I have always been fascinated by the history of Alice Cooper, group and solo artist, but have a terrible memory for dates and places. I had all this information in all sorts of forms, plus there was the original Sickthings email list where lots of trivia was being discussed daily, and I wanted a way to remember all these interesting little things. So I went through everything I had and compiled pages with every little bit of information I could find. It was for me, but I figured there wasn't a good reason not to make it public so others could add or correct the info I had. And so the original version of the site went live on Christmas Day 1997 as "The Alice Cooper Trivia File".
Everything grew from that. Over the years the site has changed a number of times, eventually becoming "SickthingsUK" once I obtained the domain, but the core of the site is still those original, much updated, pages (plus a lot more of course). My aim was to create the biggest single archive of information related to Alice Cooper, a "one stop shop" for anything you wanted to know. It's not perfect, there are surely still errors in there, and there is certainly a never-ending list of things I want to add, redo, update or rewrite, but I don't think there is a better resource for the subject out there.
Another purpose of the site is to highlight the work of the musicians who play with Alice. All are highly talented in their own right and often have their own solo projects that sometimes get little attention from the more mainstream press. If I can help them out with that I'm more then happy to do so.
The site is updated, corrected or added too almost ever day in one form or another, from major news updates, or adding new information, to simply fixing the endless typos I happen to spot. On top of that, when the mood takes me, I will look at various sections and update or even redo them in the hopes of improving things. The process never ends. In recent times I spent over four months adding scans and clippings to the early timelines, updating every page and adding a wealth of information that had appeared in recent years. Then in 2018 I worked on what was really the first complete re-write of the site since 1997, changing the site structure a little bit and hopefully making it easier to navigate, and in the process updating images and adding more. Many updates no one would likely ever even notice but me, but I still run the site primarily for myself. If others find it useful that is just a bonus.
I'm often asked if Alice knows about the site. The answer is yes, he is well aware of it, as are many of the musicians and associates who have been involved over the years. I know from conversations that the information here has been used in various official projects over the years, and even the lyric's archive has been used as a quick way to grab the words for songs they are maybe trying out in rehearsals before a tour. I think Alice thinks I'm slightly insane for doing it all, but then he collects watches and loves golf! Who knows why certain things hold such a fascination for different people.
Through the site I have the privilege to get to known many of the musicians Alice has worked with over the years, as well as some of the backstage team and management who have always been incredibly helpful and accommodating, especially manager Toby Mamis. They all genuinely care about the Alice Cooper fans, and go out of the way to help where they can. Alice should be very proud he has such a great team behind him.
Possibly the biggest thing that came out of the site, which still slightly amazes me, is that I can call original band members Dennis Dunaway, Michael Bruce and Neal Smith my friends! The 16 year old me would never have believed I would ever see, let alone meet these guys, but when we caught up on the 2018 UK tour they all greeted me as an old friend, and Dennis especially has been a big help in my personal life, always being there to listen and offer advice. They're all great guys.
Then of course there are the fans themselves, especially the UK Sickthings (aka the usual suspects), who are the best bunch of people you could ever meet. One of the biggest reasons I still travel to every show I can is to catch up with friends all around the country (and in some cases the world!). I've spent most of the best times in my life with these guys.
Of course nothing like this could exist without help, and too many fellow fans have helped out with news, information, and corrections then I could ever remember to list. I would however like to make special mention of the late Brian 'Renfield' Nelson, Alice Cooper archivist and personal assistant, who was a HUGE help for many years with inside information, stories and corrections. And also "superfan" Andy Michael, who over the years has added immensely to this site, and listened to all sorts of weird ideas and theories as we tried to work out what happened and when, especially in the early years.
So to close I hope you find the information presented here useful, or informative. I'm still as obsessed by Alice Cooper as I was when I was 16 and first saw him on 'The Muppet Show'. The man has met almost everyone and worked with many of the biggest names in the last 50 years. How many other rock stars have played on stage with Zeppelin, The Who, The Stones (and various Beatles), been an artwork by Salvador Dali, watched TV in bed with Groucho Marx, appeared on screen with Vincent Price, and Mae West, and formed a band with Johnny Depp, and gone through extreme addictions to come out the other side healthier and happier? The story is fascinating. Not bad for a "skinny guy from Detroit".