Shock rock pioneer Alice Cooper has officially revealed the lineup of special guest hosts for his upcoming U.K. speaking tour. Scheduled for this October, the intimate “Devil On My Shoulder” book tour will feature a series of moderated conversations and audience Q&A sessions designed to give fans a rare look into the life and mind of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
The trek is set to kick off on October 11, just days after the October 8 publication of his definitive autobiography through Ebury Spotlight. Throughout the run, Cooper will be joined on stage by three distinct personalities from the realms of music and broadcasting.
Arthur Brown
Legendary theatrical rock pioneer Arthur Brown will handle moderating duties for four dates on the tour. Known universally as the God of Hellfire and remembered for his incendiary 1968 classic, “Fire“, Brown is a fitting counterpart to Cooper. Both artists were instrumental in introducing visual spectacle and dark theatricality to rock performances during an era when the genre was just beginning to explore elaborate stage productions.
“In an age of increasingly visual and theatrical live performance, Alice Cooper feels more relevant than ever – a true pioneer,” Brown said. “There are few artists more important to witness and learn from. I’m thrilled and honored to be moderating this conversation.”
Claire Sturgess
Veteran radio broadcaster Claire Sturgess will host the opening night in Cardiff, as well as subsequent stops in Cambridge and Manchester. As a familiar voice on “Absolute Radio” and “Greatest Hits Radio“, Sturgess has spent her career promoting classic rock and is well-equipped to guide the conversation.
“I first met Alice at the start of my radio career in the early ’90s in Phoenix, Arizona,” she explained. “I was completely in awe and can hardly remember what we talked about as the whole thing passed by in a blur. So I’m genuinely thrilled to be spending more time with him here in the U.K. to talk about his new autobiography…. And maybe finally uncover the truth behind some of those legendary stories!”
Billy Sloan
For the tour’s stop in Glasgow, highly respected Scottish music journalist Billy Sloan will take the stage. With decades of industry experience, Sloan brings a deep historical context to the event, having personally witnessed one of Cooper‘s most notorious early performances in the city.
“I’ve interviewed Alice maybe a dozen times,” Sloan recalled. “The first time I saw him was at Greens Playhouse, November 10, 1972 — the gig has gone into Scottish rock folklore as one of the most amazing shows we’ve ever seen in Glasgow. He came into Britain, played one night and flew back again and Mary Whitehouse tried to get him banned for corrupting the youth of the nation. There were questions being asked in the Houses of Parliament. We’d never seen anything like it before, the street scene like a New York lane, the snake, a knife fight. Then he was taken to gallows and hung by the neck! I still have the ticket stub and it was 90p. I’ve been a fan ever since.”
The memoir explores the stark contrast between the two sides of his identity: the notorious, guillotine-wielding stage persona that shocked the western world, and the man behind the makeup, a sober pastor’s son who has been happily married for 50 years.
Looking back on how these two lives intertwined through an era of pioneering rock, excess, and surrealism, Alice Cooper stated:
“Alice is still on tour around the world today, a proper senile delinquent playing hundreds of gigs every year, while I myself am reformed. And with the benefit of hindsight and a certain maturity, I’d like to describe our journey to Hell and back together, because it’s not only rock stars who can lose their way.”
The story traces his origins in the 1960s and 1970s when the name Alice Cooper originally belonged to the entire band. As frontman Vincent Damon Furnier developed his macabre stage theatrics, the persona eventually became his legal identity. Reflecting on this transformation, he explained:
“I was born Vincent Damon Furnier but, seduced by my character’s reputation, changed my name legally to Alice Cooper, and in the process lost sight of who I really was. The mild-mannered, all-American boy I’d once been became a monster and a mortal danger to himself.”
Spanning his extensive career, “Devil On My Shoulder” features wild anecdotes involving a massive roster of historical and pop culture icons, including Salvador Dalí, Bob Hope, John Lennon, Groucho Marx, Vincent Price, Frank Sinatra, Errol Flynn, Bette Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Gerald Ford, Andy Warhol, and Tiger Woods.
As he prepares to share his definitive life story, Cooper added:
“Me and Alice were getting creative with the truth long before the age of ‘fake news’. Now, after over thirty records and sixty-plus years of fibs and fabrications, I think it’s time to sort the truth from the rumors and lies.”
Alice Cooper “Devil On My Shoulder 2026” U.K. Book Tour Dates:
- October 11 – Cardiff, UK @ New Theatre (Host: Claire Sturgess)
- October 12 – Cambridge, UK @ Corn Exchange (Host: Claire Sturgess)
- October 13 – London, UK @ London Palladium (Host: Arthur Brown)
- October 14 – Brighton, UK @ Brighton Dome (Host: Arthur Brown)
- October 16 – Manchester, UK @ Opera House (Host: Claire Sturgess)
- October 17 – Stockton, UK @ Stockton Globe (Host: Arthur Brown)
- October 19 – Glasgow, UK @ Pavilion Theatre (Host: Billy Sloan)
- October 20 – Wolverhampton, UK @ Civic Hall (Host: Arthur Brown)
