“Everything has its stress limit”: The moment Alice Cooper almost died on stage
Throughout his career, Alice Cooper earned his reputation as the ‘Godfather of Shock Rock’, and there were few who could question his position in this regard. Known for performing daredevil stunts on stage, presenting himself in a demonic fashion and writing lyrics that were designed to provoke and stir controversy, there was no denying that he’d built his entire personality on the ability to make both fans and critics alike feel a sense of unease.
Among his most shocking moments are incidents where he has staged a guillotine beheading on stage, wrestled with snakes, and decorated the stage with dolls’ heads impaled on spikes. While this is all an element of theatre as far as he’s concerned, it has certainly generated reactions of revulsion and genuine sickness from people who are on the squeamish side.
However, while some unwitting audience members may have feared for Cooper’s life while performing the most dangerous stunts, there was usually some sort of trickery involved that prevented him from ever being in genuine peril. That is, except for one incident, where Cooper had a massive oversight in terms of safety provisions, and ended up almost killing himself on stage as part of a shocking act. You’d think it might be difficult to shock someone known for shocking others on a routine basis, but even he was left in a state of fear for his life after an incident in 1988 went horrifically wrong.
One particular routine that Cooper had in his repertoire was staging a hanging on stage, complete with a fully functioning gallows, and as you can imagine, there’s plenty of risk involved in performing such a stunt, which the singer may well have taken into account. However, on one occasion, he had an incredibly close call with death after he failed to ensure he was taking all of the necessary precautions for it to go as planned.
During a warm-up show in England, Cooper entered the noose incorrectly, and while there was meant to be an invisible piano wire that caught him, it unexpectedly snapped as a result of his carelessness. Cooper had to react quickly by tilting his head backwards immediately to save himself from having his neck snapped on stage. This was markedly different from the guillotine or electric chair execution routines that he had been performing, because those involved an element of trickery. In this instant, Cooper was literally rolling the dice as to whether it would go right or wrong.
Of course, despite almost ending his life tragically in front of an audience, Cooper remained chipper about the entire situation and managed to laugh it off. In an interview, he claimed that it was all part of the spectacle, saying: “Everything has its stress limit, and after doing so many shows, I never thought about changing the wire. I figured it’ll last forever.”
He continued: “The wire snaps. I could hear the rope hit my chin and in an instant I flipped my head back,” he said of his fight or flight response taking over in an instant. “That must’ve been a fraction of a second because if it caught my chin it would have been a different result. It went over my neck and gave me a pretty good burn. I went down to the floor and pretty much blacked out.” You’d think that after an incident like this, he’d tone things down ever so slightly, but ever committed to his role as the most shocking performer in rock, Cooper has never relented when it comes to death-defying action, and you’ve got to salute him for that.
