Sex-punk icon Iggy Pop has announced plans for a comeback with his band The Stooges next year, despite the death of guitarist Ron Asheton back in January.
The singer said the 60-year-old's "spirit still lives on" within the group, and continuing his legacy will be on the band's agenda when they return next year for a full tour.
"The band have been rehearsing more without me than with me because I've been doing other things this year. But we have been rehearsing all together more recently," he said. "We're going to be doing a one-off show in Brazil in a few weeks but the real touring starts next year."
Pop announced that early guitarist James Williamson will rejoin the band after nearly 30 years.
"We're all very sorry about Ron," Iggy shared with 6 Music presenter Shaun Keaveny. His spirit within the group remains with the rest of us and he is still a presence within the group without being on the physical plane."
Asheton was found dead by police in Ann Arbor, Michigan back in January of this year. He died in his bed of an apparent heart attack. He was a founding member of the band fronted by Pop in the late 1960s and early 1970s, whose riffs anchored signature Stooges tracks "I Wanna Be Your Dog," "No Fun" and "Down On The Street".
Pop is due to receive the Living Legend award at the Marshall Classic Rock Roll of Honor awards. Looking back on the band's history, he remembers his dedication to the craft blossoming from the recording of early single "1969".
"Once I set out not to go to school and go into music instead I always thought this is what I'm doing with my life now. I never thought, 'Hey this is a youth market so by the time I'm 24 I'd better have my first $3 million."
