IT'S not always a good idea to meet your idols. After all, having worshipped them from afar, meeting them in the flesh as mere mortals can often destroy the illusion of their god-like status.

But for eminent city lawyer Phil Thorneycroft, life-long Alice Cooper fanatic, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have a chat with his hero was too good to miss.

Having witnessed every Alice UK tour bar one – that's roughly 30 over the past 30 odd years – Phil could not quite believe that the American shock rocker was at last coming to his home town. But to have him appear at Plymouth Pavilions on December 2, which by some incredible piece of good fortune also happens to be Phil's birthday, was a double dream come true.

For Phil, who is in the habit of donning the Alice gear and make-up at any appropriate opportunity, this was the ultimate party excuse and he had brought with him an entourage of 45 close friends, also suitably attired, to help him enjoy the show.

It wasn't until the day of the show that Phil was informed that he had been granted a back stage pass and, although absolutely ecstatic at the news, he also confessed to being quite nervous at the prospective meeting.

He need not have worried. On greeting Alice, who was absolutely charming and had been well informed about this particular Plymouth lawyer, the pair chatted like a couple of long-lost friends about everything from the set list and previous shows, to golf technique.

Alice regretfully turned down Phil's offer of a game at St Mellion the following day, saying it's too cold and damp to play here and he can't risk the chance of catching a cold as he did on his last UK tour, which left him struggling vocally for two weeks.

And he also gave the inclement weather conditions as the reason for not including snakes in the show. Apparently they get pneumonia very easily.

The pair laughed and joked while posing for photos, and Alice made sure to strangle Conall, Phil's 13-year-old son, in the nicest possible way, with one of the necklace props that featured in his stage show during Dirty Diamonds.

As Alice was whisked away to hop on the tour bus bound for Nottingham, Phil was left on an absolute high.

"Meeting Alice lived up to expectations plus a thousand," he beamed, while his wife Eilish commented that meeting Alice not only made Phil's day – it made his life!