Alvin Gibbs – Some weird sin: On tour with Iggy Pop

UK Subs bassist Alvin Gibbs spent the best part of a year as part of Iggy Pop’s band on the Instinct tour following the release of the album of that name. This book is about that time, from when he first got the call to meet Iggy Pop through to finally leaving after the tour ended.

The book was originally released in 1995 under the name “Neighbourhood threat: On tour with Iggy Pop” and was re-issued in 1998. For this new version he’s added more to it. As he explains in the introduction, the book originally only really included wild antics from former Hanoi Rocks guitarist Andy McCoy who was in the band with him, and glossed over those of Iggy Pop and Alvin Gibbs himself.
Now both the author and Iggy Pop are no longer in relationships with the women they were at the time of the events depicted he now feels free to include some more of their antics. That introduction impressed me and showed he wasn’t out to make money at any cost but had held back stuff to avoid damaging Iggy Pop’s relationship.

It’s a very good book that is easy to read either in a long session or just to pick up, read a bit then put it back down. The fact there are lots of easy break points does mean it’s good for either type of reading.

So what does it cover? Obviously there’s plenty about working with Iggy Pop himself, the shows on the tour, the places they visited as well as bits about what life on the road is really like for bands. Then of course there’s the drinking, the drug abuse and hooking up with women.

I’ve really enjoyed reading this book – it’s well written, easy to read and very interesting and definitely well worth reading, whether you’re a fan of Iggy Pop, Hanoi Rocks, UK Subs, or just a music fan in general.