BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 7th December 2017
Another chance to hear Alice Copper sharing his musical milestones with Matt Everitt. First broadcast in 2011.
The image of Alice Cooper as a cartoon-ish Halloween schlock rocker is one that the 63 year old Vincent Damon Furnier has worked had to establish, but his real musical and cultural impact is often ignored.
His band emerged from the Detroit garage rock scene of the mid 60s alongside the MC5 and Iggy & the Stooges and he can lay claim to helping inspire punk as much as either of those revered acts (it's no coincidence his track Eighteen was sung by Johnny Rotten at his audition for the Sex Pistols). But Alice also helped develop the idea of the rock concert as theatre - employing theatrical imagery and stagecraft way before Bowie picked up the pan stick.
In 2011, Matt Everitt spoke to Alice about his early years, how he developed his showmanship, and the massive international success that followed albums such as Welcome to my Nightmare and School's Out - albums that turned him into a household name. With typical grace and humour, Alice also discusses his battles with alcoholism, his creative rebirth with a cameo in Wayne's World, and his life as a born-again Christian - an interesting contradiction considering the characters he portrays and the battles he's endured with moral crusaders.
And, of course, we talk about his current addiction... golf (he plays six days a week off a handicap of two).
Alice Cooper - Elected
Chuck Berry - School Days [Backline]
Frankie Avalon - Venus [Old Gold]
The Beach Boys - All Summer Long [EMI]
The Beatles - She Loves You [Apple]
The Yardbirds - I'm A Man [Band Of Joy]
Frank Zappa - Dancin' Fool [Rykodisc]
Frank Zappa - Peaches En Regalia [Rykodisc]
Alice Cooper - I'm Eighteen
David Bowie - All The Young Dudes [EMI]
Alice Cooper - Poison [Columbia]
Alice Cooper - School's Out [Warner E.S.P.]
Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies
Alice Cooper - Welcome To My Nightmare
The Who - I'm A Boy [Polydor]
The Yardbirds - Train Keep A Rollin [Go On De Luxe]
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