Original band rock like teenagers
Alice Cooper Leeds First Direct Arena
Alice Cooper has never fallen from the upper firmament of rock stars. On his initial ascent in the Seventies, he was the original Marilyn Manson, a “shock-rock” anti-hero who channelled the dark energies that ultimately eclipsed the Sixties hippie dream via a unique collision of Hammer-horror and rock ’n’ roll.
His popularity was only multiplied by the attentions of censorship advocates such as Mary Whitehouse. But, by 1983, Cooper had swapped heavy drinking for marital harmony and golf, and managed to disentangle his outrageous stage persona from his real identity, as mild-mannered Vincent Furnier.
A true gent behind the gory stage routines, Cooper, 69, soon found himself the subject of worship in Wayne’s World. These days, whether touring with Johnny Depp in rock supergroup Hollywood Vampires or celebrating Halloween with Foo Fighters on US TV, his performances remain an arena-filling attraction.
Dedicated Cooperites have been thrilled with the news that, for this latest UK jaunt, he was reconnecting with co-conspirators from his early career – the original Alice Cooper band, who at their peak quit in disillusion with their leader’s theatrical antics. Following an appearance in Nashville in May, this opening UK show was to be their second since 1975.
Anticipation reached fever pitch, as the safety curtain dropped to reveal Cooper on a podium bellowing out 2000’s Brutal Planet, beneath a cascade of pyrotechnics. He was at first backed by his current ensemble, whose hyper-energetic three guitarists he surveyed with the arbitrary nonchalance of a Roman emperor.
For Pain, he donned a burgundy smoking jacket and horsewhipped himself; for Feed My Frankenstein, he was zapped with imaginary electricity, only to emerge as a 12ft prosthetic monster; by Cold Ethyl, he was decked out like a leather Poldark, spanking a limp rag doll.
In a whistle-stop version of his usual finale, he strangled a nurse – actually his wife of 41 years, Sheryl – and was guillotined but, on this occasion, it wasn’t just Alice Cooper who rose from the dead but Alice Cooper, the band. Featuring Dennis Dunaway (bass), Neal Smith (drums) and Michael Bruce (guitar), these “OGS”, as Cooper dubbed them, summoned a deeper, darker mood, bashing out I’m Eighteen as if teenage frustration still ate at their very core. They may resemble The Horrors’ grandads, but during No More Mr Nice Guy, all hell broke loose in the front seats, as security fished out wild-eyed miscreants by the throat – a glimpse of a pre-health and safety world, where rock music had the power to challenge authority, and let the spirit run free.
For the climactic School’s Out, both bands performed together, amid fireworks, ticker tape and balloons, which Cooper merrily pierced with a 12-inch blade. “May you have sick and twisted nightmares!” he triumphantly announced. Certainly, this extravaganza wasn’t easily forgotten.
Alice Cooper’s tour continues to Glasgow (November 12), Birmingham (14), Manchester (15) and London (16). Tickets: axs.com