SHOCK rocker Alice Cooper is bringing his spectacular stage show to Plymouth for a special gig next week – one of just 10 UK dates.

The 61-year-old singer (aka Vincent Damon Furnier) gained worldwide fame in the 1970s for hits such as School's Out and I'm Eighteen along with his schlock-horror stage act.

The American, who resurrected his career in the 1980s after alcohol problems, brings his Theatre Of Death tour to the Pavilions on December 2. Tickets are sold out.

Hello, Alice; where are you at the moment?

I'm in Las Vegas and just finishing up a tour out here. It's wild out here. We've been doing 100 shows and then we have four months off.

Do you get tired half-way through the tour?

This show is so incredible, I don't have time to! I'm constantly thinking about what it is I need to do next. I'm like, "Right; where do I need to be standing for this bit?" The stage show is so intense, I'm always thinking about it.

You're bringing the tour to Plymouth Pavilions. Can you give a sneak preview of what the audience should expect?

Yeah; it's an amazing stage show. We go through Alice Cooper songs and then at the end of an era, Alice Cooper gets killed off. Then it goes into the next batch of songs. So the fans are confused; they see a guillotine on stage and they're like, "Wait – that's not meant to happen until the end," but then Alice Cooper dies and then the next set is him in hell and then it continues; he keeps on dying and then going on to the next section.

You've got Man Raze supporting you; did you choose them personally?

Yeah; this whole tour is about the bands and music I love, so I was, like, "I've got to have Man Raze [featuring former Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook and ex-Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen] on it."

What's the secret to having a long career?

Being professional – turning up to interviews when you say you will, being polite to everyone and not letting your fans down.

Would you still be playing music if you hadn't given up alcohol?

No way! My doctor said to me, "You've got a month tops – get ready to go and meet your friends Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison, because you aren't going to last long." That was a wake-up call.

Is it true that since giving up booze you've become obsessed with golf?

I love golf; I'm addicted to it. When I was younger I was addicted to other things like alcohol; now I'm addicted to healthy things. I'm addicted to being sober; I have to be sober. I'm also addicted to my family. I've never been unfaithful to my wife, not once. I'm addicted to that. It's all about replacing the bad addictions with the good ones.

Don't you also own a restaurant?

Yeah; it's called Cooperstown. It was really important to me to have a place where young bands can come and play so they can say they've had a chance to get noticed.

Is it true that other celebrities and bands come to you to talk about their problems with addictions?

When it comes to addictions, if someone has a voice which is saying to them 'Stop', it's never going to be stronger than the voice of something like heroin, but what I do say is that if you do have the voice of heroin in you, then you need to drop everything and go and get some help. I get people calling me up all the time who are in trouble – movie stars, musicians, all sorts – saying, "I think I'm in trouble." It's good that I can try to help, but I'm just one voice.

Do you still enjoy getting dressed up and going on stage?

Definitely; it's like a release. I can be respectable, spending time with my family, and then that night I get to go on stage and rock out. It's great to do both.