Iggy Pop returns to BBC Radio 6 Music

There will be other changes to the Friday night schedule, with Tom Ravenscroft’s show moving to 9pm-midnight (from 7-10pm). These changes mean the station will no longer be broadcasting 6 Mix, a weekly show featuring a range of resident and guest DJs delivering a two-hour set.

Iggy Pop says: “Having sat in for Jarvis Cocker last year on BBC Radio 6 Music, I found myself realising how good it was for me. I hope it was good for somebody else too. So I'm gonna do it again this year, on early Friday evenings; what we call in the USA the 'happy hour'. It's kind of an edgy point right at the end of the designated work week, and I'll try to play quite a bit of music that's new and stimulating mixed with very old classics from the blues and jazz masters of the 1920s through Fifties that are a little more moody. I'm gonna think of myself as a kind of atmospheric bartender. I'll try to do my very best.”

Tom Ravenscroft says: “It’s great to have the creative freedom to explore music even more deeply in my new regular slot on 6 Music.”

6 Music has become something of a second home to Iggy, who first presented two shows on the network back in December 2013. Following that success, in March last year, Iggy returned to front a weekly Sunday afternoon show from 4 to 6pm – taking over Jarvis Cocker’s Sunday Service slot while Jarvis took a year’s sabbatical. Each week, Iggy’s shows took a different theme – such as ‘In Praise of Beauty’, ‘Complaint Department’ and ‘Preachers & Seers’ - and he played music linked to that, which included tracks from artists ranging from Sinatra, Beach Boys, The Temptations, Bell Biv Devoe and Bananarama to music from new and emerging artists such as FKA twigs and Curtis Harding.

Paul Rodgers, Head of Programmes for 6 Music, says: "It’s wonderful to be able to welcome back Iggy Pop to 6 Music. Iggy did great work on Sunday afternoons, fast becoming a new favourite for the 6 Music audience and I’m confident listeners will be every bit as appreciative of his new Friday evening slot. I’ve seen some of the music he’s planning to play and its really exciting.

"I’d also like to thank the 6 Mix team. We feel the time is right to make these changes to the Friday night schedule, but we plan to showcase the range music featured on that show elsewhere on 6 Music.”

Last year, Iggy Pop also delivered the fourth John Peel Lecture with a speech on the subject of ‘Free Music in a Capitalist Society’. John Peel was in fact the first DJ to play Iggy Pop as part of The Stooges on UK Radio - introducing listeners to their track Little Doll, from their eponymous debut album, on his show in August 1969.

‘Godfather of punk’ Iggy Pop is considered by many to be one of the pioneers of punk rock music, and his musical legacy has inspired and energised rock and roll’s alternative spirit since the late Sixties, both in The Stooges and as a solo artist. His charismatic and full-on stage presence marks him as a truly iconic frontman.

The Stooges’ third album, Raw Power, has been cited as one of the most influential records of all time, and his incredible back catalogue of classic tracks includes Lust For Life, The Passenger, I Wanna Be Your Dog, Search and Destroy, Real Wild Child and many more. Iggy has also collaborated with other musicians, including David Bowie, Debbie Harry, Death In Vegas and Peaches. Although hugely influential to many of the major acts that came after, Iggy’s own wide-ranging influences include blues, jazz, French chanson, art rock, roots, reggae, ethnic and avant-garde. 

KA

Related BBC Links

• BBC Radio 6 Music