I Want To Be....

Yeah I know – I went a whole week without posting. I’ve been busy you know!


Yesterday was the general election in the UK and, even more so than usual, the choices where between varying degrees of useless. We seriously had some very uninspiring candidates for the big job. That said I wouldn’t want to do it – but then I’m not devious enough for it. But it’s done now and we’re currently stuck with a hung parliament (yes, I know the temptation for the next comments to but I’m resisting on the grounds I don’t have enough rope.)

Still, this neatly segues into what I was going to talk about. The Friday song has to be Elected by the great Vincent Furnier – better known as his alter ego – Alice Cooper. Alice’s career spans from the sixties right up to now. He is the master of modern Vaudeville, his shows of suspense, shock horror and the whatever mayhem Alice is involved in stand out now as much as when he started.

Over the years Alice battled his demons. They were pretty close to winning a few times as well. But he came out the other side and picked up his non-rock and roll addiction of golf. However, he is also a very committed Christian. From a family of preachers his trials and tribulations have brought him a strength of faith that I sometimes wished I had. That ability to change, to grow stronger, to survive. His faith did come close to Vincent killing off Alice though. Fortunately his preacher at the time successfully convinced Vincent that Alice was not a straight alter ego of him, but a character created of his mind but not his soul.

I met Alice in December 1989 at a record signing in London. It was the first year that I’d been living down there and my Mum, Nan and Sister came down for a weekend of shopping and sightseeing. I’d seen that he was doing a record signing at Tower Records in Piccadilly Circus. It was a very cold Saturday and we stood in the queue for about an hour and a half. Despite all my attempts I could not get my Mum to go off and grab a cup of coffee and come back later. She insisted on standing in that queue as she wanted to meet the guy who’s records we played and who’s videoed live shows were often played at home. Clutching my copy of Poison for him to sign I finally got my turn at the front of the queue. We chatted as he signed my record sleeve and the one thing that sticks with me is just how much of a thoroughly nice chap he is. My Mum rather thought the same.

So, I know I should have brought the Friday song forward a day to fit in with the election but...tough!

By the way – it’s worth checking out Alice Cooper: Golf Monster – How a Wild Rock’n’Roll Life Led to a Serious Golf Addiction.
 


Elected

I'm your top prime cut of meat, I'm your choice,

I wanna be elected,
I'm your yankee doodle dandy in a gold Rolls Royce,
I wanna be elected,
Kids want a saviour, don't need a fake,
I wanna be elected,
We're all gonna rock to the rules that I make,
I wanna be elected, elected, elected.


I never lied to you, I've always been cool,
I wanna be elected,
I gotta get the vote, and I told you 'bout school,
I wanna be elected, elected, elected,
Hallelujah, I wanna be selected,
Everyone in the United States of America.


We're gonna win this one, take the country by storm,
We're gonna be elected,
You and me together, young and strong,
We're gonna be elected, elected, elected,
Respected, selected, call collected,
I wanna be elected, elected.


"And if I am elected
I promise the formation of a new party
A third party, the Wild Party!
I know we have problems,
We got problems right here in Central City,
We have problems on the North, South, East and West,
New York City, Saint Louis, Philadelphia, Los Angeles,
Detroit, Chicago,
Everybody has problems,
And personally, I don't care."