Revisiting the failed rock opera that starred Alice Cooper, Roxy Music and The Who
Alice Cooper has always been unafraid of a challenge in his career, but not everything he has been involved with has caused the desired effect. In 1975, at the height of his fame, everything Cooper touched should have turned to gold, but that wasn’t the story with the star-studded rock opera he participated in.
The project is titled Flash Fearless Vs. the Zorg Women, Pts. 5 & 6, and is based on a comic book hero from the 1940s called Flash Fearless. To Cooper’s defence, it wasn’t his story, and the tale was written by Rick Jones, Steve Hammond, Weston Gavin and Dave Pierce. Meanwhile, producer John Alcock was the one who dreamt up the soundtrack.
Unfortunately, there was a lack of precision to the album. It came across as a drunken, half-baked idea, and nobody was determined to see it across the line. Instead, those einvolved relied upon a series of famous faces they believed would be enough to make the LP a chart-topping phenomenon.
Cooper was likely critical in helping them secure the set of A-list collaborators thanks to his place in the social standing of the Los Angeles drinking scene. He was a founding father of the Hollywood Vampires, which is also the name of his supergroup with Joe Perry and Johnny Depp. In the club, Cooper was joined by Keith Moon, Ringo Starr, Harry Nilsson, Marc Bolan, John Belushi, John Lennon, and many more.
In terms of connections, few were better placed than Cooper, who had the entire rock ‘n’ rock fraternity on speed dial. On Flash Fearless Vs. the Zorg Women, Pts. 5 & 6, musicians included The Who duo Keith Moon and John Entwistle, Carmine Appice, Kenney Jones, Elkie Brooks, Bill Burford, and many more.
According to a news piece about the album featured in Melody Maker, “Alcock views the adventures of Flash on lubricious planet as ‘a breath of fresh air in rock music.” Despite Alcock’s bold claims about the record, it was a major flop and didn’t gauge the public’s interest. Reportedly, there were also plans to bring the show to the West End in 1975, but the lack of demand stopped their hopes.
Astonishingly, despite the involvement of a collection of the world’s most loved rockstars, Flash Fearless Vs. the Zorg Women, Pts. 5 & 6, only managed to chart at 209 on the Billboard Bubbling Under The Top LP’s Chart. Despite its lowly position in the United States, it’s a higher place than any other territory.
Unsurprisingly, Cooper and others involved have shied away from discussing the project, which they’ve likely buried in the back of their minds. In his biography of Cooper, Dave Thompson wrote (via Dangerous Minds): “The tidal wave of interest that the album’s cast was expected to arouse did not materialize. The single [‘I’m Flash’ by Cooper] flopped, the album did little better, and the entire shebang effectively faded from view until 1981, when the slightly retitled Captain Crash Versus The Zorgwomen Chapters Five & Six opened at Richmond’s, a small theatre on Santa Monica Boulevard. Skewered by Variety (‘an uninvolving space adventure spoof that tries desperately to be clever…but never even comes close’), it closed scant days later, forlorn and forgotten.”
Listen to the lead single from the soundtrack below.
