NEWS – Alice Cooper: “I Honestly Didn’t Know When I Began and Where Alice Ended”

For over forty years, Alice Cooper has been one of the most notorious, influential and popular artists in heavy metal. His theatrical stage shows are legendary, whilst his music has resulted in such anthems as School’s Out, No More Mr. Nice Guy and Poison. Yet during the early 1980s his career almost came to an end when he began to self destruct, as the character of Alice began to consume him and alcohol took centre stage in his life. Cooper, born Vincent Furnier, spoke to BBC Radio 4 recently regarding his struggle to come to terms with his rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle; “I played this character that I invented called Alice for a long time. I honestly didn’t know when I began and where Alice ended. And it was when I was drinking. My friends at the time were Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin… all the people that died at twenty-seven years old from excess… Keith Moon, y’know. And I was starting to keep up with them. And I realised when they all died that you didn’t have to be your character off stage. Jim Morrison was always Jim Morrison, he was Jim Morrison off stage and on stage, and it killed him. And I just figured, “What not make Alice a character that only belongs on stage? And when I’m off stage I don’t need to be him.”