David Bowie and Iggy Pop first met in 1971 at Max’s Kansas City, a musical hotspot in New York City, while Bowie was on tour to promote his album The Man Who Sold the World.

The then-largely unknown proto-punk rocker made a deep impression on Bowie, and was a partial inspiration for Bowie's Ziggy Stardust persona.

Bowie invited Pop, who was experiencing heroin addiction, to London, where he helped mix Iggy and the Stooges’ album Raw Power. Though the album would eventually become a classic, the band collapsed and Pop continued to battle drug abuse.

In California, Pop checked himself into a mental institution to try to overcome his addiction. Bowie, who used cocaine himself, was among his few visitors.

When Bowie embarked on his Station to Station tour in 1976, he brought Pop along.

The pair moved into an apartment in West Berlin, over an auto parts shop. Bowie began what was to be the first of his Berlin trilogy of albums, and he and Iggy collaborated on writing and recording Pop’s first solo album, The Idiot.

In 1977, Iggy Pop finally went on a 30-date world tour as a solo act. His backup band included David on keyboards and backing vocals. That year the two also collaborated on Pop’s second album, Lust for Life, which would become a long-awaited critical and commercial success.