When they were after each other's throats, when it came to the breakup and all that stuff, if anybody in the 'Vampires' back in those days — that was our drinking club — if anybody said anything bad about Paul [McCartney], John would take a swing at you. Because that was his best friend. If anybody said anything about John to Paul, Paul was not like that, but Paul would walk out of the room; he'd just walk out. Because you are not allowed to talk about their best friends. They were best friends no matter what was going on in the whole thing. One went one way and one went the other. I think John wanted to be more political; Paul was not into that that much. John was always trying to get me into politics, and I said, 'John, you're trying to save the world. I'm just trying to entertain them.'"
Alice Cooper: "Lennon was trying to politicize me, Keith Moon was helping (in his way)"
Alice Cooper recalled the times John Lennon tried but failed to make him more political in public, saying he was more interested in watching Keith Moon’s antics than taking the ex-Beatle’s advice.
Brian Wilson and John Lennon only met because of the guardian of gore, Alice Cooper. (read below)
Aice Cooper, Lennon, Keith Moon and Harry Nilsson – among others (Ringo Starr)– were members of a drinking club known as the Hollywood Vampires in the ‘70s. In a recent interview with the BBC, Cooper outlined how an average night played out. (UCR)
“The Hollywood Vampires would meet at the Rainbow Bar and Grill every single night,” he said. “And we would go up there, and I don’t remember anybody ever talking about music. Because I think this was our escape from music. You had all these guys that would just like to drink. And Harry and John, after they drank five or six drinks ... I’d have to sit between them. Because if John said ‘black,’ Harry would say ‘white.’ If Harry would say ‘Republican,’ John would say ‘Democrat.’”
That led him to recall a regular discussion with Lennon: “The one thing about John was he always tried to get me more into politics. And I told him, ‘John, you’re trying to save the world. I’m just trying to entertain them.’” Cooper said that, instead of politics, the “most important” thing about each evening was Moon’s arrival. "One night he would show up as the Queen of England, full outfit," he recalled. "One night he would be Hitler. One night he’d be a Viking. One night he be a French maid. He was the most entertaining human being on the planet and the best drummer I’ve ever heard in my life."
In the clip below Alice recalls one of the weirdest excuses Keith Monn had ever told
Alice Cooper introduced Brian Wilson to John Lennon
Alice Cooper tell the story: “I was sitting backstage after the 1974 Grammys with Bernie Taupin (Elton John’s lyricist) and John Lennon. This was when Brian was really having some mental issues. During the course of the conversation, I kept seeing Brian out of the corner of my eye, just kind of staring at us from different angles.”
“Finally, he came up to the table, bent down and whispered in my ear ‘Hey Alice, introduce me to John Lennon.’ I couldn’t BELIEVE that these two men had never met! They were virtually neck and neck in the 60’s as the greatest bands on the planet, and I’m SURE they must have crossed paths at some point. But then I thought to myself, ‘Wow, if they REALLY have never met, I’m going to be the one to introduce them and become a part of rock history!’”
“So I merely said, ‘Brian Wilson, this is John Lennon. John Lennon, this is Brian Wilson.’ Lennon was very cordial and polite, saying things like ‘Hello Brian, I’ve always wanted to meet you. I’ve always admired your work, and Paul and I considered Pet Sounds one of the best albums ever made.’ Brian thanked him and walked away, at which point Lennon went right back to his conversation like nothing had happened.”
“About ten minutes later, Brian came by our table again, leaned down and whispered something to Bernie, and all of a sudden, Bernie was saying ‘Brian Wilson, this is John Lennon. John Lennon, Brian Wilson.’ Lennon was just as cordial and polite as the first time, saying essentially the same thing about always wanting to meet him. As soon as Brian walked away, John looked at both of us and casually said in his typical Liverpudlian accent, ‘I’ve met him hundreds of times. He’s not well, you know."
He was the drums not because he was the most technically accomplished of drummers but because his joyous, semaphoring lunacy suggested a man possessed by the antic spthe biography of keoth moon and his drummingirit of drumming.
He was pure, irresponsible, restless childishness. At the end of early Who concerts, as Pete Townshend smashed his guitar, Moon would kick his drums and stand on them and hurl them around the stage, and this seems a logical extension not only of the basic premise of drumming, which is to hit things, but of Moon’s drumming, which was to hit things exuberantly. “For Christ’s sake, play quieter,” the manager of a club once told Moon. To which Moon replied, “I can’t play quiet, I’m a rock drummer.”
