We’re taking you back to Madonna’s 2008 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame which came with one of the most interesting culture crossovers of all time when Iggy Pop and the Stooges stepped up to perform her tracks “Burning Up” and the Grammy award-winning, “Ray of Light” in honour of the Queen of Pop.

The ceremony, hosted at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, also included the inductions of John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen and the Dave Clark Five along with Madonna who, despite her pop moniker, has surely earned her place in the annals of Rock & Roll History on the strength of attitude alone. And it’s perhaps this rebellion that saw her opt not to perform her own songs on the night, and instead nominate the shirtless Godfather of Punk to reimagine the late-nineties dance hit as a burning introspective post-punk rocker. What better way to pay homage to Madge’s punk spirit! Watch below.

Stooges guitarist, Ron Asheton later said he believed Madonna may have been protesting the Rock Hall’s failure to welcome the Stooges into their ranks at that point, saying: “Basically she was upset that we’ve been nominated so many times and never made it, so she asked us to play in protest. And it was under those auspices that I thought we were doing it.”

“At first I went, ‘Whaaat?’ Then Iggy said, ‘Why don’t you think about it?'” She did think about it and pursued the idea. Soon enough, Iggy realised the chance he had in front of him. “Iggy said ‘We’re gonna rock them up, just play ’em like Stooges songs.”

And perhaps her message was well-received considering Iggy and the Stooges were inducted into the Hall  two years later by Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong.

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