OZZY OSBOURNE and Alice Cooper – kindred spirits and fellow travellers in exhausting rock for practically six many years. 

Each had been born in 1948, on completely different sides of the Atlantic after all, but with a lot in widespread. 

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The black eye make-up with fingernails to match, the wild shoulder-length hair, the flamboyant gothic outfits, the showmanship, the humour, the hellraising. 

Oh, and the infamous incidents involving stay creatures on stage — in Ozzy’s case a bat, in Alice’s a hen. (Neither survived.) 

The rock gods each hailed from robust industrial cities, Birmingham and Detroit respectively. 

Possibly that is one rationalization for his or her loud, rebellious type of ­escapism. 

On Tuesday morning, earlier than we discovered of Ozzy’s unhappy passing aged 76, I had the prospect to meet up with Alice throughout his area tour of the UK.

Hours later, as information filtered via that the Prince Of Darkness had left us, he took to the stage in Cardiff. 

His usually swashbuckling present, together with a trademark mock beheading, ended with Alice saying on behalf of his band and crew: “God relaxation Ozzy.” 

Then he led the gang in a thunderous chant of “Ozzy! Ozzy! Ozzy!” 

After the gig, he was capable of replicate extra absolutely on the lack of the much-loved Brummie. 

“The entire world is mourning Ozzy,” he mentioned. “Over his lengthy profession, he earned immense respect amongst his friends and from followers all over the world as an unmatched showman and cultural icon. 

‘Once we lose one in every of our personal, it bleeds’ 

“I at all times noticed Ozzy as a cross between the Prince Of Darkness, which is the persona his followers noticed, and the court docket jester. That was the facet that his household and associates noticed. 

“He was and can proceed to be a rock ’n’ roll legend. Rock ’n’ roll is a household and a fraternity. Once we lose one in every of our personal, it bleeds. 

“I want I might have gotten to know my brother Ozzy ­higher. 

“Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and the remainder of the Ozzy brood — our prayers are with you. 

“A titanic boulder has crashed, however rock will roll on.” 

Effectively, everyone knows that point goes to take us rockers, however when the giants fall, it’s actually exhausting to just accept.

Alice Cooper on Ozzy’s demise

Along with his assertion, Alice has revealed that he and Ozzy “by no means actually ran in the identical ­circle for some purpose” however their paths typically crossed.

He says: “Ozzy and I did many reveals collectively over time. 

“One in all my favorite reminiscences is when he sang with me on the tune Hey Stoopid, a crowd favorite to at the present time and a staple of our setlist.” 

The thought of them singing, “Hey-hey-hey-hey/Hey stoopid!” to one another conjures a priceless picture. 

Now Ozzy’s demise additional confirms what Alice is barely too conscious of — that his technology shouldn’t be getting any youthful. 

“Effectively, everyone knows that point goes to take us rockers, however when the giants fall, it’s actually exhausting to just accept,” provides the 77-year-old. 

“Although all people noticed it coming with Ozzy, it took our breath away when it occurred. 

“So Ozzy, your information and your music and your legend and all that you just introduced — the humour to the rock enterprise — will stay on eternally. 

“We’re gonna miss you, man! Relaxation straightforward Ozzy, and we’ll see you on the opposite facet.”

For a lot of British colleges, it was the final day of time period earlier than the summer season holidays, bringing to thoughts his most well-known tune, Faculty’s Out. 

“That tune remains to be on each radio station right here,” says Alice of the shouty singalong which hit No1 within the UK on August, 12, 1972, and stayed there for 3 weeks. 

He continues: “You by no means know while you’re going to jot down an anthem. An anthem is a kind of songs that youngsters will nonetheless be singing a ­hundred years from now as a result of they relate to it. 

“As long as there’s faculty, Faculty’s Out shall be all people’s favorite tune on the finish of the 12 months. It’s the one tune I’ve written that I used to be completely certain of. I mentioned, ‘If this isn’t successful, I shall be promoting footwear someplace’.” 

It got here with the immortal refrain of, “faculty’s out for summer season, faculty’s out eternally”, and features like, “no extra pencils, no extra books, no extra academics’ soiled appears to be like”. 

Alice admits “it’s very subversive-sounding” however that “it’s an actual celebration of the final three ­minutes of the final day of faculty. For each child, it’s simply pleasure”. 

This brings us to the rationale I’m speaking to Alice within the first place — his large reunion with the unique Alice Cooper Band. 

Shaped in Phoenix, Arizona, they launched seven albums between 1969 and 1973 and Faculty’s Out, with its hit title monitor, was the fifth. 

We had been a band from Phoenix that by no means ought to have made it, besides that we had a spark that no one else had.

Alice on his band

Amongst their different best-loved ­”shock rock” creations had been I’m Eighteen, Whats up Hooray, Elected, No Extra Mr Good Man and Billion Greenback Infants.

In 1974, the band break up, amicably however exhausted, and the frontman started his enduring solo profession together with his Welcome To My Nightmare LP. 

Now the unique line-up of Alice, Mike Bruce, Dennis ­Dunnaway and Neal Smith have reunited to make their first studio album collectively in additional than 50 years. 

Titled The Revenge Of Alice ­Cooper, the album effortlessly ­summons the spirit of their Seventies heyday and incorporates a posthumous look by late guitarist Glen Buxton.

Alice had met Glen and Dennis in 1963 at Cortez Excessive Faculty in Phoenix, after transferring there from Detroit. 

‘Alice Cooper… a superb grandmother title’

He remembers: “We had been all 1,500m and three,000m runners and when The Beatles got here out, we checked out one another and went, ‘Oh man, we’ve acquired to try this’. 

“So we discovered a few songs and performed at events, then it simply acquired greater and greater and greater. 

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“Ultimately, we went to LA and Frank Zappa mentioned to us, ‘I do not know what you guys are doing, so I’m going to signal you.’

That was an ideal praise. We really confused Zappa!” (You understand, probably the most zany rock musicians that ever lived.)

Alice tries to place his finger on what made them profitable. 

“We had been a band from Phoenix that by no means ought to have made it,” he decides, “besides that we had a spark that no one else had. 

“We had this little theatrical factor going and we additionally needed to be America’s Yardbirds,” he provides in ­reference to the British band that helped launch the careers of Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Web page. 

In 1968, the band modified their title from Nazz as a result of it was taken by Todd Rundgren. 

Throughout a brainstorming ­session, they tried to think about ­“any individual’s grandmother”. 

“Who can consider a extra grandmother title than Alice Cooper?” says the person who later legally morphed from Vincent Furnier into Alice Cooper. 

“I mentioned, ‘It will throw all people proper off’, and all people agreed. 

“We went via all these different names and we saved coming again to Alice Cooper — it simply caught.” 

At the moment, Alice additionally started experimenting with face paint and creating the outlandish stage picture (snakes and chickens included) that he’s liked for.

“This lady got here as much as me and mentioned, ‘Have you ever ever seen this man?’ And he or she confirmed me a ­image of Arthur Brown.”

Brown, a Brit, is remembered for world hit Hearth, for which he would don a burning helmet. Let’s simply say the music and efficiency had been incendiary. 

Alice continues: “We had the identical make-up and I went, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I’d by no means heard of this man however we had been on the identical wavelength. 

“I realised I had a kindred brother in England. Arthur and I ended up as nice, nice associates.”

He was sensible, just like the statue of David. Each lady on this planet liked this man — the tortured poet obsessive about demise.

Alice on Jim Morrison of The Doorways

He remembers early stay forays in LA at Whisky A Go Go and The Cheetah Membership, and ­considering, till he noticed them, that different acts on the invoice, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, had been solo artists.

Then, in 1970, producer Bob Ezrin took issues to the following stage. At present, he’s thought to be the unofficial sixth member of the band, a bit like “fifth Beatle” George Martin. 

He was in command of their breakthrough hit I’m Eighteen, giving some much-needed recommendation alongside the way in which. 

“We saved making an attempt to be The Yardbirds,” remembers Alice. “And Bob saved saying, ‘No, this tune’s a couple of dumb teenager, so it’s acquired to sound like that’. 

“And we had been dumb youngsters, so it was fairly straightforward. We simply dumbed it down and the simplicity was actually ­highly effective.” 

Now, the surviving members are all of their seventies, however you wouldn’t know from the uncooked power on their comeback album, The Revenge Of Alice Cooper. 

Anybody who has seen Alice stay will in all probability have seen a menacing boa constrictor draped round his neck. The album begins with a tune named after a snake of a unique sort, Black Mamba. 

It encompasses a ­free-flowing cameo from Robby Krieger of The Doorways as a result of, affirms Alice, “Robby is the one man who may have performed that sort of snaky guitar half. He nailed it.”

The point out of Krieger inevitably prompts one in every of his nice rock ’n’ roll tales. 

“We opened for The Doorways for some time,” Alice remembers. “They had been the primary band to take us below their wing after we got here in [to Los Angeles] from Phoenix.

“They allowed us to look at them report and we acquired to know them very well.” 

I ask Alice about The Doorways’ ­mercurial frontman Jim Morrison, who was discovered lifeless aged 27 in 1971 in a Paris residence. 

The numerous-years-sober singer says: “I used to be ingesting so we acquired alongside actual nicely. We simply drank and talked and drank. 

“He was sensible, just like the statue of David. Each lady on this planet liked this man — the tortured poet obsessive about demise.” 

Alice acquired to witness ”Lizard King” Jim’s unimaginable stage presence up shut.

‘Glen was our Keith Richards’ 

“He was electrical, he was James Dean. He’d saunter as much as the stage and take half a minute to mild a ­cigarette. 

“Then he’d sing and each lady would drop to their knees.” 

The brand new album additionally encompasses a ­loving tribute to the Alice Cooper Band’s expensive departed guitarist, Glen ­Buxton. Known as What A Syd, it brings this response from Alice: “Glen was our Keith Richards. 

“All people liked him however the one individual I ever noticed him jam with was [Pink Floyd’s] Syd ­Barrett. 

“When everybody else was slowing down rock ’n’ roll-wise with what they had been doing to their our bodies, he simply saved going. 

“There was no stopping him. By 49, he seemed like he was 78, 80 years previous.” 

Lastly, we return to the mischief that each Alice and Ozzy grew to become famend for. 

“There’s loads of humour on this album,” he says. “I can’t assist it, that’s simply the way in which I write. 

“All people’s telling an important tune is Blood On The Solar. They are saying it’s poetic, it flows, it makes your thoughts go, ‘Oh my gosh!’ 

“What are they speaking about? Each single line in that tune is a film title. It sounds necessary but it surely’s in no way!” 

In order that explains him singing “Don’t Cry, It’s Solely Thunder’ (1982 battle film), “From Nightfall Until Daybreak” (1996 horror movie) and so forth. 

Certainly Alice’s fellow everlasting prankster Ozzy would approve! 

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