Alice Cooper left a local shopkeeper stunned when he wandered into her small store in Scarborough. The rock music legend, 78, was in the seaside town of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, where he was set to play to thousands of Hollywood Vampires fans alongside Johnny Depp at the Open Air Theatre.
Surprise visit to Bijou Creations
Just before taking to the stage on Saturday, Alice, whose real name is Vincent Damon Furnier, paid a visit to Bijou Creations in Scarborough Market Hall & Vaults, which has been run by artist Julie Henderson for almost a decade and sells art inspired by the local area.
Recalling her shock upon seeing the music icon, she said: "I noticed him outside my door and then he just wandered in, I instantly thought ‘Wow! Alice Cooper is in my shop!''"
Purchase and reaction
Unfortunately, there was no sign of Johnny Depp, but Julie was thrilled to get the chance to meet the rock star, best known for hits like School's Out, I'm Eighteen and Poison, and he didn't leave the shop empty-handed. She wrote on Facebook: "He was really nice, lovely to talk to, very down to earth. He allowed me to take a picture of him modelling one of my Art Tote bags he had just purchased. Sadly, no sign of Johnny Depp!"
Other locals were just as shocked as Julie was when they heard of the surprise appearance, with one writing in the comments section on Facebook: "Oh my god I’d have fangirled so hard I wouldn’t be able to speak!" Another said: "OMG what a legend! Saw him on his Poison tour at Wembley in 1989! Very jealous! x" and a third wrote: "Got to love it when a surprise rock star comes down to the vaults. The bag looks great with the straps that go on your shoulders."
Hollywood Vampires background
The Hollywood Vampires have not played live since their last tour ended in New York in July 2023 on the former Woodstock Festival site. Johnny, known for his starring roles in hit films such as The Pirates of the Caribbean and Edward Scissorhands, had leaned into music after stepping back from his Hollywood career following his court cases with ex-wife Amber Heard on both sides of the Atlantic.
The supergroup was formed in the 1970s by Cooper, originally founded as a celebrity drinking club at the Rainbow Bar and Grill in Los Angeles and included icons like John Lennon, Keith Moon, Harry Nilsson, and Jimi Hendrix. The mission of the club was to drink until no one could stand up, and to join, new members had to outdrink the others. Their swaggering heyday took place during the height of Cooper's drinking in the 1970s; he has now been sober for 40 years.
Decades later, Cooper, Depp, and Joe Perry formed the band to honour those late musicians. Cooper came up with the phrase "my dead drunk friends" to remember the late icons; their motto was also the title of their 2015 track in support of their debut album. Since then, the group has morphed into an American rock collective that has released two studio albums featuring guest appearances by Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, and Christopher Lee, among others.
