Iggy Pop’s 1977 song ‘Lust for Life’ was shaped by an unexpected studio problem when its drummer failed to appear, prompting David Bowie and Pop to build the track around a drum-machine pattern. The resulting beat became one of punk’s most recognisable rhythms and helped give the song its enduring, cross-generational appeal.

Bowie devised the rhythm using an early drum machine, reportedly inspired by the Motown song ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’, while Pop developed lyrics around the driving groove. The song appeared on Pop’s album Lust for Life and later gained wider exposure through advertising, films and television; its rhythm has also been sampled or echoed in hip-hop, including on successful modern records.