Iggy Pop to receive prestigious Polaris Music Prize

Past winners include Metallica, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin

Iggy Pop
Author: Scott ColothanPublished 9th Feb 2022

Iggy Pop has been named as one of the winners of this year’s Polaris Music Prize.

Widely heralded as one of the most prestigious honours in music, The Polar Music Prize is an international music prize ‘celebrating the power and importance of music.’

Each year an Award Committee selects two winners, and receiving their award alongside Iggy Pop are the French musical collective Ensemble Intercontemporain.

Each winner will receive a prize of one million Swedish kroner (about £83,000) plus a trophy at the Polaris Music Prize ceremony in Stockholm on Tuesday 24th May 2022.

Past Polaris Music Prize winners include Metallica, Chuck Berry, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, B.B. King, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Ennio Morricone, Sting and Paul McCartney to name but a few.

Iggy Pop says: “I was aware of the very fine range of people that had gotten the Polar Music Prize, so it’s a nice step for me. I respect it and I’m honoured by it. I’m looking forward to coming to Stockholm in May to receive the prize.”

“We are delighted to return in 2022, after a two year absence due to the pandemic, with two incredibly worthy laureates”, says Polaris Music Prize MD Marie Ledin.

“Iggy Pop is unique, there is no one else quite like him. Ensemble Intercontemporain are a ground-breaking collective and their work has helped push the boundaries of modern classical music. We’re THRILLED that we can come together to honour and celebrate the important work of both of these laureates.”

The Polar Music Prize was establishedin 1989 by late ABBA publicist, lyricist and manager Stig Anderson who also co-founded the Swedish record company Polar Music.

The real names of famous musicians, including Iggy Pop:

Mark Berry (Bez)


John Martin Maher (Johnny Marr)


Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (Lana Del Rey)


William Bruce Rose (Axl Rose)


Gerard Crosbie (Gerry Cinnamon)


Edward Louis Severson III (Eddie Vedder)


Farrokh Bulsara (Freddie Mercury)


Michael Peter Balzary (Flea)


Perry Bernstein (Perry Farrell)


Robert Deal (Mick Mars)


Frank Ferrano (Nikki Sixx)


Frank Edwin Wright III (Tré Cool)


Courtney Michelle Harrison (Courtney Love)


Georg Albert Ruthenberg (Pat Smear)


Chaim Klein Witz (Gene Simmons)


James Newell Osterberg, JR. (Iggy Pop)


Vincent Damon Furnier (Alice Cooper)


Saul Hudson (Slash)


Michael Ryan Pritchard (Mike Dirnt)


Ronald James Padavona (Ronnie James Dio)


Bree Joanna Alice Robinson (Brody Dalle)


Chad Robert Turton (Chad Kroeger)


Deborah Anne Dyer (Skin)


Nicholas Jones (Nicky Wire)


Amy Lynn Hartzler (Amy Lee)


William Perks (Bill Wyman)


Jeffrey Isbell (Izzy Stradlin)


Stanley Eisen (Paul Stanley)


Henry Garfield (Henry Rollins)


Richard Harrison (Rick Parfitt)


Vincent Neil Wharton (Vince Neil)


Stevland Hardaway Morris (Stevie Wonder)


Michael McKagan (Duff McKagan)


Ian Kilmister (Lemmy)


John Baldwin (John Paul Jones)


Joan Larkin (Joan Jett)


Keith Palmer (Maxim Reality)


Eric Patrick Clapp (Eric Clapton)


Susan Janet Ballion (Siouxsie Sioux)


David Robert Hayward Stenton Jones (David Bowie)


Richard Wayne Penniman (Little Richard)


John Simon Ritchie (Sid Vicious)


Paul Daniel Frehley (Ace Frehley)


Louis Firbank (Lou Reed)


John Graham Mellor (Joe Strummer)


Mark Feld (Marc Bolan)


David Howell Evans (The Edge)


Marvin Lee Aday (Meatloaf)


Steven Victor Tallarico (Steven Tyler)


John Michael Osbourne (Ozzy Osbourne)


John Francis Bongiovi (Jon Bon Jovi)


John Anthony Gillis (Jack White)


Paul David Hewson (Bono)


Reginald Kenneth Dwight (Elton John)


Gordon Sumner (Sting)


Robert Allen Zimmerman (Bob Dylan)


Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (Lorde)


Gary Mounfield (Mani)


Alan John Wren (Reni)


Quentin Leo Cook (Fatboy Slim)


Jake Edwin Charles Kennedy (Jake Bugg)


Roger Keith Barrett (Syd Barrett)


George Ezra Barnett Smitherson (George Ezra)


William John Paul Gallagher (Liam Gallagher)


Rory Charles Graham (Rag'n'bone Man)


Stephanie Lynn Nicks (Stevie Nicks)


William Michael Albert Broad (Billy Idol)


Steven Patrick Morrissey (Morrissey)


Leslie Sebastian Charles (Billy Ocean)


Paul Arthurs (Bonehead)


Graham McPherson (Suggs)


Stuart Leslie Goddard (Adam Ant)


Andrew John Hozier-Byrne (Hozier)


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