Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper is the name of the lead singer and band that recorded released the 'Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits' album, the very first record I ever bought, from Sounds Groovy in Horsham back in the early 1975 as best as I can remember!

Originally the group was Cooper on vocals, Glen Buxton on Drums, Neal Smith on Lead Guitar and Michael Bruce on Rhythm Guitar and Dennis Dunaway on Bass Guitar. After 1975 Alice Cooper became a solo act and the band broke-up.

As with many, my first awareness of eth band was with 'School's Out' an anthem from 1972, which was knocked off the No.1 spot in the UK by Donny Osmond!

Warning many of these videos contain snakes.

After this hit, the band had hits with 'Elected' and 'Billion Dollar Babies'

It was not until I got hold of the Greatest Hits album that I was really hooked on the group until the emergence of Punk and New Wave...

Early tracks such as 'I'm Eighteen' and 'Under my Wheels' became instant favourites of mine.

Having gotten into the band I bought most of their albums over the next couple years, they were not your usual heavy metal or prog rock bands that most of my friends were all into!

Next album I got was 'Welcome to my Nightmare', the first solo album, from which came the tracks 'Only Women Bleed' and 'Department of Youth' where he famously has a pop at Donny Osmond.

His 1976 album 'Alice Cooper Goes to Hell' was the last great offering with title track 'Go to Hell' being stand out.

Believe this video is from the same tour that I saw him at Hammersmith back in the early 1980s.

Other tracks of interest are 'Muscle of Love' and my personal all time favourite track 'Teenage Lament '74' - summed up how I felt growing up in downtown Horsham

Patti Smith

Patti Smith was an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and poet who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ' Horses '. Her most widely known song is " Because the Night ", which was co-written with Bruce Springsteen. It reached number 13 in America and number 5 in the U.K.

The Psychedelic Furs

The Psychedelic Furs were a British new wave band founded in London in the mid to late 1970s, led by singer Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene. Their music went through several phases, from an initially austere art rock sound, to later touching on new wave and elements of hard rock. Early tracks that I particularly liked included ' Sister Europe ' & ' India ' from their self-named debut album in 1979. The band had several hits in their early career. In 1986, filmmaker John Hughes used their song " Pretty in Pink " for his film of the same name. I saw them play at the Sports Centre in Crawley and then again later in Reading, whilst at Uni.

Puff Daddy

Sean Combs also known by the stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy , is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and actor. Combs was born in New York City but was raised in Mount Vernon, New York. He worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding his own record label, Bad Boy Entertainment, in 1993. Combs' debut album, ' No Way Out ' from 1997 was an instant success, followed by multiple successful albums and singles. Combs formed the musical group Dirty Money and also produced and cultivated artists such as Mary J. Blige and The Notorious B.I.G. The Track ' I'll be Missing You ' featuring Faith Evans is about the death of The Notorious B.I.G. in a shooting incident, and samples heavily form The Police 's ' Every Breath I Take '.

JoBoxers

JoBoxers were a British new wave group formed in the early 1980s, when former Subway Sect members Rob Marche (guitarist), Dave Collard (keyboardist), Chris Bostock (bassist), and Sean McLusky (drummer), teamed up with England-based American singer Dig Wayne. The band's debut single, " Boxerbeat ", peaked at number three in the UK while the group were the opening act on the Madness 'Rise and Fall' tour. However, it was their next hit, " Just Got Lucky ", that broke the band internationally. This single made the UK Top 10, and cracked the US Top 40, in 1983. The band split in 1985.

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones were an English rock band formed in London in the early 1960s. THey were at odds wit hthe prevailing popular pop music of the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered a gritty, heavier-driven sound that came to define hard rock. The band's first stable line-up consisted of bandleader Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica, keyboards), Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar, vocals), Bill Wyman (bass guitar), Charlie Watts (drums), and Ian Stewart (piano), the last of whom was removed from the official line-up in 1963, but continued to work with the band as a contracted musician until his death in 1985. Jones left the band less than a month before his death in 1969, having already been replaced by Mick Taylor, who in turn left in 1974 and was replaced in 1975 by Ronnie Wood, who has since remained. To my mind there are only four great Stones tracks - three from the late 60s, early 70s period, these being ' Paint it Black ' 'Sympat...

Muzical Mystery Tour

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