Iggy Pop says he once turned down an approach to join AC/DC: "I'm not what they needed"

Iggy Pop
(Image credit: Vincent Guignet)

Iggy Pop says he once turned down an approach to join AC/DC.

The revelation comes in a new interview conducted with The New York Times

Recalling the approach, Pop says, "They had a manager many years ago, when I hadn’t re-formed the Stooges, I hadn’t moved to England, and this guy said, 'Are you interested in joining AC/DC?' They were looking for a singer."

The singer does not specify if this approach was made following the death of Bon Scott in 1980, ahead of Brian Johnson joining Malcolm and Angus Young's band.

Asked if he considered the offer, Pop tells the NYT, "No, because I listened to their record. I thought, I can’t fill 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 singer does, however, state that he "loved what [Bon Scott] did."

"I had some very wonderful encounter with Bon somewhere," he tells interviewer Dave Marchese, "and we were both drunk and stoned. I see pictures sometimes. I go, I don’t remember, but that’s me with Bon! I loved what he did. "

Back in the present, Brian Johnson says has been "told not to" answer questions about whether he'll play live with AC/DC again, stating "It's the official line."

Asked on US radio station SiriusXM's Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk whether he'll play live with AC/DC ever again, Johnson said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth): "I'm not answering that. Why should I? First of all, there's five members in this band, and to ask one member isn't fair."

Pressed on whether he wants to play with AC/DC live again, Johnson doubled down, replying,"Eddie, I cannot answer that. I've been told not to by everybody. It's the official line."

Johnson also refused to answer a question about whether AC/DC will record a follow-up to 2020's Power Up album, stating: "It's gettin' tabloidy here. You're gettin' tabloidy. If I say one thing, it'll be blown out of all proportion. You just can't afford to talk now. There's too much blabber on the Internet. And I'm not on any kind of Face-thing or social media at all — never have been. It's just gossip."

Iggy Pop, however, is definitely releasing a new album: his 19th solo collection, Every Loser, will emerge this week, in fact, on January 6.

Paul Brannigan
Contributing Editor, Louder

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.