Words & Photography by Ritchie Birnie for MPM
The greatest performer on Earth has traded in his straight jacket, swords and top hat for an audience with style show and it proves he does not need to be singing to hold a crowd in the palm of his hands.
Tonight is based around his book which has already become a number one best seller and without doubt is a biography that is not to be missed.
The compere here in Glasgow was Billy Sloan which I found a bit strange as he was not exactly an advocate for Rock and Metal back in the day but he did a good job (Except for dropping the Mic while Alice was reading from the book).
This show did feel intimate and in some parts unreal as I could actually hear my camera clicking whilst taking photos, which was something I have never had before. It was also very pleasant not to hear people talking. Everyone was completely fixated on what the great man had to say.
The night was basically Mr Sloan asking questions on some of the tales from within the book, from some of the terrible reviews the Alice Cooper band had in the beginning, the infamous chicken story and then stories of some of Alice’s friends who just so happen to be legends from screen and stage going way back to the fifties. So much so I thought that if my parents were alive this was one show I could actually talk to them about with the likes of Salvador Dali, Mae West( maybe I would not tell that story) and Frank Sinatra all mentioned.
This also got me thinking on just how many people from these stories are no longer with us and how much pain and loss Alice has suffered throughout the years and why he could write a song called “My Dead Drunk Friends”.
As much as I loved all these stories it was when Alice focused on his own journey that I was most transfixed. His drinking, his drugs, his religion and to my absolout joy his mentioning what happened when he checked himself into an insane asylum. That obviously led onto the writing of the album “From the Inside” and is to this day my favourite Alice album.
I do not see the point in going through each story as you really should go to this show yourself or at least read the book but there were two huge laugh out loud moments the first of which was regarding the insane asylum and upon his farewells before he left an inmate asking what was the first thing you will do when you get out and after his reply Alice asked the man what would be the first thing he does when he gets out and he replied, kill you.
The second was from the fan Q&A when asked if there was a biopic about him who would he want to play him and Alice replied “Well Johhny Depp would be good but he isnt handsome enough”.
Before the interval and at the end of the show Alice would read a chapter from his book like a sermon at a church but this was brought out my a dark, robed person which I am sure was a homage to Marty Feldman from Young Frankenstein…Hump, what hump?
We also got a quick chat with Alice’s wife and dancer Sheryl and I am sure she could do a show like this all on her own and I bet we would get some very, dark and twisted stories that are not in the book but this is a Hollywood love story that actually stuck and you can see nothing but respect and admiration in both their eyes. Cupids arrow may not have flown straight and true and may have went through the brain before finally settling in the heart but what else would you expect with Mr Cooper.
My Journey with Alice started in 1980, this year marks the 40th year since I first saw him live and after witnessing many shows in many different countries I am still here and through all the theatrics, having been covered in fake blood in the front row this was one of the best shows I have seen. No multitude of talented musicians behind him, no castles, no monsters, just a man (in a very dandy leather suit) that has lived a life us mere mortals could only dream of. Devil on your Shoulder felt to me like a Christian at the Pearly Gates meeting St Peter or like a viking opening the door to the great halls of Valhalla and seeing Odin with a horn of mead for you. Maybe Gods, Devils and Angels do walk among us and if so I beheld all three wrapped up in one man with a cheeky grin and a lifetime of stories.
