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Alice in his Wonderland

If Alice Cooper has one aim in life he says it's to "live fast." And it seems like he lives up to this every minute of the day right now.

Over the last couple of months he's been touring America on an exhausting schedule. He's played 56 dates and after each show held an enormous party late into the night. It's one of the longest tours undertaken by any artist and for this reason Alice devised a new show which he hopes to bring to Britain later in the year.

The show is Alice's most spectacular ever. He even has a magician, known as 'The Great Randi', travelling with him to take care of all the special effects.

Music Star met up with the Alice Cooper tour at Detroit, a city in America that Alice regards as his home town. In fact he was born in Phoenix, but that band played their first club dates in Detroit when they were living on the outskirts of the city on a farm.

Alice doesn't look back on those early days with any great nostalgia. Life was hard, and band wasn't successful and they were short of money. Money is something Alice isn't afraid to admit he likes a great deal.

Sitting in his enormous hotel room, watching television and eating sweets he explained: "Money is very important to me. As important as success. They go hand in hand.

"I get to do more now I've got money. I can sit here in a suite of rooms rather than a single room. I like the idea of being able to lie in a warm bed, watch television and drink beer whenever I want."

Staying in town with him for this particular show were his mother and his girl-friend Cindy who he has known for five years.

Said Alice: "I'm sure we'll be staying together for a long time. Partly because I met Cindy before I was successful and she went through all the hard days with me."

How does his mother react to the show?

"She's scared for me every time I go on stage! She's great though. I make fun of her all the time but she's great. She makes fun of me."

A new idea Alice and his band have been involved with just lately is the Alice Cooper Living Legend Award. he recently gave one to elderly American comedian George Allen.

"We're going to give it away whenever we feel like it — to 80-year-old people maybe. The award is just an appreciation from our generation of somebody from a previous generation who can be really funny. George Allen has been in the business for 50 years. That's a long time. I've only been in it nine years! So I admire him."

Alice Cooper off-stage is in fact a very friendly, pleasant guy. Almost ordinary in fact. It's something he recognises himself and says its almost like he is two people. Alice Cooper — the performer and Alice Cooper — off-stage.

"I've no idea what the on-stage Alice Cooper is," said Alice. "I'm more confused about him than anybody else... and I have to live with it!

"Somehow we've just developed this crazy image. I guess the only point to it all is having fun, the fact that we never take anything seriously."