Alice Cooper bringing fear to Birmingham NIA

Rock horror legend Alice Cooper will be helping fans get in the mood for all things spooky when he brings his Night of Fear Halloween show to Birmingham's NIA Arena on Thursday.

The tour is to promote Alice's latest album, Welcome 2 My Nightmare, the long, long awaited sequel to his 1975 breakthrough album Welcome To My Nightmare.

The new release takes the story of the character Steven from the first album into new nightmarish scenarios, and includes musical echoes from the original, which as well as the title track, spawned the massive hit Only Women Bleed.

Alice says: "I really like the idea of having some of the musical identity of the first album showing up in the second album.

"It really connects the two and if you're a real Alice fan and you hear those things it makes you feel comfortable."

Of course comfort isn't what fans expect at an Alice Cooper gig. They want the props, the guillotine, the spear, the baby and more, as well as a slew of Cooper classics like Poison, Elected, No More Mr Nice Guy and, of course, School's Out.

As well as recording the new album, Alice has been busy getting involved with the launch of the Welcome To My Nightmare maze at Hollywood's Universal Studios theme park. He had a hand in designing the attraction which takes visitors past electric chairs, guillotines, giant spiders and a "predatory snake".

The maze "is a nightmare that will haunt visitors' dreams for a long time to come," Alice says.

The night after his Birmingham appearance, Alice will be in London for a special night of horror at the British Film Institute to talk about his love of horror films.

He will discuss how film has inspired his career and life, illustrated by clips from the likes of 'the Black Queen' in the 1968 movie Barbarella. The evening will feature freakish performers, special guests and a Q&A before Alice introduces a screening of John Carpenter's seasonal classic, Halloween from 1978.

Tickets for Alice Cooper at the NIA on Thursday, October 27, 2011, cost £33.50 plus booking fees.