Yes he got back into drinking in 81-83, but here he sure looks and sounds like he`s on some sort of drug such as coke and/or speed. If you look at how skinny he is around this time too. For those that don`t know, taking chemical drugs such as coke and speed, it totally kills your appetite and you don`t eat for long periods of time.
@ManFromMelbourne I know... this interview is sooo odd to see. He does not seem like Alice. 1970s alice, and alice from 86 to now..he seem like himself...but this period was surreal in the Alice Timeline...though I do love the albums and the music from this era...
The question is...why was he trying to kill himself with the alcohol. Vincent Furnier is a smart guy, something had to be really bothering him back then.
He was clean from '78-'81 and relapsed from '81-83 and his bad drinking predates '76, I'd put the worst of it striking about '72. Alice talks about using coke occasionally to be able to drink more but I can't say for sure if it was during this relapse or before Sheryl committed him in '78 to dry him out.
It is, without question, his drug of choice alcohol that is killing him here, though.
I saw this tour & it was phenomenal, I don't care if he doesn't remember it I sure do..Alice At The Palace Albany N.Y 1980! The Special Forces tour needs to be on DVD
I am trying to guess what drug he was on here. It was just before he committed himself due to health issues mostly from alcohol, but he did have a short drug period. The thing that jumps out at me tho is that he is still sharp and a damn good interview even coked up. The guy is brilliant, it's wonderful he cleaned him self up, and lived. Today he's a total workaholic with a fantastic national radio show, still entertaining as hell. Why not in Rock Hall of Fame I will never understand
I am trying to guess what drug he was on here. It was just before he committed himself due to health issues mostly from alcohol, but he did have a short drug period. The thing that jumps out at me tho is that he is still sharp and a damn good interview even coked up. The guy is brilliant, it's wonderful he cleaned him self up, and lived. Today he's a total workaholic with a fantastic national radio show, still entertaining as hell. Why not in Rock Hall of Fame I will never understand
I am trying to guess what drug he was on here. It was just before he committed himself due to health issues mostly from alcohol, but he did have a short drug period. The thing that jumps out at me tho is that he is still sharp and a damn good interview even coked up. The guy is brilliant, it's wonderful he cleaned him self up, and lived. Today he's a total workaholic with a fantastic national radio show, still entertaining as hell. Why not in Rock Hall of Fame I will never understand
I am trying to guess what drug he was on here. It was just before he committed himself due to health issues mostly from alcohol, but he did have a short drug period. The thing that jumps out at me tho is that he is still sharp and a damn good interview even coked up. The guy is brilliant, it's wonderful he cleaned him self up, and lived. Today he's a total workaholic with a fantastic national radio show, still entertaining as hell. Why not in Rock Hall of Fame I will never understand
Tom had some of the best shows with musical guests. I have this entire show on vhs somewhere. Alice also does "Who Do You Think We Are" and (if I remember correctly) "Seven & Seven Is." The interview is pretty cringe-inducing, but the musical performances are explosive!
@AchilleasRockerMan : At that time, after being considered a "variety artist" in the late 70's with hit ballads, he was trying to re-invent the character, to make it shocking again
The three albums that seem to be most popular with hard core fans are: Special Forces 1981, Zipper Catches Skin 1982, and DaDA 1983. These are also the three albums that Cooper claims to not remember writing or recording due to a relapse in his sobriety. He relapsed once more, for a few months, in 1986 after his Constrictor album's unexpected success led to a heavier touring schedule than he was used to.
As addicts relapse an average of 8 times, AC is well ahead of the curve in his recovery.
I've read from other sources that Alice was clean between '79-'82, then relapsed in '83 - but if Alice says otherwise in Golf Monster, then I stand corrected.
I stand by the observation that Alice is NOT drunk in this interview, though. He exhibits all the signs of a recently detoxed addict. Of course, this was filmed 3 years after he cleaned out for the FTI album, so it actually makes more sense if he had relapsed and detoxed again closer to the date of this interview.
What exactly does Alice say about his relapses in the book, Lester? I like to think I'm pretty well-informed on The Coop, but if this is one area where my info isn't up to scratch, I'd really like to find out more.
Beginning of Chaper 20, he describes being out to lunch with Sheryl in 1981 and taking a sip of her wine, it was downhill from there. His relapse from 81-83 almost led to a divorce, they were in the court house when he promised Sheryl that he would get, and stay clean.
While I agree with you that that periods albums aren't the favorte of all hard core fans, my wife, an AC freak, only likes SF, this is what Alice says, himself, about talking to people he considers to be "the fans".
Correction: Look up Golf Monster in Google Books. Chapter 20 is covered in the synopsis. I tried to copy and paste it for you, gareth, but as it is copyrighted material the page won't let me.
Well, if your wife "only" likes SF, I would respectfully tell her that she's missing out on a lot of Alice's best work! But I guess we all have our personal favourites...and part of what I love most about Alice is the rich diversity of his work, which allows people of all kinds of tastes to find something they like.
I occasionally come back to SF myself...all together now:
"Rattlin' bones at midnight, shakin' my head, no sleep...find fingers in my front pocket, skeletons from the deep..."
To Clarify: Of the "lost drink albums" my wife only likes SF, she owns ZCS and DaDa for obvious reasons, though she rarely listens to them. She considers From the Inside to be his best album and laments Raped and Freezing as his most underrated song.
I had originally bought Golf Monster for my father in law, as he HAS an unhealthy interest in golf, and ended up buying my wife a copy as well as it reveals a lot about Coop's life that he hasn't addressed in other mediums.
Hey gareth, don't delete your original comment. We all make mistakes or go ahead with inaccurate information from shitty sources. Only the smart people, like yourself, can accept that there is proper info out there, as opposed to clinging to an ill informed opinion like a dog with a bone. Your original comment shows that you're cool to learning and investigating new facts, something that I would wager 75 percent of the users in this site aren't willing to do.
I also think that From the Inside is one his best and most under rated albums.. another that will surprise you is "The Eyes of Alice Cooper".. it brings back the funny and witty lyrics that he wrote in tthe past and I rate it one of his best
Thanks, Lester, I appreciate you letting me get a better understanding of that part of AC's life. When Golf Monster came out, I hesitated from buying it because I have no interest in golf...but from the sounds of it, you've discovered some very revealing insights into Alice's life and career as well, no?
On SF, ZCS and DD being the "hard core fans' favourites", I must disagree. Along with PFY and EA, those are definitely the albums that most Alice fans DON'T rate as their favourites...but that doesn't mean that the minority of fans which disagree are more "hardcore". Objectively, there can be little argument against albums like BDB, WTMN or Killer being far superior to anything Alice did in the early 80's. Personally, I really like Da Da, but I still wouldn't rate that in Alice's top 10 albums.
"In 1983, after the recording of "DaDa", Cooper was re-hospitalized for alcoholism. In a deathly state of health, he relocated back to Phoenix, Arizona, to the support of family and old friends and to save his marriage from falling apart."
From monstersandcritics (dot) com. Do NOT, I repeat do not, source sickthingsuk for anything, they are woefully misinformed.
It also helps that my wife and I read the original reports, many things get lost over time and often myth replaces fact.
I am trying to guess what drug he was on here. It was just before he committed himself due to health issues mostly from alcohol, but he did have a short drug period. The thing that jumps out at me tho is that he is still sharp and a damn good interview even coked up. The guy is brilliant, it's wonderful he cleaned him self up, and lived. Today he's a total workaholic with a fantastic national radio show, still entertaining as hell. Why not in Rock Hall of Fame I will never understand
All that I've ever heard of Alice willfully ingesting was a bit of coke, so that he could drink more. I can't say for sure if it was in this period, but it WAS the 80's.
@ClassicRockKills No, in fact this interview was recorded during the promotion for the follow-up album, Special Forces. I also heard rumours that he tried cocaine at the time of the european leg of this tour... and I was told about this long ago !
The glitching in the video goes with his image.
sparkles13 1 month ago
Yes he got back into drinking in 81-83, but here he sure looks and sounds like he`s on some sort of drug such as coke and/or speed. If you look at how skinny he is around this time too. For those that don`t know, taking chemical drugs such as coke and speed, it totally kills your appetite and you don`t eat for long periods of time.
ManFromMelbourne 2 months ago
@ManFromMelbourne I know... this interview is sooo odd to see. He does not seem like Alice. 1970s alice, and alice from 86 to now..he seem like himself...but this period was surreal in the Alice Timeline...though I do love the albums and the music from this era...
dokboy77 1 month ago
~SOOOOOOO WANNA PLAY HIM IN A BIO PIC -That Or Freddy Mercury & Paul Ruebens!! ;> Alice IS SHEAR GENIUS/MADDNESS!!!!!!! <3
NickReyAngelus 2 months ago
Alice is the best!
diorey 2 months ago
this video reminds me of Max Headroom
PrankZabba 2 months ago 2
The question is...why was he trying to kill himself with the alcohol. Vincent Furnier is a smart guy, something had to be really bothering him back then.
abcbraveheart 2 months ago
Completely Coked OUT !
mikenobeardthepirate 4 months ago
@mikenobeardthepirate Not coke.. Booze. The man was drunk, non-stop (except for a few months in 1978), between 1976 and 1983...
VO and Coca-cola...
Dweller777 4 months ago
@Dweller777
He was clean from '78-'81 and relapsed from '81-83 and his bad drinking predates '76, I'd put the worst of it striking about '72. Alice talks about using coke occasionally to be able to drink more but I can't say for sure if it was during this relapse or before Sheryl committed him in '78 to dry him out.
It is, without question, his drug of choice alcohol that is killing him here, though.
lesterclaypool1 3 months ago
I love AC...but I'm going to forget I ever saw this.
Schimmel1972 4 months ago
alice looks so young/punk here but he isnt young.
the picture is bad here (jumpy?) but i think I have this, except mine is many generations down.
MichaelHansenFUN 4 months ago
Alice looks like a drag queen who got beat up in a dark alley.
casestudyification 4 months ago
@casestudyification Exactly. He looks like a cheerleader housewife on heroin.
callouschristian 4 months ago
@TheMACcar I don't know if you know this but...this is an OLD RECORDING.
jhonen32629 4 months ago
This was "Special Forces"-era Alice...all boozed and drugged out. Wasn't sure he'd recover. Glad he did.
Babaziba 4 months ago
alice cooper is the most underrated artist of all time!!
marrow5150 5 months ago
I get a little uneasy around snakes HAHAHAHA tom
sonicsteev 8 months ago
He reminds me of Bowie during this coke guzzling Thin White Duke era. Can't believe he wasn't on drugs at the time, but he totally denies it.
WastedYears76 8 months ago
The editing sucks. Whats with the max headroom effect ?
TheMACcar 9 months ago
@TheMACcar 1981- VHS
kretincooper 4 months ago
He reminds me of Bob Dylan in this for some reason
herbiemarx01 9 months ago
Christ, I've never saw Vince looking like this. crazy!
Deetroiter 1 year ago
what a max headroom scene!!! you´re great!!! even alice looks like an inteligence human being!!!! but he was so pissed off,,,,,
sisebutin 1 year ago
the quality of this video is giving me like.....schizophrenia hhahah
mokeymina 1 year ago
This was a promo for Special Forces. He performed "Who Do You Think We Are," "7 & 7 Is," and "Under My Wheels" with the band on the show. It's epic.
rextasy 1 year ago
Marilyn Manson is such a ripoff of Alice Cooper.
shelly10538 1 year ago 19
@shelly10538 ABSOLUTELY YES!!!!!!!!
turockandar 1 month ago
I saw this tour & it was phenomenal, I don't care if he doesn't remember it I sure do..Alice At The Palace Albany N.Y 1980! The Special Forces tour needs to be on DVD
MusicCollaborator 1 year ago
the way the video jumps, I feel like I'm watching Max Headroom
cincymetal 1 year ago
He looks like Liza Minellie
mrcrackheadcoke 1 year ago
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I am trying to guess what drug he was on here. It was just before he committed himself due to health issues mostly from alcohol, but he did have a short drug period. The thing that jumps out at me tho is that he is still sharp and a damn good interview even coked up. The guy is brilliant, it's wonderful he cleaned him self up, and lived. Today he's a total workaholic with a fantastic national radio show, still entertaining as hell. Why not in Rock Hall of Fame I will never understand
dirkbonesteel 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
I am trying to guess what drug he was on here. It was just before he committed himself due to health issues mostly from alcohol, but he did have a short drug period. The thing that jumps out at me tho is that he is still sharp and a damn good interview even coked up. The guy is brilliant, it's wonderful he cleaned him self up, and lived. Today he's a total workaholic with a fantastic national radio show, still entertaining as hell. Why not in Rock Hall of Fame I will never understand
dirkbonesteel 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
I am trying to guess what drug he was on here. It was just before he committed himself due to health issues mostly from alcohol, but he did have a short drug period. The thing that jumps out at me tho is that he is still sharp and a damn good interview even coked up. The guy is brilliant, it's wonderful he cleaned him self up, and lived. Today he's a total workaholic with a fantastic national radio show, still entertaining as hell. Why not in Rock Hall of Fame I will never understand
dirkbonesteel 1 year ago
I am trying to guess what drug he was on here. It was just before he committed himself due to health issues mostly from alcohol, but he did have a short drug period. The thing that jumps out at me tho is that he is still sharp and a damn good interview even coked up. The guy is brilliant, it's wonderful he cleaned him self up, and lived. Today he's a total workaholic with a fantastic national radio show, still entertaining as hell. Why not in Rock Hall of Fame I will never understand
dirkbonesteel 1 year ago
@dirkbonesteel His drug experimentation days were before the Band was famous.
EvoVocalChick 6 months ago
They're both shaking like they have Alzheimers hahah
ilsy74 1 year ago
is it just me or is the video very jumpy?
LilRedDevil02 1 year ago
Tom had some of the best shows with musical guests. I have this entire show on vhs somewhere. Alice also does "Who Do You Think We Are" and (if I remember correctly) "Seven & Seven Is." The interview is pretty cringe-inducing, but the musical performances are explosive!
rextasy 1 year ago
I'm sure a young Brian Warner was watching this....I know I was.
befuddledman 1 year ago
he's kinda like the Marilyn Manson of the 80's or 70's or whatever
LondonKumamoto 1 year ago
@LondonKumamoto Yeah I can see that. The main difference being Alice is Christian and Marilyn is Satanist. LOL
tall32guy 1 year ago
I love Alice Cooper :)
RainbowColin 2 years ago
Is he drunk?!
xYum1x 2 years ago
he was always drunk until '84
lucyfaire1980 1 year ago
Does anyone know why Alice Cooper is dressed almost like a woman????
AchilleasRockerMan 2 years ago
Well, what can I say... first of all he has a female name.
lapislazuli7 2 years ago
@AchilleasRockerMan : At that time, after being considered a "variety artist" in the late 70's with hit ballads, he was trying to re-invent the character, to make it shocking again
NewSchumalice 1 year ago
@AchilleasRockerMan Flush the Fashion/ Special Forces
EvoVocalChick 6 months ago
Thanks for putting this up dood! this is when the coops was seriously off his head..brilliant..loved this tour!
rattyfinky 2 years ago
Damn..he's really high here. xD.
fakeoutlove 2 years ago
Alice didn't do drugs. He drank, though. He might be drunk. Not every classic rock artist is always high.
TheNightmare75II 2 years ago
Dudes, (Especially Beatnikzombie), Alice was HAWTTT.
Hounadu 2 years ago
alice is great as always, the make-up is a little weird, but Alice can pull it off. But should stick to the classic black! thanks for posting
ClassicRockKills 2 years ago
Alice looks loaded
ClockworkDonkey 2 years ago 2
Alice IS loaded. He is totally forth coming about the fact that he doesn't even remember writing or recording the albums from this era.
He wasn't just loaded, he was actually dying. There is a good video on this site with Alice and his wife, Sheryl, talking about this time period.
lesterclaypool1 2 years ago 5
Comment removed
garethac81 2 years ago
The three albums that seem to be most popular with hard core fans are: Special Forces 1981, Zipper Catches Skin 1982, and DaDA 1983. These are also the three albums that Cooper claims to not remember writing or recording due to a relapse in his sobriety. He relapsed once more, for a few months, in 1986 after his Constrictor album's unexpected success led to a heavier touring schedule than he was used to.
As addicts relapse an average of 8 times, AC is well ahead of the curve in his recovery.
lesterclaypool1 2 years ago
Look up Alice Cooper's Golf Monster in Amazon books and scroll to chapter 20, garethac81. He speaks in great detail about his relapses there.
lesterclaypool1 2 years ago
I've read from other sources that Alice was clean between '79-'82, then relapsed in '83 - but if Alice says otherwise in Golf Monster, then I stand corrected.
I stand by the observation that Alice is NOT drunk in this interview, though. He exhibits all the signs of a recently detoxed addict. Of course, this was filmed 3 years after he cleaned out for the FTI album, so it actually makes more sense if he had relapsed and detoxed again closer to the date of this interview.
garethac81 2 years ago
What exactly does Alice say about his relapses in the book, Lester? I like to think I'm pretty well-informed on The Coop, but if this is one area where my info isn't up to scratch, I'd really like to find out more.
garethac81 2 years ago
Beginning of Chaper 20, he describes being out to lunch with Sheryl in 1981 and taking a sip of her wine, it was downhill from there. His relapse from 81-83 almost led to a divorce, they were in the court house when he promised Sheryl that he would get, and stay clean.
While I agree with you that that periods albums aren't the favorte of all hard core fans, my wife, an AC freak, only likes SF, this is what Alice says, himself, about talking to people he considers to be "the fans".
lesterclaypool1 2 years ago
Correction: Look up Golf Monster in Google Books. Chapter 20 is covered in the synopsis. I tried to copy and paste it for you, gareth, but as it is copyrighted material the page won't let me.
lesterclaypool1 2 years ago
Well, if your wife "only" likes SF, I would respectfully tell her that she's missing out on a lot of Alice's best work! But I guess we all have our personal favourites...and part of what I love most about Alice is the rich diversity of his work, which allows people of all kinds of tastes to find something they like.
I occasionally come back to SF myself...all together now:
"Rattlin' bones at midnight, shakin' my head, no sleep...find fingers in my front pocket, skeletons from the deep..."
garethac81 2 years ago
To Clarify: Of the "lost drink albums" my wife only likes SF, she owns ZCS and DaDa for obvious reasons, though she rarely listens to them. She considers From the Inside to be his best album and laments Raped and Freezing as his most underrated song.
I had originally bought Golf Monster for my father in law, as he HAS an unhealthy interest in golf, and ended up buying my wife a copy as well as it reveals a lot about Coop's life that he hasn't addressed in other mediums.
lesterclaypool1 2 years ago
Hey gareth, don't delete your original comment. We all make mistakes or go ahead with inaccurate information from shitty sources. Only the smart people, like yourself, can accept that there is proper info out there, as opposed to clinging to an ill informed opinion like a dog with a bone. Your original comment shows that you're cool to learning and investigating new facts, something that I would wager 75 percent of the users in this site aren't willing to do.
lesterclaypool1 2 years ago
@lesterclaypool1
I also think that From the Inside is one his best and most under rated albums.. another that will surprise you is "The Eyes of Alice Cooper".. it brings back the funny and witty lyrics that he wrote in tthe past and I rate it one of his best
PAKiller1 1 year ago
Thanks, Lester, I appreciate you letting me get a better understanding of that part of AC's life. When Golf Monster came out, I hesitated from buying it because I have no interest in golf...but from the sounds of it, you've discovered some very revealing insights into Alice's life and career as well, no?
garethac81 2 years ago
On SF, ZCS and DD being the "hard core fans' favourites", I must disagree. Along with PFY and EA, those are definitely the albums that most Alice fans DON'T rate as their favourites...but that doesn't mean that the minority of fans which disagree are more "hardcore". Objectively, there can be little argument against albums like BDB, WTMN or Killer being far superior to anything Alice did in the early 80's. Personally, I really like Da Da, but I still wouldn't rate that in Alice's top 10 albums.
garethac81 2 years ago
"In 1983, after the recording of "DaDa", Cooper was re-hospitalized for alcoholism. In a deathly state of health, he relocated back to Phoenix, Arizona, to the support of family and old friends and to save his marriage from falling apart."
From monstersandcritics (dot) com. Do NOT, I repeat do not, source sickthingsuk for anything, they are woefully misinformed.
It also helps that my wife and I read the original reports, many things get lost over time and often myth replaces fact.
lesterclaypool1 2 years ago
I am trying to guess what drug he was on here. It was just before he committed himself due to health issues mostly from alcohol, but he did have a short drug period. The thing that jumps out at me tho is that he is still sharp and a damn good interview even coked up. The guy is brilliant, it's wonderful he cleaned him self up, and lived. Today he's a total workaholic with a fantastic national radio show, still entertaining as hell. Why not in Rock Hall of Fame I will never understand
dirkbonesteel 1 year ago
@dirkbonesteel
All that I've ever heard of Alice willfully ingesting was a bit of coke, so that he could drink more. I can't say for sure if it was in this period, but it WAS the 80's.
lesterclaypool1 1 year ago
,,well at least he enjoyed himself a little,,,lol
S0lidState 1 year ago
Why hideous ? It's only make up . I think he's really good looking but not neceserly in this time (only onstage of course).
alicea666 2 years ago 2
well the album was call flush the fashion, so i think he wore that stuff to make a point.
ClassicRockKills 2 years ago 9
@ClassicRockKills No, in fact it was Special Forces, the follow-up to Flush The Fashion. He did more promo work for Special Forces apparently.
chapelierfoudre 1 year ago
@ClassicRockKills No, in fact this interview was recorded during the promotion for the follow-up album, Special Forces. I also heard rumours that he tried cocaine at the time of the european leg of this tour... and I was told about this long ago !
chapelierfoudre 1 year ago
Comment removed
alicea666 2 years ago
i wouldn't say hideous. but i think he looked his best from 86 to 91
AlicesArtMaiden 2 years ago
He was looking so hideous in the 80's.
Beatnikzombie 2 years ago