Think about music history’s most shocking stage shows — Alice Cooper may be the first name that comes to your mind. With a giant snake around his neck, fake blood pouring out of his mouth, and a creepy doll in his hand, Cooper knows how to thrill his fans. For almost six decades, the musician has used instruments like guillotines, pyrotechnics, fake blood, electric chairs, reptiles, baby dolls, and dueling swords to design his shows to shock audiences.
Although he is the ‘Godfather of Shock Rock,’ there are other names who have curdled their fans’ blood on stage. For instance, Ozzy Osbourne picked up a dead bat thrown on stage by a fan and chopped its head off with his mouth. Even those who don’t listen to Ozzy have heard about this incident. Marilyn Manson is another example, as he once used a broken beer bottle to cut his chest on stage, pointed a gun at the audience, and ate a bible during one of his shows.
Due to the nature of their stage performances, Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson are seen as two musicians with so much in common. The two are close friends and have shared the same stage on several occasions. Even when Manson’s sexual abuse allegations made the headlines, Cooper couldn’t believe what he saw as he spent so much time with the rock icon. However, before they met and formed a friendship, Cooper had a big problem concerning Marilyn Manson.
Speaking to Under the Volcano in 2000, Alice Cooper revealed his thoughts about Marilyn Manson while talking about the urban legends about himself. As many know, Manson is believed to have removed one of his ribs to perform self-fellatio. In fact, this is nothing but a rumor. According to Cooper, there are many incredible things he does on stage, but many things he heard from others were rumors.
Following that, UTV asked Cooper whether he was okay with Marilyn Manson’s existence in the scene or if it made him angry. The reporter then added that Manson was a poor imitation of the original. Alice Cooper said he had never met Manson, but he liked his songs. However, he had a problem with him — he was uncomfortable with Manson naming him his hero after doing things like tearing up a Bible.
“I’ve never met Marilyn,” Alice Cooper admitted. “I’ve met everybody else in the band. I like the song ‘Dope Show.’ There are a couple of songs I really, really like. I understand that he’s changed his image a whole lot. I had a really big problem when he first came out, tearing the Bible up and all that and then calling me his hero.”
After revealing his reaction to what Manson said about him, Cooper continued, “I was like, ‘Wait a minute, let’s get this straight; what I do on stage is pretty much warning people like you. I think he’s very smart. I think he knows how to push all the right buttons, and I think if he concentrated on the music, he’d be around for a very long time. The theatrics are easy, but I think he needs to find some good writers because he’s a good lyricist.”
Thirteen years after this interview, Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson took the same stage during the Masters of Madness Tour as co-headliners. The two also performed Cooper’s iconic hit ‘I’m Eighteen’ on several shows. As this interview took place before they became close friends, Alice didn’t like that Marilyn called him his hero after the controversial things he had done. However, he still appreciated his music and called Manson an intelligent person who knew how to push the right buttons.
