a reference to the novel but also felt his friend was simply insulting him. Erich Heckel's painting Roquairol inspired the album's cover photo. It is a black-and-white flopped image photograph taken by photographer Andy Kent, it depicts Pop striking what Pegg calls a "tortured, stiff-limbed pose" based on the figure in the painting. Bowie would later use the same painting as inspiration for the cover artwork for "Heroes". Although Pop completed The Idiot by August 1976, Bowie wanted to be sure he had his own album in stores before the release. Thibault opined that "[Bowie] didn't want people to think he'd been inspired by Iggy's album, when in fact it was all the same thing". Bowie recorded Low between September and October, and released through RCA Records in January 1977. Because Low had a sound similar to The Idiot, the label feared it would not sell well. Nevertheless, the former and its first single "Sound and Vision" were commercial successes. The success of "Sound and Vision" allowed Bowie to persuade RCA to release The Idiot, which they did on March 18, 1977. The Idiot peaked at number 72 on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart, spending 13 weeks on the chart. It also spent three weeks on the UK Albums Chart, reaching number 30, marking Pop's first top 40 album. It also peaked at number 88 on the Kent Music Report in Australia. RCA released the singles "Sister Midnight" and "China Girl" in February and May 1977, respectively; both had the same B-side—"Baby", and failed to chart. Although RCA was hoping he would tour to support Low, Bowie opted instead to further support Pop on his own tour. With Bowie playing keyboards, he assembled a band that included Ricky Gardiner on guitar, with brothers and future Tin Machine bandmates Tony Fox and Hunt Sales on bass and drums, respectively. Rehearsals for The Idiot tour began in mid-February 1977 and, according to Gardiner, went very well. He said Bowie was fine with restricting his involvement, not appearing to "undermine" Pop at all. The tour, Pop's first since the demise of the Stooges, began on March 1. The opening act was American rock band Blondie, who Bowie and Pop invited after the pair heard the band's 1976 debut album. Songs played included popular Stooges numbers, a couple of tracks from The Idiot, and songs that would appear on Pop's follow-up