Now he’s Mr Nice Guy ...
With the hurtling of an innocent chicken into the writhing, bloodthirsty throngs at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival Festival in 1969, American rock doyen Alice Cooper gave birth to shock rock.
In his defence, Cooper thought the bird could fly — it could not. The crowd tore the ill-fated foul to pieces and the rest, as they say, is history.
So what do you talk about when granted audience with the godfather of such a radical genre? Demonology? Proper seance protocols? Satanic thrill-kill cults?
After some skirting around the usual suspects, the conversation settled on a vigorous dissection of Cooper’s one true passion — golf. “I play six days a week,” chuckles Cooper, who has credited his golfing addiction with helping him overcome heavy substance abuse in the early and haziest part of his career.
And the guy’s no slouch, we’re talking a three handicap (for the non-golfers reading this; that’s very, very good) as well as regular appearances in serious pro-am events.
“We did 85 cities with Motley Crue this summer, I think we played (golf) 75 times,” the 67-year-old rocker says. “Getting Tommy (Lee) or Vince (Neil) out there is not that easy, they’re still night owls ... we’re up at 6.30 every morning on the tee.”
Putting golf to one side, talk returned to music — specifically the huge response to the double-headlining tour of the Crue and the Cooper.
“We broke most of the attendance records,” the latter says. “15,000, 20,000 people every night, all outdoor shows. It’s a one-two punch.
“I think it’s because the music is still valid; those songs still work,” Cooper continues. “We don’t go up there and walk through it. When I go up there and do School’s Out or 18 or Department Of Youth or any of those songs, we do it all out. I do it like it’s the first time I’ve ever done those songs, so the audience know that they’re at an Alice Cooper concert.”
So all-encompassing is the Alice Cooper character, most don’t realise that it’s just that, an entertaining construct. In real life, Cooper is a charming, golfing, born-again Christian who is happy to discuss his faith and his seemingly blasphemous persona.
“I co-exist very well with my faith and what I do on stage,” he explains. “There’s nothing in the Bible that says you’re a Christian and what ever you do, don’t play rock’n’roll, or don’t be Alice Cooper.
“The stuff that Jesus did was to make people understand who he was, he wasn’t showing off,” Cooper adds. “He didn’t come to condemn, he came to fulfil, so he’s the one I want to be like.
“Now that has nothing to do with Alice Cooper, that has everything to do with my real life.”
Motley Crue and Alice Cooper play Perth Arena on May 23. Tickets from Ticketek.
