Truly the last of the independents

On the eve of his 65th birthday, Iggy Pop can look back with pride on surviving his career in rock’n’roll, says Ian Forde

TOMORROW is Iggy Pop’s 65th birthday. It is also World Record Store Day and, as befits one of the great independent spirits of popular music, Pop is ambassador for the event, which celebrates the survival of independent record stores across the world.

Like his friend and sometime collaborator, David Bowie, who reached pension age in January, Pop’s own survival is something of a miracle.