January 25, 2012 13:41

Iggy Pop named Record Store Day 2012 ambassador

The annual independent record shop event takes place on April 21

Photo: Andy Willsher/NME

Iggy Pop has been named ambassador of Record Store Day 2012.

Set to take place on April 21, Record Store Day sees exclusive releases and special shows to celebrate independent record shops. The Stooges main man has said of his new role: "As Record Store Day Ambassador for 2012 I feel like a representative from some exotic jungle full of life and death and sex and anger, called upon to wear a leopard skin and translate joy to the world of the dead."

He added: "A person should have a personality. You won't get one dicking around on a computer. It helps to go somewhere where there are other persons. Persons who are interested in something you are. That's how a record store or any shop that's got some life to it should work. It's not about selling shit."

He continued: "I got my name, my musical education and my personality all from working at a record store during my tender years. Small indie shops have always been a mix of theatre and laboratory. In the 50s and 60s the teen kids used to gather after school at these places to listen free to the latest singles and see if they liked the beat."

"You could buy the disc you liked for 79 cents and if you were lucky meet a chick. Clerks in these places became managers, (like Brian Epstein), label heads, (Jac Holzman) and Faces on album covers (like me)."

For more information on Record Store Day, visit recordstoreday.com. The Flaming Lips' frontman Wayne Coyne is working on a compilation of tracks with other artists for the 2012 event including Neon Indian, Lightning Bolt and Prefuse 73, reports Billboard.com.