In New York, Lenny Kaye, a guitarist and writer who had written one of the first positive reviews of the Stooges’ debut album back in 1969, had formed a band with poet Patti Smith - the two of them had gone to visit Iggy and James in the Coronet back in 1974, and the next year had released their stunning debut album as the Patti Smith Group, Horses. The Ramones, most of whom had also bought the Stooges’ debut and seen them at the Electric Circus in May 1971, had recorded their own debut album, under the auspices of Danny Fields, in February 1976. In Germany and Paris, prominent fans included Harald Inhülsen - whose fanzine Honey That Ain’t No Romance published numerous photos of his girlfriend Mechthild Hoppe naked but for strategically placed Stooges literature - Marc Zermati, owner of the record store Open Market in Paris, and photographer and writer Philippe Mogane, who launched the Stooges fan club in France. In London, the influence of the Stooges was even more profound. Brian James had first heard Fun House in 1971 and had subsequently embarked on a long quest.
