Alice Cooper band reunite for five-date UK tour

Originally consisting of schoolfriends Vince Furnier - who would later change his name to Alice Cooper - Dennis Dunaway, Michael Bruce, Neal Smith and Glen Buxton, the group rose to fame for their theatrical shock rock in the 1970s.

Now reformed after more than four decades apart, aside from Buxton who died in 1997, they will embark on a five-date UK tour later this year including stops in Leeds, Birmingham, Glasgow and London.

It comes after the original line-up surprised fans at a Nashville concert last month with a five-song mini-set of their classic hits.

Cooper said the reunion came together after Smith and Dunaway reached out to him as he was working on his latest album, Paranormal.

He said: "When the original band broke up in 1975, there was no bad blood.

"There were no lawsuits, we had just burned out the creative process. We had gone to high school together and had recorded something like five Platinum albums in a row.

"We were never out of sight of each other for 10 years. Everybody just went their own way. Neal, Dennis and I always stayed in touch. Mike disappeared for a while and Glen Buxton passed away in 1997, which was a big blow.

"But last year Neal called me up and said, 'I have a couple of songs'. I said great, bring them over.

"Then he said Mike was stopping by, so I had them come to my house and we just worked on a few things for a week. Then Dennis called up and said, 'I got a couple songs'. So, I thought, hey let's do this.

"When you listen to the record, it just fits right in."

:: Tickets to see Alice Cooper tour the UK in November are on sale now.