July 24th and 25th 2025 saw a special coming together of the extended Alice Cooper family in London to celebrate both the new The Revenge Of Alice Cooper album and the life of the great Chris Penn, who we tragically lost a few months earlier. The gravity of the event was such that people travelled from far and wide, including superfans Mike Meadus from western Canada and Amanda Hyde all the way from Tasmania, Australia! Others came from across Europe and the UK.

The main event was to be held at the majestic and imposing Union Chapel in Islington, North London, a Grade 1 listed 19th century church that doubles as an entertainment venue. It was here where fans would get a first ever full listen of the new album and to witness Alice, Dennis, Mike and Neal answer fan’s questions to them in person, as read out by acclaimed music producer (and Alice Cooper fan) Sir Tim Rice.

Before this, a large number of hardcore fans came together in a nearby pub (The White Swan) to remember Chris Penn. Chris, through his iconic Live From The Astroturf project, contributed so much to bring the Alice Cooper Group back together and to unite their fans. For this reason, it was important for me that he was represented on this special evening and I made sure this would happen by producing a load of pin badges to hand out. In true Chris tradition, I placed them in miniature pink ziplock bags together with the immortal ‘Thank God For Chris Penn!’ slogan (recreated to reflect the sticker included on his 2017 single that he released, of course).

In my various conversations with fans, it was abundantly clear how much he was loved and respected. Another Alice Cooper superfan, Steven Crayn, loudly and proudly toasted Chris, which drew a rapturous response from everyone. There were so many fine people present that I dare not attempt to name them for fear of missing someone out!

I was also grateful to see music photographer Jodie Cunningham, who I had first met in 2020 during the Manchester Film Festival screening of the Live From The Astroturf motion picture. Her business, Jodi Photography, has flourished in recent years and I was delighted to learn that she had been appointed as an official photographer for the Union Chapel event. I had prepared some special edition badges for the Alice Cooper Group in the hope (not expectation) that some may wear them on stage. With Jodie having backstage access, she was the perfect person to give them to. She reciprocated by giving me a cool Jodi Photography pin badge!

We then headed to Union Chapel, which was just a stone's throw away from the pub. By the time we got there, the majority of people had already entered so we had to make our way to the seating in the upper gallery. This was fine though as the whole venue had an intimate feel, with a great vantage point provided throughout.

The acoustics in the Chapel were excellent as, with a hint of irony, the renewed works of the Alice Cooper Group began to reverberate around the sacred building. After more than 50 years, there was a reassuring familiarity to the new music. I was instantly drawn to the likes of Black Mamba, Kill The Flies, Blood On The Sun and What Happened To You (which includes a sample of the late Glen Buxton on guitar). Many more listens will follow over the coming weeks, months and years.

With the final note of See You On The Other Side, it was time for the OGs to take the stage. Accompanied by Bob Ezrin, Mike, Dennis, Neal and Alice entered one-by-one to the delight of the 900 fans inside. They all looked happy, healthy and pleased to be together. Also on stage was Chris, with both Dennis and Mike having chosen to wear their badges with pride (Kyler Clark, Alice’s assistant, could also be seen wearing one). I rarely get emotional, but this had me welling up inside.

The whole Union Chapel experience was streamed live, so I won’t bore you with the specifics. All I’ll say is that it is well worth watching if you missed it!

As I looked at the light shimmering through the huge stained glass window above the OG’s, I couldn’t help but think that Chris’ work was now done and that his dream of seeing his favourite band release another album had become a reality. I just wish he could have been there; he should have been there and he would have absolutely LOVED IT! Thank God for Chris Penn!

The following night was Alice’s co-headline (with Judas Priest) solo show at the O2 arena in Greenwich, East London. This afforded a further opportunity to meet up with most of the superfans from the previous night at one of the internal bars situated under the venue’s giant canopy.

Unless you’re lucky / rich enough to secure a good vantage point, the O2 Arena is not the best place to visit for a show. Myself, Mike Meadus and Chris Daniels were all located up in the heavens where even Alice’s Frankenstein monster prop appeared little bigger than an oversized ant and the rest of the stage theatrics reduced to underwhelming status. Even the usually large screens at the back of the stage looked like tiny portable televisions. The sound, however, was fine and very loud!

Watching from such a high vantage point did, however, give you a better appreciation of the general demographic attending an Alice show. It was abundantly clear that songs like Feed My Frankenstein and Poison are particularly popular, with a sea of mobile phones activating when they were performed. For me though, it was the timeless Ballad Of Dwight Fry that was again the highlight of the standard show (due to this being a co-headline event, the set lasted little over an hour, so some songs from the usual setlist were not performed).

The main reason for going, however, was to see if the OG’s would make an appearance, no matter how brief. As suspected, they all took to the stage for the School’s Out finale alongside actor Johnny Depp, who obviously plays with Alice in The Hollywood Vampires. To support my earlier comment, most people in our part of the O2 didn’t know it was him until he was announced by Alice at the very end! It’s at this point that I must commend Dennis’ wife Cindy, who once again provided her husband with a killer outfit that sparkled to the tune of the stage lighting. From our location in outer space, and coupled with his trademark kicks, it was abundantly clear that it was him. Now that is what you call stage presence!

Another massive shout out is owed to Dennis, who again wore his Chris Penn badge with pride!

The only sour note was that Neal had to resort to (somewhat awkwardly) playing the tambourine. I appreciate that it wouldn’t have been practical to have two drum kits for just this one show / song, and have no idea if there’s some kind of ‘Drummers Code’ that prevents someone using another person’s kit, but it seemed rather regrettably that Glen Sobel wasn’t able to step aside for Neal. Still, he seemed ok, so I guess it’s none of my business.

This was a truly memorable few days that will live long in the memory. It was particularly great to finally meet and hang out with Amanda and Mike, both of whom are incredibly awesome and fun human beings whose devotion to the Alice Cooper Group is absolutely remarkable.

With the OG’s due to play Alice’s 'Christmas Pudding' show in Phoenix on the 15th November this year, it certainly won’t be their final chapter and we can only hope that more live performances and maybe even more new material will follow in the near future.