See Iggy Pop’s Infamous Peanut-Butter Incident in Stooges Doc Clip
A new documentary by filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, Gimme Danger, looks back on the legacy of Iggy Pop and the Stooges. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last week and will get its New York City premiere on October 28th with a Los Angeles debut to follow November 4th.
The clip premiering here shows Pop’s infamous “peanut butter incident” in Cincinnati in June 1970 when he climbed atop the audience’s hands and smeared the condiment all over his chest and whisked it into the crowd during an extended performance of the Fun House rager “1970.” An announcer is heard saying, “Since we broke away for our [commercial], Iggy has been in the crowd and out again three different times.”
In voiceover, Pop says the Stooges were all about the drama onstage. “The group was always very aware of the theatrics of the moment and they never moved ever,” he explains. “In 40 minutes, the drummer would never look up and the other two might move a foot or two.”
“The way he works a gig, it reminds you that life big time is in the moment,” Mike Watt, who played bass on recent Stooges tours, says. “The moment is really intense about what’s going down. Because, you know, I feel like a short-order cook: I’ve got to get everybody’s order. You want fries? You want a shake? In his mind he says he’s going to the crowd.”
In addition to Pop and Watt, Gimme Danger features Stooges members Ron and Scott Asheton, guitarist James Williamson, saxophonist Steve Mackay, the Ashetons’ sister Kathy and manager Danny Fields.
Jarmusch discussed the doc with Rolling Stone in 2010. “It’s something that Iggy asked me to do about a year ago, because he knew I was a huge fan of the Stooges,” he said. “It’s not an overview of Iggy Pop or his life or his career, but of course the Stooges are so important in the history of music, and certainly Iggy’s the engine of it.”
Find out five things you didn’t know about Iggy Pop. Watch here.