Iggy Pop Newcastle City Hall September 1977 and Redcar Bowl
My writing takes me to the letter “I” and I’m going to start by reflecting on my memories of Iggy Pop in concert. I’ve already written, when I covered David Bowie, about seeing Iggy at Newcastle City Hall with Bowie on keyboards in 1977. I’d also seen Iggy on the TV (was it on the Whistle Test?) throwing himself into the crowd and spreading peanut butter all over his torso at a late 60s gig in the USA. I’d read the reviews of his seminal, wild gig at the Kings Cross cinema (and regretted not going). I’d seen the Sex Pistols play the Stooges’ No Fun the year before, so knew a little about the Iggy legend and his impact on punk. The City Hall was barely half full for the Iggy/Bowie gig in March 1977. 
As I recall Iggy was good, but not as wild as usual. He was however back to play to a packed City Hall later in the year and went totally crazy, climbing all over the amps, rolling around the stage, with his trousers coming open. Support was the Adverts, who were also great, featuring TV Smith and Gaye Advert, and playing their singles Gary Gilmore’s Eyes and Bored Teenagers. A few years later I caught Iggy again at Redcar Coatham Bowl (with the Sex Pistols’ Glen Matlock on bass), he was smoking on stage and flicking lit cigarettes into the crowd (how times change…).
Iggy was totally crazy and seemed to have no fear at all in those days. There was always an edge of madness and danger around his gigs; you felt that the guy was totally out of control and that anything could happen. His craziness encouraged the crowd to do likewise with lots of stage invasions. He has taken stage invasion to its extreme in recent years, inviting the entire crowd to come up and join him when he plays No Fun! I found a published setlist from the City Hall in 1977 which seems a little short. I am sure he played more songs than this, including old Stooges favourites: Sixteen; Lust for Life; The Passenger; I Got a Right; Gimme Danger; Success; Fall in Love With Me; Neighborhood Threat; Nightclubbing. I saw Iggy a few more times and will write on those over the next few days.
9 May
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