As the godfather of punk turns 70 on April 21, here's a look back at Iggy Pop's career and outrageous stage antics, and the path that led the young James Newell Osterberg, Jr. to become one of rock history's most iconic performers.

A rare picture of the 1970s shows Iggy Pop performing in a rather unusual outfit - considering he would usually appear half naked on stage. The singer is renowned for being wild and excessive, provocative and at times even disgusting. Even though that can be easy to accomplish by consuming the right drugs - something Iggy Pop readily did - his style remains unique.

Many fans see Iggy Pop as the inventor of stage diving. He's also occasionally landed on the floor after jumping from the stage into the crowd. He loves to swear at his public, to attack his guitar amplifier and to cut his breast with pieces of broken glass. If you've ever been to one of his concerts with his band The Stooges, you've witnessed what rock'n'roll is all about.

After Iggy Pop moved to Berlin in the mid 70s, he was taken care of by David Bowie. He helped Iggy get his drug problem under control, and to produce his two most successful albums, namely "The Idiot" and "Lust for Life." His biggest hit was "The Passenger." The cult film "Trainspotting" (1996) made his song "Lust for Life" successful again.

Iggy Pop also performed in many films. He starred opposite Tom Waits in Jim Jarmusch's episode film "Coffee and Cigarettes" (2003), where the two of them discuss how to quit smoking. This episode of the film was initially released as a short film called "Somewhere in California," in 1993. It received the Palme d'Or for best short film at the prestigious film festival in Cannes.

"Gimme Danger" by Jim Jarmusch is a documentary about Iggy Pop and The Stooges. It covers their entire career starting from the early years, covering their reunion in 2003, and ending when Iggy Pop and The Stooges were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The documentary that was already shown in Cannes in 2016 will hit German movie theaters on April 27, 2017.

Even tough rock stars dress up when they are nominated for a Golden Globe. In 2017, Iggy Pop received a nod in the category best film song, without however taking home the sought-after recognition. The song is part of the soundtrack of the movie "Gold" starring Matthew McConaughey.

Iggy Pop doesn't seem to care about the fact that his sinewy body is getting older. He still performs onstage, and he still sweats a lot during the shows. He also still produces new albums although they aren't always successful (like his cooperation with Metallica) or noteworthy (like his album of French covers). His latest album, entitled "Post Pop Depression," was released in 2016.

David Robert Jones was born in 1947. To avoid confusion with Davy Jones of The Monkees, he chose the name Bowie, inspired by the Bowie fighting knife. His earliest hit, "Space Oddity," was released in 1969, just five days before Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. It introduced a fictional astronaut called Major Tom, a character which would reappear throughout Bowie's career.

A series of personae would follow Major Tom. Bowie's most famous and iconic one, Ziggy Stardust, appeared for the first time in 1972. Ziggy was an androgynous alien rock star who served as a messenger for extraterrestrial beings. His dyed red hair and striking costumes had a punk glam-rock edge. Bowie said he tried to achieve "a one-man revolution" with his alter-ego: Many would agree he did.

A new Bowie persona was introduced in 1976, with the album "Station to Station," called the Thin White Duke. The red hair and the makeup were gone, and the eccentric glam suits were replaced by stylish, more conventional suits. But despite the more "normal" appearance, Bowie's personality was affected by the massive amounts of cocaine he was consuming at the time.

This 1976 science-fiction film is about an alien who crashes on Earth. It was the first film in which David Bowie starred and there is still a cult surrounding the movie thanks to Bowie's performance, along with its surreal imagery. Bowie said he felt as alienated as the character he was depicting because of his extreme cocaine abuse at the time.

To get away from the drug scene in Los Angeles, David Bowie moved to West Berlin by the end of 1976. Living in a district with a strong Turkish community, Schöneberg, Bowie felt Berlin "was one of the few cities where I could move around in virtual anonymity. I was going broke; it was cheap to live. For some reason, Berliners just didn't care," he once told the magazine "Uncut."

From 1976 to 1979, he created his "Berlin trilogy," three albums which include the influential "Low" (1977), co-produced by Brian Eno and Tony Visconti. This album radically departed from his usual songwriting to experiment with avant-garde music. Sharing an apartment with Iggy Pop, Bowie also contributed to his albums, "The Idiot" and "Lust for Life."

The German film "Christiane F." from 1981 tells the story of a teenager who becomes a drug addict and a prostitute in the seedy Bahnhof Zoo area in West Berlin. David Bowie appears in the film, when the 12-year-old Christiane sneaks out to see him in concert. The film (and the non-fiction book it is based on) both acquired cult status - Bowie's soundtrack certainly boosted its success.

Bowie will also be remembered by many children of the 80s as Jareth, the Goblin King, in the 1986 fantasy film "Labyrinth." Directed by Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets, and produced by George Lucas, most of the characters in the film were played by puppets.

Confounding all Ziggy Stardust fans, Bowie turned up once again with another radical style shift in the 80s, surfing on the New Wave. He teamed up with Queen for the hit single "Under Pressure" in 1981 and his commercially greatest hit of the decade was "Let's Dance" from 1983.

Bowie kept reinventing himself throughout the rest of his career, reuniting for example with Brian Eno in 1995 for the concept album "Outside," which put back his musical genius in the spotlight. In 2013, he released a single for his 66th birthday called "Where Are We Now?" in which he contemplates his Berlin years.

He celebrated his 69th birthday on January 8, 2016 with the release of another album acclaimed by the critics, "Blackstar." Through his death two days later on January 10, the world discovered that Bowie had spent the last 18 months fighting cancer. "Blackstar" testifies one last time to his perpetual reinvention and musical genius.

In the British rock scene at the end of the 1960s, the Stones were the bad boys; Black Sabbath was devilish; Led Zeppelin was writing the best songs and Pink Floyd was doing psychedelic stuff. But Deep Purple was "the loudest pop group in the world." Employing a Hammond organ, hard guitar riffs and Ian Gillan's distinctive vocals, Deep Purple were the forefathers of hard rock and heavy metal.

In April 1968, Rod Evans, Jon Lord, Richie Blackmore, Nicky Simper and Ian Paice form their new band, record an album and make a hit with their single "Hush." Two albums later, the group makes changes: a different record label and different band members. Ian Gillan replaces Evans on vocals; Roger Glover follows Simper on bass guitar. The legendary "Mark II" team is up and running.

This cast of band members gives a landmark performance: a concert at Royal Albert Hall, accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. A rock band had never played there before. Deep Purple could do it because they had created a masterful combination of rock and classical music - largely due to the classically trained keyboardist Jon Lord. The "Concerto" became Deep Purple's first live album.

The "Concerto" was lovely and all. But just to ensure people didn't forget what kind of music they really were doing, Deep Purple took a harder line. On the album "In Rock," songs like "Speed King" and "Child in Time" showed people what they were all about: total hard rock with classical elements, along with Gillan's explosive vocals. It was a global breakthrough and garnered gold numerous times.

With the award-winning double LP "Live in Japan," Deep Purple reaches its "Mark II" zenith in 1973. After years of hard work, the band implodes - Glover and Gillan leave. David Coverdale takes up the microphone. But the "Mark III" line-up doesn't last even two years. Blackmore leaves because he can't stand Coverdale. His replacement, however, cannot fill the gap, and the band breaks up in 1976.

The legendary "Mark II" line-up is together once again - a record label allegedly offered each musician a pretty penny. The boys get right down to business: The album "Perfect Strangers" serves up the old Purple sound, but with fresh elements. Their fans are grateful, and the album goes Top Ten everywhere. The band tours, and everything is going well - until Gillan and Blackmore lock horns again.

Ian Gillan leaves the band again after four years. A new vocalist steps in, but the band is losing steam. All the personnel changes rattle fans as well. The 1990s album "Slaves & Masters" does not garner much praise; the new singer has to leave. Much to Blackmore's chagrin, the band again tries to win Gillan back. And he does come back one last time.

The band patches things up and manages to make another good album together. But between two tours, Blackmore exits for the last time. Joe Satriani steps in for him and plays the Japan tour. And the weird back-and-forth of the band line-up continues. The band continues to produce albums and tours - up until today.

Of course, the band also has to perform at the biggest heavy metal festival in the world - in Wacken, Germany. In 2013, Deep Purple opens its gig in front of 75,000 people with "Highway Star." Ian Gillan appears a little feeble. Still, the live album "From the Setting Sun…" is released, and simultaneously "…to the Rising Sun" - with a live recording from Japan.

The Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland is famous for expanding the boundaries of jazz. That's why Deep Purple are welcome guests at the festival. They were there in 1971, when a fire broke out during Frank Zappa's concert. Jon Lord followed that up by writing Deep Purple's biggest hit: "Smoke on the Water." It vies with "Satisfaction" for having the most famous guitar riff of all time.

The old Deep Purple champs Ian Gillan, Ian Paice and Roger Glover still play everywhere these days. Don Airey took up Jon Lord's place at the keyboard, after he passed away in 2012. Steve Morse plays guitar. And now in their 60s and 70s, they're still rockin'.