Killer

Product Information

Dec 4th 1971 'Killer' enters the Billboard album chart at #83 while 'Love It To Death' is still at #145 after 38 weeks. Feb 18th 1972 Civic Auditorium, Albuquerque, NM (w/ Cheech and Chong, Redbone) - Albuquerque New Times 17th February has a small piece saying Cheech and Chong and Redbone are opening for Alice Cooper at Civic Auditorium "tomorrow night". Also issue 10th Feb has same info. - Strangely there seems to have been more trouble at this show similar to the Tucson show. Albuquerque Tribune Feb 19th has photo and info clearly stating 'Civic Auditorium' while the Tucson articles clearly state 'Community Center'. Also Albuquerque Tribune 24th February clearly refers to two different shows so there doesn't seem to be confusion. (our original mention of "memorial auditorium" seems a red herring as there appears to be no such place) - Review in Albuquerque Journal 19th February and The Daily Lobo (Student Paper) on Feb 21st. As Neal Smith, their drummer,recalls, "The early days in Topanga Canyon, we were freaking starving. We barely had money for beer. And believe me, if it came down to beer or food, then beer would win."

When Neal got the snake, of course it was going to be in the show. He took care of it. He fed it and he’s the one that had a nice travel case for it and everything. It’s name was 'Kachina' and that’s 'Kachina' on the cover of our 'Killer' album. Neal was holding Kachina and I was watching the photographers photograph this. They were trying to get a picture, a really good picture of Kachina, because we wanted that to be the album cover because it was called 'Killer' and we thought, well, this snake lives to kill (laughs). So we wanted them to get a picture of the snake with it’s tongue out. May 27th 1972 Jai Alai Fronton, Miami, FL (w/ Dr. John, Todd Rundgren and Eric Quincy Tate Band) A poster exists advertising "This Will Be The Final Performance, Ever, of Killer." It wasn't as they did it again the following night and for the next month. There were TWO Alice Cooper performances at the venue on the same day, 7.30 and midnight, after the early show sold out. According to Billboard (twice!) Alice Cooper's show was filmed and recorded. - 'Killer' still at #43. Smith: Songs like "Killer"and "Desperado,""Halo of Flies," that was a whole new big theatrical and musical direction for us.June 10th 1971 'Schools Out has risen to #63 on the Billboard singles chart. According to Billboard Alice pops home to Phoenix during his promotion duties. Killer" more than lived up to the promise of their previous release. 'Killer' was the perfect album to follow'Love it to Death'

Nov 9th 1971 Alice leaves London (passport stamp). Alice was due to record an appearance on 'Top Of The Pops' on November 10th but this never happened. His passport notes that his work visa ran out of the 10th November which is probably why TOTP was canceled.

Companies, etc.

The Warner Bros. prop department built two scaled-down versions of the gallows they used in movies for the "Killer" tour, replacing the electric chair they had been using.

Dead Babies' sees Alice cuddling a baby doll, sometimes filled with stage blood, which he proceeds to violently chop up with a hatchet at the front of the stage, ending the song snarling the words to it's severed head. Of course he couldn`t be allowed to get away with such a crime and so begins 'Killer', the big set piece of the show. Melody Maker 1st week July 1972 talks about the band being in the mansion in Conn. Evonne is current snake. It mentions the Wembley show as being that week and the 15th July issue has a review/article about it. A previously unreleased live version of “Be My Lover” from the upcoming SCHOOL’S OUT (DELUXE EDITION) is available today digitally. Listen now . As with 'Love It To Death' the exact release date is a little fuzzy. The generally accepted date is November 27th, however that can't be correct. For a start November 27th 1971 was a Saturday, and albums in the US were released on Tuesdays. Secondly the issue of Billboard dated November 27th already shows it "bubbling under" the top 200 at #203 (it entered the main charts the following week at #83) so it must have been on sale earlier. The Billboard chart shows sales data collected 11 days before the cover date and covers the week before. That puts 'Killer' as being released on Tuesday November 9th 1971 at the latest. The road to "Killer" started in the Cortez High School cafetorium in Phoenix, where in 1964, the singer made his first onstage appearance with the Earwigs, singing Beatles parodies alongside future bassist Dennis Dunaway and guitarist Glen Buxton.Cooper: People listened to "Love it to Death" and they said, "Oh, my gosh, Alice Cooper's got a sound now." "Killer" took the sound to the next step. Like it should. Every band should get better and better and better. Nov 23rd 1971 Reports suggest that after travelling on the same plane as the John Mayall band, the guys attended a Mayall show at the Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids, MI. June 21st 1972 Holland Civic Center, Holland, MI (/w Mike Quatro Jam Band) - Local Spins has memories from the show but no useful images, but mentions the cannon may have been tried a second time here. Quote from Roanoke.com: "Cooper made his first Roanoke Valley appearance on Jan. 28, 1972 at the Salem Civic Center — then called the Salem-Roanoke Valley Civic Center." Local newspapers DO refer to the "Salem-Roanoke Valley Civic Center" as well as every other combination of the words as well as "Roanoke Civic Center Coliseum"!! Adverts for other shows refer to Roanoke Civic Center. However someone else remembers them being different places.....

Dunaway: Alice is being kind to the reviewers. It was more like "These guys are using theatrics as a crutch."

During 'You Drive Me Nervous' the line "Honey, where did we fail?" is said by sound man Artie King (Dennis Dunaway, 2019). Photos exist by Len DeLessio of the band relaxing between shows. In one shot Neal and Alice are sitting holding a baby.. planting the idea for the famous 'Billion Doillar Babies' photo?