Iggy Pop Says He Was Once Asked About Joining AC/DC

Iggy Pop says he was once asked about becoming AC/DC‘s singer.

In an expansive interview with the New York Times promoting his new studio album Every Loser, Pop recalls being approached by the manager of the Australian hard rock group about the job.

“They had a manager many years ago, when I hadn’t reformed the Stooges, I hadn’t moved to England,” he recalled. “And this guy said, ‘Are you interested in joining AC/DC?’ They were looking for a singer.”

Pop goes on to explain that he didn’t consider himself a good fit for the job. “I listened to their record. I thought, I can’t fit that bill. I wasn’t like, ugh, I don’t like them. It was quite well made. They do careful work, but I’m not what they needed.”

The article doesn’t specify when this offer was made. In 1972 Pop relocated to London to record Raw Power with a reconfigured Stooges lineup. That album was released in February of 1973. AC/DC didn’t form until nine months later and didn’t release their first album until 1975’s High Voltage.

After the February 1980 death of Bon Scott, AC/DC is known to have considered numerous candidates to replace him. They ultimately chose Brian Johnson, who sang on that year’s Back in Black and has fronted the group ever since.

Pop did meet Scott once – there’s a photo on the internet of the singers talking backstage at the Whiskey in L.A. in 1977, with Pop covered in purple paint. But he doesn’t remember it. “I had some wonderful encounter with Bon somewhere, and we were both drunk and stoned,” he explained. “I see pictures sometimes. I go, I don’t remember, but that’s me with Bon! I loved what he did.”