Time for another Alice Cooper Tour, a short one this time with dates in Scotland and Wales and co-headliner slot for the London date with Judas Priest. The London show will give a foretaste to the North American co-headlining tour Judas Priest and Alice Cooper have lined up for September.

I’m in South Wales, Cardiff to be exact, for tonight’s show and support will come from Bobbie Dazzle. Who the hell is Bobbie Dazzle you might ask . . . I did! The singer, Bobbie Dazzle, had a previous life in a stoner/doom metal band so this represents a complete break from that style of music as she, and her band, deliver pop-rock with a definite 70’s glam vibe.

Bobbie Dazzle released her debut album, Fandabidozi, in October last year and the title may be more familiar to the Scottish fans due to see the band since this was a ‘catch-phrase’ of Scottish comic duo The Krankies, BUT, there’s nothing comical about the band’s performance tonight as Ms. Dazzle belts out the lyrics backed by a very capable group of musicians.

The band played 7 songs from Fandabidozi kicking off with Flowers on Mars and this set the tone perfectly for the rest of the set. For the fashionista’s amongst you, the band played their part in the 70’s-inspired visuals with their double denim outfits, including flares, while Bobbie appeared in a snake-skin patterned bodysuit!

Flowers on Mars was followed by a real thumper, Revolution, after which came a proper pop tune, Back to the City. As the band got towards the end of the 8-song set it was time for a change. The penultimate song was not one of their own, but rather a cover of an ABBA song, Watch Out, which appears on the B-side of their newly-released single, Spotlight, on Rise Above Records.

Having given support to Alice Cooper and then Lita Ford in recent days the Bobbie and the Dazzler band would seem to have a dazzling future ahead of them – they’ve brought a breath of fresh air to the pop-rock genre, catch them out on the road very soon either on their own headline dates or in support of Luke Morley or The Sweet later in the year.

It’s time for Alice; I’m pretty sure that he’s a host from Westworld because he just doesn’t seem to slow down. Having said that the show hasn’t changed too much from the performance last year and his entrance was just the same, entering the scene through a curtain designed as a newspaper page after two bell-ringing plague doctors prowled across the stage. This did nothing to dishearten his fans, however, as they audibly welcomed him to the stage. The stage is set up with staircases at each side and a row or projected images and live feed at the rear. He kicks off the show with Lock Me Up from Raise Your Fist and Yell (1987). “Don’t want to be clean, don’t want to be nice . . .” he sings and follows with “I’m gonna be rough, I’m gonna be mean . . .” which just about sums up the show to come. Welcome to the Show and No More Mr. Nice Guy follow before he picks up a trademark wooden crutch for I’m Eighteen, one of the very first songs I remember.

Time for me to take my seat as the familiar sound of Under my Wheels rings out.

As usual the band move around and across the stage taking turns in the spotlight, usually alongside AC; the solo’s were to follow just a bit later later!

Bed of Nails, Billion Dollar Babies (although unless my ears were playing tricks I’m sure this was rebranded to Zillion Dollar Babies!) and Be My Lover came next before AC left the stage for a rapid change of costume, coming back on stage in a waistcoat made from an American flag for Lost in America.

The first solo is due anytime now but first it’s He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask) and Hey Stoopid before Glen Sobel is let loose on his drum solo bathed in lights.

So far it’s been AC and the band performing the music without too much by way of distractions, but that was shortly to change. He rips through Welcome to my Nightmare and Cold Ethyl before the mood changes with Go To Hell. Cue AC’s wife, Cheryl, to enter the stage dressed as a dominatrix, whip in hand, ready to punish the band. This is short lived as the boss strangles her with her own whip!

It’s solo time! The lights come up to reveal Nita Strauss at the top of one of the flights of stairs and she kicks off the solo stream. She really is a very talented guitarist as this little solo session proves but she gives way to Tommy Henriksen and he, in turn, gives way to Ryan Roxie before all three get together, along with Chuck Garric and his bass, to give us the Black Widow Jam.

The band have been on stage now for around an hour with no let up and AC returns to the stage to give everybody some Poison! Time for more theatrics as AC loses his head to Cheryl dressed as Madame la Guillotine, to the sound of the Ballad of Dwight Fry. AC stays dead long enough for the band to give a rendition of I Love the Dead while Cheryl waltzes around the stage carrying AC’s severed head!.

As if by magic AC returns to the stage dressed in a ghostly white suit and top-hat to finish the main set with School’s Out, a favourite of many of the audience who, by now, had mainly vacated their allotted seats and were standing all around the venue. As School’s Out draws to a close Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall plays in the background while AC introduces the band.

AC asked if the audience wanted one more song, like they were going to say ‘No!’ . . . and the clue to what it was came in the form of the giant Frankenstein’s monster heading on to the stage. Feed my Frankenstein closed off the night as the band and associated characters assembled on stage.

Of course, while the night should have been yet another triumph for the band it hadn’t gone unnoticed that Black Sabbath’s Ozzy Osbourne had passed away earlier in the day and so a short tribute to him finished with the crowd chanting “Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy . . .”.

I don’t know what it’s like for the band but it was draining just watching the show. Hopefully, there will be many more AC shows as well as the Hollywood Vampires at UK venues. Thanks for the past 50+ years and while I doubt very much that there will be 50 more (unless he really is a Westworld host) I’ll take as many as he wants to provide.

Words & images: Reg Richardson.

Setlists:

Bobby Dazzle.

Flowers on Mars

Revolution

Back to the City

Merry Go Round

It’s Electric

Antique Time Machine

Watch Out

Lightning Fantasy

Alice Cooper.

Lock Me Up

Welcome to the Show

No More Mr. Nice Guy

I’m Eighteen

Under my Wheels

Bed of Nails

Billion Dollar Babies

Be my Lover

Lost in America

He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask)

Hey Stoopid

Drum Solo

Welcome to my Nightmare

Cold Ethyl

Go to Hell

Guitar Solo

Black Widow Jam

Poison

Ballad of Dwight Fry

I Love the Dead

School’s Out w/ Another Brick in the Wall Pt 2

Encore:

Feed my Frankenstein