ALICE COOPER - ALICE COOPER TO HELP WAYWARD KIDS

ALICE COOPER TO HELP WAYWARD KIDS

Shock rocker ALICE COOPER is to open a recreation centre for troubled youngsters. The legendary hellraiser, now a born-again Christian, is raising $3 million (GBP1.6 million) for the facility which will be named The Rock and situated in Phoenix, Arizona. Talking of the motivation behind the project, 58-year-old Cooper, real name is VINCENT FURNIER, says, "Kids love boundaries. We used to fight against them. But in all reality, what we really did want was to know where we could go. Of course, you always step over the line just a little bit to see what's going to happen. "People don't lay in the sun in southwest Phoenix. There's lots of shootings going, there's lots of meth going on, there's lots of gangs. "In the middle of all that is a bunch of 12, 13, 14-year-old kids that can go one way or the other." The sprawling complex will provide a physical and spiritual base for youngsters but Cooper is keen to stress it is not all about religion. He says, "We're not going to beat them over the head with a Bible. But we're certainly going to tell them that that's available to them." Once the centre is completed the POISON rocker plans to ask fellow stars, including TED NUGENT, to lecture there.