40 years since Welcome To My Nightmare tour

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Paul
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40 years since Welcome To My Nightmare tour

Post by Paul » Sat May 16, 2015 10:43 am

I'd loved to have seen the original Alice Cooper Group live but the one tour I'd really have loved to have seen was the Welcome To My Nightmare tour. http://ultimateclassicrock.com/alice-co ... mare-tour/

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Re: 40 years since Welcome To My Nightmare tour

Post by pitkin88 » Sat May 16, 2015 7:32 pm

I was there. Fourth row Liverpool Empire September 14 1975.

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recoop
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Re: 40 years since Welcome To My Nightmare tour

Post by recoop » Sat May 16, 2015 8:02 pm

Apologies if you have commented on this before Pitkin but could you give us a small review of your experience of the concert please
You are an individual, just like everybody else.

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Re: 40 years since Welcome To My Nightmare tour

Post by pitkin88 » Sat May 16, 2015 10:00 pm

Will do but probably tomorrow.

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Re: 40 years since Welcome To My Nightmare tour

Post by Paulimo » Mon May 18, 2015 6:34 pm

recoop wrote:Apologies if you have commented on this before Pitkin but could you give us a small review of your experience of the concert please
I agree with 'recoop'.

It's a community. Plus, it all goes in the Cooper archive.

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Re: 40 years since Welcome To My Nightmare tour

Post by pitkin88 » Thu May 21, 2015 5:15 am

WTMN
I honestly believed that I willed Alice Cooper to come to Liverpool in 1975. It was the only show outside London and he was playing their just for me. In reality I’m sure it was because of another four lads that he picked Liverpool. It was announced he was playing The Liverpool Empire, which held around 2,500 people and tickets where available only by mail. The only problem was that no one in my family had a cheque book. None of my friend’s families did either!! Thankfully my Uncle Sid (actually my mother’s uncle), who was a local magistrate, had one so off I went there with the cash and he wrote the cheque. I think I got four for me and my friends. I don’t remember them coming in the mail but I do remember being saddened that they were stock tickets with Alice Cooper nowhere to be seen on them. We got great seats in Row D. The tickets cost two pounds fifty which I believe was a little over the price of a new album.

In the weeks leading up to the show I would have horrible dreams about losing my ticket or being on the wrong bus and missing the show. The anticipation was killing me and I was counting down the days and checking on my ticket at least three times a day. The show was 4 days before my sixteenth birthday.

The big day arrived and none of us had the bottle to put the make up on at first. We eventually did and got the H8 bus into town. We got some very odd looks. Once we got to The Empire it was just great. There were fans everywhere and even one in full regalia with top hat, stockings et al. I brought cash to buy whatever there was but there was very little. No t’shirts, a piss poor programme and some posters which I did pick up.
The Heavy Metal Kids were the support and they were great. Gary Holton really got the house going with his on stage antics and I was a fan for life.
I really don’t remember Alice coming on but my friend still talks about the bed coming forward with Alice on it. The band was impeccable and the atmosphere was electric. It was an odd experience as I kept thinking how fast the show was going and how it was going to be over before I knew it. In the seventies the audience sat for the show which for a show of this scale actually worked as there was so much you needed to take in. The Cyclops lops went down very well as did Only Women Bleed which had Alice unable to hit the high notes due to him breaking ribs a few weeks prior. The thing that really brought the house down was the magic screen during Escape. If you watch the video it really didn’t do it justice. Being there it looked like Alice actually ran into the film and then emerges out of it after smashing his grave. Simply amazing!! The whole house up on their feet.

Outside the venue everyone was talking about how brilliant the show was. Phenomenal.

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Re: 40 years since Welcome To My Nightmare tour

Post by Nick » Thu May 21, 2015 1:45 pm

Interesting read. Thanks for that.

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recoop
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Re: 40 years since Welcome To My Nightmare tour

Post by recoop » Thu May 21, 2015 3:22 pm

Loved the write up Pitkin. Classic anxiety dreams regarding losing ticket and need to check ticket. Glad you included that as it shows how much it meant to you. I wanted to go to that gig but lived in central Scotland (although had an aunt near Liverpool and had visited a few times). I used to regret that I didn't, at least, try to get there. Didn't see Alice until Glasgow 1982 and that was huge for me. Thanks.
You are an individual, just like everybody else.

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patrick
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Re: 40 years since Welcome To My Nightmare tour

Post by patrick » Thu May 21, 2015 3:24 pm

I saw the WTMNM show in 75 in september, my first concert ever.
There had been quite a fuss in the announcement of this concert, a big air-balloon with Alice's face on it flew over the local market, giant posters with a big tarantula on Alice's arm appeared along the road towards the concert hall..
My neighbour, at that time a guy in his late forties, came to tell me that this star was to bring along giant spiders, mediaval torture machines (?) , yes, it really would be something special..
You must imagine that at that time almost nobody had seen Alice on tv, video was not known, dvd did not exist yet...A mysterie to most !
The concert was over in a moment : it went so fast that it looked as if Alice did a kind of medley, rather than singing the songs completely..
The Screen was most spectacular.. (don't believe the snake was there..)
The final image, after the "encore", was Alice rolling over the floor with the (local?)manager .. ( so I guess his ribs were healed by then...)
The dvd later could not catch the atmosphere very well imo, but brought back some sweet memories !
you really wouldn't understand..

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Re: 40 years since Welcome To My Nightmare tour

Post by pitkin88 » Thu May 21, 2015 5:37 pm

recoop wrote:Loved the write up Pitkin. Classic anxiety dreams regarding losing ticket and need to check ticket. Glad you included that as it shows how much it meant to you. I wanted to go to that gig but lived in central Scotland (although had an aunt near Liverpool and had visited a few times). I used to regret that I didn't, at least, try to get there. Didn't see Alice until Glasgow 1982 and that was huge for me. Thanks.

I had made my mind up that I was going to London as i thought he would only go there. I doubt my parents would have let me to be honest but I was determined that no one could stop me. Thankfully, he came to my home town.

Little side note: it is worth mentioning that Alice used a cordless microphone on the tour. I hade never seen one before. Maybe it was a first for that tour.

I had no idea I would have to wait until 82 to see him again.

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Re: 40 years since Welcome To My Nightmare tour

Post by A_MichaelUK » Thu May 21, 2015 6:12 pm

From pitkin88:
"Maybe it was a first for that tour."

I think that's correct.

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