Raw Power: Iggy Pop invents stage diving in 1970 and smears himself in peanut butter

from Richard Metzger at DangerousMinds



As is (tragically) the case with the Velvet Underground, there is precious little sync-sound footage of Iggy Pop and the Stooges in their heyday, although there was a fair amount of silent Super-8 film that was shot. (A guy I know purchased an old film projector at a flea market that came with silent footage of Iggy onstage circa 1973, believe it or not. He later sold it to Vh1).

As far as I am aware, the sole “live” footage that exists of the Stooges comes from the Cincinnati Summer Pop Festival of 1970 (AKA Midsummer Rock Festival). Appearing on a bill with Grand Funk Railroad, Alice Cooper, Mountain and Traffic, the group performs “T.V. Eye” and “1970” as Iggy leaps into the crowd—probably inventing crowd-surfing in the process—smearing peanut butter all over his chest. It’s one of the most primal and primitive rock and roll moments of all time and resulted in the iconic photograph above. Thank the gods that this footage exists, too. [For the Stooges section, go directly to 6 minutes in on the clip].

Note the square announcer’s reaction: “That’s… peanut butter!” Years later Stiv Bators of the Dead Boys took credit for bringing the tub of peanut butter from his home in Dayton, OH and putting it into the Iggster’s hands.

Here’s a link to a vintage Creem magazine article about the Stooges from Lester Bangs and a recent article about the festival from the Cincinnati CityBeat.