From doing turns at New York’s CBGB club to playing a coffee-drinking zombie in The Dead Don’t Die, there really is nothing that the rock and punk icon Iggy Pop cannot do. And nothing could have reinforced his status as a music legend any better than his performance at Alexandra Palace.
Iggy Pop
Alexandra Palace, London – 28 May 2025
Words: Steve Kenton
Photography: Manuela Langotsch
It is no secret that Iggy has his fair share of health issues. Supporting a body that has less fat on it than a butcher’s hook stands a frame that is contorted and twisted due to some quite severe ailments.
This does not stop Iggy Pop from doing what he does best: manipulating, entertaining and controlling an audience like a circus ringmaster. At 78 years old, the singer is more mobile and energetic than many men half his age, and his fantastic performance at the Ally Pally was a testament to that.
With his seven-piece backing band, which included the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Nick Zinner, Pop ripped off his shirt and burst into life with the Stooge’s classic, T.V. Eye. This was quickly followed up by another two Stooge’s numbers, Raw Power and I Got A Right.
The tone was set by the band with the sheer quality of their musicianship. The horn section, in particular, was a delight to the ears.
The chords to Gimme Danger then burst out of the monitor, a familiar opening reminiscent of Neil Young’s Rockin’ In The Free World. This number was broken up in the middle with some beautiful, attention-grabbing bass work, but all eyes were on the godfather of punk.
“La La La La LaLaLaLa – I am a Passenger.” Hands go up, mobile phones go up, and beer flies up as Iggy breaks into possibly his most iconic number. It was clearly no hardship to work the crowd up into a wild frenzy.
No man nor woman was left behind with The Passenger. Everybody was involved, all orchestrated by the gravel-voiced ringmaster, and another classic was to follow. 
Only Iggy Pop can sing about hypnotising chickens. However, when Lust For Life kicked in, it was not just chickens under his spell. An entire auditorium was at his mercy, and this track had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand.
Pop then decided to drop down to audience level during the song Death Trip. Initially looking like an extremely precarious and unwise manoeuvre for a man who is over a decade past pensionable age, Iggy just took it in his stride, interacting with the incumbents of an excited moshpit.
Lifting him back up onstage looked utterly terrifying. Would he slip? Would he faceplant the floor? Nope, the punk legend knew exactly what he was doing, with faux, fearful looks as he was being lifted up. Well, of course, he knew what he was doing, as he had done this a thousand times.
Following on came Loose before I Wanna Be Your Dog was launched out of the traps and into the ears of the audience. A visibly tired Iggy Pop ploughed through the track, dropping to the stage floor, releasing his “inner dog”, rolling over, crawling on all fours and exposing his tongue like an exuberant puppy.
Iggy was having fun, and so were the crowd.
Search And Destroy and Down On The Street then wowed the crowd. Chants of “I feel alright” reverberated from the crowd as 1970 then burst through the monitors, followed up by I’m Sick Of You. Chants of “Iggy Iggy Iggy” cracked through the space between songs like a mantra from a brainwashed cult.
Some Weird Sin then fired up from the band, who, it has to be said, were absolutely excellent throughout every track. The two guitarists were musical perfection. Zinner’s soloing was understated yet a perfect contrast to his counterpart’s superb rhythm playing.
The bass player was as cool as a Fox’s glacier mint. The only shapes being pulled were by his left hand on the fretboard, and those shapes were spot-on. With a really tight drummer and funky horn and keyboard section, they were a class act.
Frenzy entered the fray, and a frenzy started in the moshpit. With the beer flying yet again and people getting tossed upside down, it is a safe bet that 40 or 50 quid in small change would probably be collected from the floor by those who were tasked with cleaning Ally Pally after the gig.
Now, seeing the inside of one’s coffin is not normally associated with laughter and cheering. However, this was Iggy Pop, and anything was possible. With the start of Nightclubbing, the wizened old rocker sauntered over to his place of rest and climbed in, much to the amusement of the crowd.
Modern Day Rip Off was followed by two back-to-back classics and blew the audience away. I’m Bored was followed by Real Wild Child, and the audience was in ecstasy. People knew the end of the gig was near and so they lapped up everything Iggy had to offer.
There was even a stage invader during Real Wild Child (Wild One). Iggy initially gave the over-exuberant fan a shove, and he was dragged offstage. However, in true Iggy style, the punk legend took pity on the reveller and invited him up onto the stage. Sadly, the fan did not take Pop up on his invitation and disappeared back into the moshpit.
The final song of the night was Funtime before Iggy then disappeared back into his coffin and was wheeled off on a trolley. A single arm emerged from the closed casket to give the thronging masses a wave.
Let’s be clear. A man of Iggy Pop’s age and past indulgences has no right to be as effervescent, energetic and entertaining. Yet here we were, and here Iggy Pop was still rocking out like a man half his age.
It would not surprise me if he is still tearing up the stage when he’s 88.
If you get the chance to see this icon in action, beg, steal or borrow to get a ticket and get down to the O2 Victoria Warehouse in Manchester tonight.
