Alice Cooper is an unlikely Christian, given his stage persona. But the rock star has revealed he has read the Bible “14 or 15 times” and thinks his friend and fellow bandmate Johnny Depp “would do well to do the same amount. At least!”
Speaking to The Times, the 77-year-old said he prays for ten minutes before a show, never blasphemes, and never uses upside-down crosses because they offend him. He also teaches a weekly Bible class near his home in Phoenix, Arizona.
Cooper, whose father was a pastor, said he runs three youth centers in Arizona for vulnerable children because he knows that “heaven and hell are real, and one day I will have to answer to Jesus."
The former hell-raiser found fame in the 1970s with songs such as “School’s Out,” but his ghoulish makeup and wild act—which included snakes and vampires—led campaigner Mary Whitehouse to try to ban him from the UK. His drug and alcohol addictions led him into rehab, but 42 years ago, he found God.
His latest UK tour starts this week, and before a show he now takes an afternoon nap, followed by a Diet Coke and a chocolate chip cookie. He says it’s important to keep life in perspective:
“I’ve discussed this with Marilyn Manson. I’ve discussed it with Nicolas Cage. Perform the dark role, but don’t let it consume you. So many of my friends didn’t make it: Jim Morrison, Keith Moon, Jimi Hendrix… These were my brothers, and I watched them die. They all lived fast and became good-looking corpses, but it was a tragedy to see…
“People shouldn’t give their whole lives—their health—to rock ’n’ roll. Life is bigger than that.”
In 2012, he formed a band, the Hollywood Vampires, with actor Johnny Depp and Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry.
“When I first started the Vampires, I was the only one who was sober…
“Johnny got sober, and it took Joe almost dying to get there. They were always professional, but I prayed for them.”
Cooper, whose real name is Vincent Furnier, has been happily married to Sheryl Goddard for almost 50 years. They have two daughters, a son, and five grandchildren.