Brian 'Renfield' Nelson

[Si]

From Toby Mamis (Alice Cooper Manager)
It is with extreme sadness that we need to inform the community of Alice Cooper fans of the passing of Brian "Renfield" Nelson, Alice's long-time archivist and personal assistant. It was a sudden, completely unexpected, and untimely passing. We would appreciate it if you would keep him in your thoughts, appreciate his many contributions to Alice's life and career over the years, and respect Brian's privacy and the privacy of Alice and his extended family (at home and on tour) at this time.

Alice is currently on tour in Russia, because the show must go on, which is as Brian would have wanted it.

[Seriously]

Very sad news, Alice and many others will miss him dearly. My condolences.

[sparkinthedark]

Echoing the above. My condolences and thoughts are with all those affected.

[NotSoPerfect]

My thoughts are with Brian's family and Alice and everyone connected with the tour. I'm so sorry to hear this news.

[daytripper]

OMGosh....This is sad news.
My heart goes out to all family and friends.

[Baz]

Condolences to everyone associated with Brian.
Never met him, but heard a lot of good things about him.
RIP

[Gorehound]

Sorry to hear this sad news. My condolences to all his friends and family, I'm sure he will be sorely missed.

[Si]

Jenn and I are still in shock. I have know Brian for over 20 years and had the privelidge of calling him a friend. While we were generally together in person only at shows, and then mostly for just a few minutes at a time due to Brian's commitments, we talked on a weekly basis via email. Normally I would ask him to check facts or confirm/deny rumours for the STUK news page, something he was ALWAYS happy to do for me, often within a few minutes if he knew the answer. If he didn't he found out. But just as often that would spin off into another conversation. I will miss his views, thoughts, and his brutal putdowns if he thought I were wrong.

I remember one time I email Brian about some matter relating to Alice in the 70s. He replied saying he'd check. An hour or so later I recieved an answer. He'd arrived at the hotel and simply asked Alice. You can't get better then that.

Another time a few of us flew over to the US to catch some shows, and we had problems calling home for the first few days. I recieved an email from Brian saying some strange woman calling herself my mother had emailed the official site asking if they knew where I was and could he get me to call her! It seemed to amuse Brian that she thought emailing "Alice Cooper" would be the best way to find out where I was!

These are just a couple of examples that show Brian Nelson was much more then just Alice Cooper's personal assistant. He went much further then the job discription.

For a start he was indisputably the biggest Alice Cooper fan in the world, which is how he got the job in the first place. He also had the biggest collection of memorabila (The Alice Cooper Archives) which included things the rest of us could only dream of. But just as importantly he was the fans direct link to the world of Alice Cooper, always happy to answer questions and help out when he could. He would arrange for people to go backstage to meet the band, and when he could, meet Alice as well. He would get items signed for fans or pass gifts on to Alice as needed. Anything he could do, within reason, to bring fans closer to Alice.

Whether you know it or not, when you visit this site you owe something to Brian. His input was indispensable both for his encyclopedic knowledge of Alice Cooper history and willingness to confirm information for me to pass on to you. And of course he was also behind many Alice Cooper releases like the 'The Life And Crimes Of Alice Cooper' and 'Prime Cuts'.

Touring, and Alice Cooper, just won`t be the same, to me, without him.

[Baz]

A sad day indeed.

[Swinger]

Very sad news indeed. My condolences.

[Petri]

Sad news.
My condolences to his family and friends.

[damiennalice]

Out of left field news for me. Shocking and sad. The Alice Cooper world has lost one of its best friends. My condolences.

And thank you,Brian,for all you have done. You will be missed.

[ElectedPlus]

What an awesome guy. Very sad to see him go. As Si said - he really went above and beyond the call of duty.

[guilty65]

This is so horrible and a complete shock.
My condolences go out to Brians family, Alice and the band and all of Brians friends.
Things will not be the same without him. I had the honor of talking to Renfield a few times and he was always cool and funny to be around.

I can't believe it.

God Speed Brian.

[cooperrocks]

Brian Nelson was a great guy. I met him numerous times through the years because Brian was always out before shows mingling with the fans. He took his job very seriously but he never forgot what it meant to be an Alice fan. Heck he was the ultimate Alice fan himself.He was also great about answering emails, etc and was always very polite. He definitely meant a lot to Alice's career. He definitely will be missed. Whether we are talking about Alice or some other performer, let's always keep in mind there are always a ton of people who work behind the scenes (from the stage crews to management) who do so much to make sure the fans see a good show.

[Dragonlady]

Right now I am too shocked to post anything coherent. I am in tears, this is such a shock! I'll read this thread tomorrow and hopefully come up with some words.

I never met Brian but corresponded with him in the days when he still had time for that. I always looked forwards to seeing him busying himself onstage before or after a show.

I still can't believe this.

[steven_crayn]

Devastating news, like most of us I never met Brian but I had corresponded with him.
He was without doubt the biggest and most knowledgable fan of Alice.

He also co wrote a pretty good song with Alice and Bob Marlette on the Brutal Planet album called 'Pessi-Mystic'.

R.I.P

[RemarkablyInsincere]

I am shocked and saddened by this news. Although I never met him, over the years I had several e-mail correspondences with him. He was always nothing short of professional and genuine. I wanted to introduce myself to him before a show many times when I would spot him, however I either didn't want to interrupt him or I just didn't have the nerve.

It was obvious to me that Brian was nothing short of a blessing to Alice the man and Alice Cooper the legend. He never forgot that he himself was a fan and it showed in his interactions with the fans.

Over the years reading his posts on the old Sickthings list and other places, Brian had a wit about him that was uniquely his. Often times it gave me a chuckle.

As a fellow Alice Cooper fan, I can say with all certainty that he will indeed be missed by the fans.

My thoughts are with his friends and family at this difficult time.

[WickedYoungMan]

I simply do not know what to **** say.

[Ravenred]

So sad & unexpected. I only met him a couple of times but he was always pleasant & friendly. R.I.P