5th December, 1986 Birmingham Odeon
[I was there!]
Paul Horowitz, Ken Mary, Kip Winger III, Devlin 7, Kane Roberts &, of course, (as stated on the marquee) the Legendary Alice Cooper!
Plus.........a python, a demented nurse, a giant Robot and plenty of on-stage carnage. Even the names above sound like a wind-up.
Here's the set:
Welcome to my Nightmare
Billion Dollar Babies
No More Mr. Nice Guy
Be My Lover
Eighteen
The World Needs Guts
Give It Up
Cold Ethyl
Only Women Bleed
Go To Hell
The Ballad Of Dwight Fry
Teenage Frankenstein
Sick Things
I Love The Dead
School's Out
Elected
Under My Wheels
The comeback tour. 1986. "The Nightmare Returns"
Still have the t-shirt, in pieces, in frames! Hard to believe that Alice, seemingly long-gone, another drunken rock'n roll casualty, was actually fit, let alone returning. Yet the comeback is still on, 32 years later. I don't think anyone expected such an extraordinary return to form and a riveting show to boot. If you think I'm over-reacting, you can still get a dvd of the performance in Detroit (1987). The sequence of 'Teenage Frankenstein' surpasses anything I've ever witnessed in theatre, rock music or in any sporting arena........unbelievable. I used to put the dvd on the for the kids when they were young. Magic.
I'd persuaded my mate, Jose, to come along - he never regretted that!
Alice kicks things off with a mini-tour of his Nightmare world, gargoyles and ghoulish paraphernalia everywhere, as if you'd just dropped in on someone's torture-chamber. Most of his band are placed high up out of the way of his performance area. Apart from Kane Roberts, that is, a Rambo-inspired steroid-king, built like a tank while impersonating Steve Vai on speed. His guitar also doubles for a rocket-launcher. Madness!
The intro to 'Billion Dollar Babies' sees Alice grab a sabre and a baby to antagonise - thankfully it does look plastic. He snarls and kicks it around and the audience go crazy for the mock infanticide. The place erupts as people recognise the opening to 'No More Mr. Nice Guy' and realise that this could be a rather special show and a night to treasure. Another oldie follows. 'Be My Lover' from "Killer" witnesses the return of another firm favourite, Alice's python! If you're going to introduce sexual innuendo why not do it in the grand manner? The anthem 'Eighteen' elicits more cheering, as Alice wanders around leaning on his crutch, a metaphor for all sorts of youthful torment. Then it's time to showcase some material from his new album, "Constrictor." 'Give It Up' is a solid rocker, with Alice now throwing dollar bills around and picking up all kinds of debris and ghostly detritus off his set. He's wiping his arse with dollar bills and brandishing his sword malignantly. 'The World Needs Guts' also goes down well, with its references to blood-letting.
What remains of the tour t-shirt
Then the real theatre begins. Is that an enormous fridge he's opening? Is he actually removing a female corpse from it? Yes! It's Ethyl, his full-size doll and it's time for a spot of necrophilia. The audience can't believe he's gone back to the peak 1975 period and the place erupts as he kicks Ethyl around. She takes a right battering. The lights dim and we hear the first gentle notes of the feminist ballad, 'Only Women Bleed.' In the improving light Ethyl has become a real woman and the psychotic Alice sings his belated apologies for maltreating her. But nevertheless he strangles her and shoves her back in the freezer, before he 'Goes to Hell.' More ghoulies wander around trying to spook and unhinge him. 'The Ballad of Dwight Fry' has Alice placed in a straight-jacket in an asylum. A terrifying nurse administers injections into his neck and head with an oversized hypodermic syringe. He collapses but, as the song climaxes, he recovers and escapes his chains and strangles the nurse, too, as she mocks him. The corpses are starting to pile up!
Next up, the piece-de-resistance. We get our first taste of 'Teenage Frankenstein,' a new anthem. As Kane Roberts launches into another solo Alice wanders across to the other side of the stage and begins to assemble a huge robot from what looks like chunks of debris scattered around the set. The music slows down and he puts the ugliest-looking head on top of this six-foot something creation. The music does its mock Hammer-horror thing and suddenly, as Roberts slams some heavy stomping chords out of his guitar, the robot comes to life! This is impossible. Everyone saw Alice building it. It was empty. The robot 'chases' Alice around the stage menacingly. The theatre is now a riot. He ducks and weaves out of the way of the creature's advances. The robot returns to his original position and, as the music reaches another climax, Alice smashes the robot to bits. Of course, it's hollow and he holds up a part to the audience to prove it. Sensational. That brings the house down. For several minutes the place is in uproar.
A kind of calm pervades for 'Sick Things.' We all need a break. But as Alice sings about his mental fantasies, the guillotine is being prepared by more ghouls. His execution is nigh. Alice is dragged to his place under the guillotine and his head carefully readied for severing. 'I Love the Dead' pounds out and, when the music stops, there's a scream as the blade drops and Alice is beheaded. The executioner parades the severed head around the stage kissing it on the lips. The head responds by spitting blood. It's all rather splendid.
As darkness and silence descend upon the stage there's a loud bell ringing out. Lights up.
Alice comes bounding down with the chords of 'School's Out' thundering out. It's showtime now. He's in his frockcoat and leading the audience in a sing-song. Balloons full of nasty stuff are floated out over the audience and he slashes them with his sabre. The victims are delighted. Then he's gone.
Much stamping for the inevitable encore after that masterclass. 'Elected' is even better, with bullshit nationalism and jingoistic flag-waving to the fore. It's party time. He closes with another oldie, 'Under My Wheels' with its 'Suffragette City' refrain (not even Bowie escapes).
And then, it really is curtains. Absolutely fucking riveting!
What a legend!
