Shock rocker Alice Cooper on his new album Detroit Stories: 'Rock and roll isn't dead'

Alice Cooper played one of the last live shows in New Zealand before lockdown, on February 20, 2020. Photo / Getty Images

Shock rocker Alice Cooper says rock and roll is far from being dead in 2021 - it's just postponed, like everything else during a pandemic.

He spoke to Radio Hauraki's Tracey Donaldson ahead of the release of his new album Detroit Stories and said we can expect a lot more albums from musicians all over the world who are getting tired of waiting to release new music.

"We did the album before the pandemic," he told the radio host. "But then we couldn't put the album out because nobody was working. Everyone was on a computer, none of the radio stations were working, none of the record companies, so we just sat on the album.

"We said 'let's wait til February', but in 2021 and 2022 there is going to be a glut of albums coming out, because what else have these musicians all been doing with a year off? They've been writing and recording because it's the only thing we were allowed to do creatively."

Listen to Tracey Donaldson's interview with Alice Cooper:

In fact, he'd only just played in New Zealand a couple of weeks before the world shut down, Donaldson pointed out. Playing Auckland on February 20, 2020, Cooper was one of the last live shows in Aotearoa before lockdown.

And he said it was "a nice way to go out".

"From what I understand, New Zealand has done very well with the pandemic ... We love it over there and we can't wait to get down there on tour again soon."

To make Detroit Stories he brought in some old mates from the Detroit scene - Grand Funk Railroad, MC5. Surprisingly, they were all still in the same city.

"We decided we were going to make a real hard rock album, and so I said 'why don't we go to the home of hard rock, let's go to Detroit, which happens to be my hometown. Let's go there, write there, record the album there and use all Detroit players, so we get the REAL feel of Detroit'. And that's what we did, and it really turned out great, I'm really happy with the whole thing," Cooper said.

But if touring isn't an option in the foreseeable future, does he think Detroit Stories could be a Netflix show?

Radio Hauraki's Tracey Donaldson spoke to rocker Alice Cooper about his new album Detroit Stories. Photo / Supplied

"Oh my gosh, I do. I mean this would be an average weekend for me, it'd be at the Grande Ballroom which would hold about 1500 sweaty rock and rollers, nothing elegant about it at all - a real rock dungeon. And it would be Alice Cooper, Iggy and the Stooges, and The Who."

Another way he kept busy during lockdown was hosting his radio show. "The great thing about it is I get to play whatever I want, I get to tell all the backstage stories," Cooper said.

"And you know, some people you meet are just not what you thought, I met Elvis and he was so funny, I mean who would've thought Elvis was funny - some of these musicians you meet just don't marry up with what their image is."

And the rocker himself is no exception, as Donaldson pointed out.

"You certainly are one of the loveliest to chat to and I know that's not supposed to be your image, but you are."

Detroit Stories is on sale from February 26.

You can listen to the full interview on Radio Hauraki here.