TIMELINE 14 - Special Forces
1981
May 19th 1981 Calico Cooper born. Interestingly even before Calico was born the press were reporting that Alice and Sheryl had chosen her name, Calico, assuming the baby was a girl.
June 2nd 1981 Date scheduled for the release of 'Special Forces', originally reported as titled 'Skeletons In The Closet'. It isn't actually released for another three months, well after the tour is underway.
June 11th 1981 Alice records his parts in the 'Portrait Of A Legend" TV biography in Los Angeles at the Alive Enterprises offices. (ref. original contract)
'Special Forces' Tour 1981
The first shows included just two new songs from the album (Opener 'Who Do You Think We Are' and cover song 'Seven And Seven Is') plus 'Generation Landslide' which was re-recorded for 'Special Forces'. 'Seven and Seven Is' was dropped after the first couple of weeks to return later in the tour.
June 20th 1981 Concord, CA, Concord Pavilion (w/ Y&T) [Ticket]
Alice at Concord Pavilion
June 21st 1981 Sacramento, CA, Memorial Auditorium (w/ The Pace) [Ticket]
June 29th 1981 Los Angeles, CA Greek Theater (w/ Phil Seymour) [Ticket] [Show review in Orange County Register July 2nd] - Actor Albert Finney is backstage to meet Alice.
June 30th 1981 Los Angeles, CA Greek Theater (w/ Phil Seymour) [Ticket]
- Who Do You Think We Are single released? - It doesn't appear in the Billboard chart.
July 1st 1981 Tempe, AZ, Compton Terrace at Legend City (w/ Phil Seymour) [Ticket][Eye Witness - Multiple listings in Arizona Republic] - Legend City was an amusement park on the border between Phoenix and Tempe, AZ. - Review in the Arizona Republic 2nd July and 3rd July (same review and photo!)
July 4th 1981 Marquette, MI, Lakeview Arena
July 5th 1981 Alpena, MI, Thunder Bay Outdoor Theater (w/ The Rockets)[Ticket]
July 8th 1981 Saginaw, MI, Wendler Arena (w/ Joe Perry Project, Spider) [Ticket]
July 10th 1981 Detroit, MI, Joe Louis Arena (w/ Joe Perry Project, Spider) [Ticket]
July 11th 1981 Detroit, MI, Joe Louis Arena (w/ Joe Perry Project, Spider) [Ticket] 26,490 attend over the two nights [Billboard Cashbox chart]
July 12th 1981 Lansing, MI, Lansing Civic Center (w/ Joe Perry Project, Spider)[Ticket] 4,981 in Attendence. [Billboard Box Office chart confirms, Local listings][Review]
July 14th 1981 Grand Rapids, MI, Welsh Auditorium (Civic Center)(w/ Spider) [Ticket] 2,891 attend [Billboard Box Office chart confirms]
July 17th 1981 Cedar Rapids, IA, Five Seasons Center (w/ Head East, Spider) (Poster) [Ticket][Show review in Cedar Rapids Gazette 18th July][Press mention]
July 18th 1981 Merrillville, IN, Holiday Star Theatre [Ticket][Local listings]
July 19th 1981 Pittsburgh, PE, Stanley Theater (w/ Spider) [Show preview in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette July 17th] 3,150 attend [Billboard Cashbox chart].
July 21st 1981 Cleveland, OH, Front Row Theater (w/ Spider)[Local listings] [Ticket][Show preview in Cleveland Plain Dealer July 17th]
July 22nd 1981 Cleveland, OH, Front Row Theater (w/ Spider)
July 24th 1981 Miami, FL, Sunrise Theater (w/ Spider) [Ticket] 4,086 in Attendance [Billboard box office chart]
July 25th 1981 Tampa, FL, University of South Florida Sun Dome (w/ Spider) [Ticket] 6,356 in Attendance [Billboard Box Office chart] 1st concert at venue which had just been build. [Show review in St Petersburg Times July 27th] - Alice appears on 'Nightflight'
July 26th 1981 New Orleans, LA, The Warehouse (w/ Spider) [Ticket] [Local listing] For the encore Alice comes out in a yellow T-Shirt recalling being a Grand Marshall of the New Orleans Mardi Gras in 1976.- Alice appears on "Blue Jean Network'.
July 28th 1981 Biloxi, MS, Mississippi Coast Coliseum (Court Ballroom?)(w/ Spider, The Gold)
July 29th 1981 Alexandria, LA, Rapides Parish Coliseum (w/ Spider, The Cold) - Often shorted to Rapides Coliseum. Preview in Alexandria Town Talk July 24th. Review in the Alexandria Town Talk July 31st.
July 31st 1981 Mexico City, Mexico Sports Palace Auditorium. Canceled
Aug 1st 1981 Mexico City, Mexico Sports Palace Auditorium. Canceled
August 4th 1981 Jackson, MI Jackson Sports Arena (w/ Spider) [Local listing]
August 5th 1981 Jackson, MI Jackson Sports Arena (w/ Spider) [Local listing]
August 6th 1981 Chicago, IL, Uptown Theatre (w/ Spider) - A short mention in Chicago Metro News August 1st lists Alice playing the Uptown Theater in Chicago for three nights between August 5th and 7th.
August 8th 1981 Kansas City, MO, Uptown Theater [Ticket]- Yes, there was an Uptown Theater in both Chicago and Kansas City and it appears Alice played them back to back.
August 13th 1981 N. Tonawanda, NY (Buffalo), Melody Fair (w/ Spider) [Ticket] [Eye witness] - Listings in Elmira Star-Gazette has Alice playing (issue dates Aug 7th). There is 6 mins super8 footage of Alice, reputedly at the Melody Fair.
August 14th 1981 New York, NY, The Savoy [Review in New York Times August 17th][Listing in White Plains Journal Nes confirms three nights.]
August 15th 1981 New York, NY, The Savoy [Ticket]
August 16th 1981 New York, NY, The Savoy [Ticket] [Billboard confirms 3 shows]
August 18th 1981 Poughkeepsie, NY, Mid-Hudson Civic Center (w/ Skywire feat. Kane Roberts!)[Ticket] [Local listings][Review in Poughkeepsie Journal August 19th]
August 19th 1981 Fitchburg, MA, Wallace Civic Center (w/ Spider and/or Atlantics) [Ticket][Eye witness]
August 20th 1981 Providence, RI, Ocean State Performing Arts Centre (w/ Joan Jet & The Blackhearts) [Ticket] 3,200 Attend [Billboard Box Office chart confirms]
August 21st 1981 Portland, ME, Cumberland County Civic Center [Ticket] [Photos exist] 5,486 attended [Billboard Box Office Chart confirms.]
August 22nd 1981 South Yarmouth, MA, Cape Cod Coliseum (w/ Joan Jett & The Blackhearts)[Eye Witnesses] - Original Blackhearts guitarist Eric Ambel's last show with Jett according to his Hall Of Fame speech.
August 24th 1981 Aberdeen, NJ, Fountain Casino [Ticket] - Regular listings in Ashbury Park Press plus the *classifieds* advert below. Is that really the best they could do??
August 25th 1981 Owings Mill, MD, Painter's Mill Star Theatre (Music Fair)(w/ Mannekin) [Eye Witness][Local listing][Review in Baltimore Sun August 28th] SHow was "in the round" with a revolving stage.
August 26th 1981 Cherry Hill, NJ, Emerald City
August 27th 1981 Cherry Hill, NJ, Emerald City [Ticket] [Local listings] (w/ Squeeze??)
August 28th 1981 Cherry Hill, NJ, Emerald City - Advert exists for three nights at Cherry Hill, NJ Emerald City and eye witness and Billboard also mentions. In fact Billboard mention the shows because the venue went bankrupt shortly after the shows and they report Alice, amongst other creditors, wasn't paid. Also listing in Doylestown intelligencer August 20th.
August 29th 1981 Hartford, CT, Stage West - Ticket apparently says August 29th but eyewitness claims date was changed to 28th, however that would clash with the previous show. Recording exists which is always dated 28th. Listing in Hartford Courant says 29th (twice).
August 30th 1981 Staten Island, NY, St. George's Theater
Sept 1st 1981 'Special Forces' is released with a minimum of publicity. [Date according to Billboard data]
Sept 10th '82 Shep Gordon is nominated in the 'Manager of the Year' catagory at the Billboard International Talent Forum.
Sept 14th 1981 Alice apparently sees/meets Adam and the Ants at Greek Theatre, Los Angeles (according to Ants fan site)
Sept 19th 1981 'Special Forces' enters the Billboard charts at #149.
Sept 23rd 1981 Nashville, TN Tennessee State Fairgrounds (w/ The Numbers) - Replaced Willie Nelson on the bill when Nelson pulled out due to illness. [Ticket] [Hutchinson News August 25th]. Billboard reports that the promotors spread rumours that the Rolling Stones would be playing, going as far as booking hotel rooms in their names. Despite denials to the press ticket sales soured by 4000 the day before the show. - Review in The Tennessean 24th September.
Sept 26th 1981 'Special Forces' Rises to #137 in the Billboard chart.
Sept 30th 1981 Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor, MI [Ticket]
Sept 1981 'Rock and Roll: The 1st 25 Years' recorded
October 1st 1981 Youngstown, OH, The Agora (aka State Theater) [Ticket][Photos apparently posted to facebook but now gone.]
October 2nd and 3rd 1981 Headliners, Madison, WI - seems a very small venue to be playing, this was a bar with live music with a suggested capacity of around 1,200. However it was canceled a few days before the scheduled date. Stated reason for cancelation was "TV Commitments".
October 3rd 1981 'Special Forces' is up to #125 in the Billboard chart.
October 5th 1981 Akron, Ohio, Agora Theater - Canceled
October 6th 1981 Akron, Ohio, Agora Theater (w/ Charlie Weiner/Wienerland Orchestra) - Originally scheduled to be October 5th AND 6th, but 5th was canceled (supposedly due to routing difficulties) with all tickets being valid for the 6th. [Information from various Cleveland Plain Dealers][Preview in Cleveland Plain Dealer October 6th and Akron Beacon Oct 1st and 4th (mentioning just the 6th show.][Review in Akron Beacon Journal Oct 7th]
October ?? 1981 Bangor, ME, Civic Center - Also date mentioned in Bangor in November. - Recording exists that is now often dated 8th but was originally undated.
October 9th 1981 Albany, NY, Palace Theatre (eyewitness) [Ticket] [Ticket]
October 9th 1981 'Tomorrow' with Tom Snyder filmed in NY and aired on NBC
October 10th 1981 Passaic, NJ, Capitol Theater (w/ The Electrics or Karla DeVito) [Ticket] 3,162 attend [Billboard Box Office chart confirms] - Full show filmed and exists. There's also a small booklet issued by the venue featuring Alice. Listing in Ashbury Park Press October 8th, 9th and 10th states Karla DeVito. Strangely while the ticket is spelt "theatre" all the local adverts spell it "theater".
October 10th 1981 'Special Forces' is still at #125 in the Billboard chart.
October 13th 1981 East Islip, NY, Club 2001 (advert apparently exists) - Almost no trace of this place on the net. Setlists.FM suggest The Ramones played there in August 1981 but that's it (and that site isn't always reliable! East Islip is a pretty small place for Alice to be playing, even in 1981!
October 15th 1981 Erie, PA, Erie County Fieldhouse [Ticket]
October 17th 1981 Atlanta, GA, The Agora Ballroom (or just "the Agora")(w/ The Restraints who were reportedly booed off stage) [Ticket] [Listing in the Anniston Star today.]
October 17th 1981 'Special Forces' drops to #143 in the Billboard chart. It's dropped out of the chart the following week.
October 23rd 1981 Phoenix, AZ, Arizona State Fair - Review in Arizonia Republic October 24th.
October 25th 1981 Dallas, TX Wintergarden (w/ Blackhorse) [Show review in Dallas Morning Post October 26th]
October 27th 1981 San Antonio, TX, Cardi's [Ticket] [Billboard mention confims show] - Venue was part of a small chain of clubs. This one had two large stages next to each other. U2 famously played here as did the Sex Pistols. The venue was previously called "Randy's Rodeo". Beyond that there's not much info out there.
October 28th, 1981 Houston, TX, Cardi's (could be mistaken for previous show but there were Cardi's clubs in San Antonio, Houston and Dallas.) Photos exist on Rockin' Houston website, but the "venue" is listed as "New York City" which I assume isn't a club name. As with the above show there doesn't seem to be much info about the place although there was a short film made about ita while back, but it seems to have also vanished.
October 30th 1981 Tulsa, OK, Brady Theater (Billed as a Halloween Party) [Ticket] [Eye witness] The Brady Theater was known as the "Old Lady of Brady" as seen on ticket and still hosts shows today. Alice played as recently as 2017.
October 31st, 1981 Norman, OK, Lloyd Noble Center (/w Xebec and a magician who was booed offstage) [Ticket][Eye witnesses] - Short preview in The Oklahoman October 25th. Review of the show in The Oklahoman on Nov. 2nd.
Nov 1st 1981 Joplin, MO, Memorial Hall [Ticket][Eye witness] - There are reports [Seattle Daily Times November 22nd] of bible bashers picketing this show.
Protest Leaflet handed out by religious
fanatics at Joplin show.
Nov 9th 1981 Alice is a guest on the 'Charlie Rose Show'.
Nov 21st 1981 Sheboygan, WI, The Armory (w/ The Interns)[Ticket] - Originally November 7th (see ticket). A publicists letter suggests original date was November 21st but changed to the 7th, but it seems to be the other way around. November 21st is confirmed by interview/preview in the Sheboygan Press November 18th and Manitowoc Herald Times on November 19th.
Nov 23rd 1981 Sudbury, Ontario, Sudbury Arena [Ticket]
Nov 24th 1981 Toronto, Ontario, Maple Leaf Gardens (w/ Goddo) [Ticket] 10,754 Attend [Billboard Box Office chart confirms] Review in the Globe and Mail November 25th. Photos exist.
Nov 25th 1981 Kitchener, Ontario, Memorial Auditorium [Ticket] 3,394 Attend [Billboard Box Office chart confirms]
Nov 26th 1981 London, Ontario, London Gardens (aka London Ice House) [Ticket]. 5,407 attend [Billboard Box Office confirms]
Nov 28th 1981 Presque Isle, Maine, Northern Maine Forum (w/ Bill Chinook ) (Eye witnesses)
Nov 29th 1981 Bangor, Maine, (according to publicist’s letter). See October ??? for another Bangor date. Unlikely both are correct.
Nov 30th 1981 Worcester, MA, E.M. Loew's Theater
Dec. 4th 1981 (early Friday) Filming for the Paris TV special at a car scrapyard in Paris
Dec. 7th 1981 (3.30 pm to 8am the next moring) Filming at a butchery in Paris for the Paris TV special. TV transmission scheduled for the evening JANUARY 14th (must be 1982)
'Alice In Paris' (or '16 Tracks' as the record company named it) was recorded in December-January 1981-82 during his European tour. Some songs are recorded live in studio. Others in different places in Paris. 'Goes to Hell' got censored in France because of filmshots outside Notre Dame. They recorded 'Generation Landslide 1981' at The Building of George Pompidou.
European Tour 1982
Alice's first visit to Europe since 1975 was a huge success with most shows selling out in advance. Dispite being refered to as a 'European Tour' there were in fact only shows in France and the UK after a Spanish show was canceled. During the tour on one of the Frence dates Alice accidentally stabbed himself through the leg with a sword.
Jan 14th '82 Paris Special aired in France
January 26th '82 Cannes, France, MIDEM Festival [Tour Itinerary, Cash Box mentions.] - Alice plays in a massive marquee specially installed. MIDEM is an international music industry event with conferences and business presentations and panels. One site lists the venue as 'Orange Magic Mirror' which could have been the name given to the marquee.
January 27th '82 Lyon, France, Palais d'Hiver [Ticket][French Tour Advert][Tour Itinerary]
French Tour Advert
January 28th '82 Grenoble, France, Alpexpo [French Tour Advert][Tour Itinerary]
January 29th '82 Montpellier, France, Palais des Sports [Ticket][Ticket][French Tour Advert][Tour Itinerary]
January 30th '82 Toulouse, France, Halle Aux Grains [Ticket][French Tour Advert] [Tour Itinerary]
February 1st '82 Barcelona, Spain, Palacio Municipal Desportes Montjuich [Tour Itinerary] - CANCELED
February 2nd '82 Marseilles, France, Foire De Marseille [French Tour Advert] [Tour Itinerary]
February 4th '82 Lille, France, Palais des Sports Saint Sauveur [Ticket][French Tour Advert] [Tour Itinerary]
February 5th '82 Dijon, France. Palace des Sports [French Tour Advert] [Tour Itinerary]
February 6th '82 Paris, France. Pavilion Baltard (ticket) (Not L'Hippodrom) [French Tour Advert] [Tour Itinerary] - The poster below suggests there were two performances at the same venue on this date.
February 8th '82 Caen, France. Palais Des Sports [French Tour Advert] [Tour Itinerary]
February 9th '82 Metz, France. Parc des expositions Grigy [Tour Itinerary] [Ticket][Ticket]
February 11th '82 Brighton, England. Brighton Center (w/ Big Country) [Ticket] [Tour Itinerary]
Support on the first part of the UK tour was 'Big Country' but they were thrown off the tour after only a couple of shows to be replaced by 'Shaphire'.
February 12th '82 Birmingham, England Birmingham Odeon (w/ Big Country) [Ticket] [Tour Itinerary]
February 14th '82 London, England Hammersmith Odeon (w/ Sapphire) [Ticket] [Tour Itinerary]
February 15th '82 London, England Hammersmith Odeon (w/ Sapphire) [Ticket] [Tour Itinerary]
February 16th '82 London, England Hammersmith Odeon (w/ Sapphire) [Ticket] - Extra show added after the first two sold out.
February 17th '82 Manchester, England Apollo Theatre (w/ Sapphire) [Ticket] [Tour Itinerary] - Extra show added after the first show sold out.
February 18th '82 Manchester, England Apollo Theatre (w/ Sapphire) [Tour Itinerary]
February 19th '82 Glasgow, Scotland Apollo Theatre (w/ Sapphire) [Ticket] [Tour Itinerary] [Show review in Glasgow Herald February 22nd]
Part of this show was broadcast on Radio Clyde.
February 22nd '82 'Riverside' Interview for BBC2
February 27th '82 Strasbourg, France, Hall Rhenus [French Tour Advert]
Mar '82 News announced that Alice could be re-recording 'School's Out' with Adam Ant. It never happened.
April '82 'Welcome To My Nightmare' Wembley live show finally released on home video in the UK 'Portrait of a Legend' show airs in US.
April '82 The Cindy Lang lawsuit is finally settled out of court, for substaintially less then she had sued for. Lang promptly married a member of her legal team, Mark Kaplin, and vanished from the public eye until her death in 2017.
April '82 For Britain Only released
This was a specially recorded (at Air Studios, London) Single released in the UK after the 'Special Forces' tour. Alice had been so pleased with the reaction he had received on the UK dates that he felt that a 'thank you' was required. The single also featured live tracks recorded on the tour in Glasgow.
There is NO Picture disc, despite what 'Record Collector' would have you believe. There was a picture sleeve 7" and a 12" version.
September 13th '82 Alice attends a celebrity screening of 'The Wall' in Westwood, Hollywood while religious fanatics in Indiana stage more record burnings claiming that records by Alice Cooper and Elton John (amongst others) "transmit satanic messages that creep into the subconcious minds of young rock fans" and that they were "unfit for a christian home".
October '82 Shep Gordon launches Alive Video, reported as the first "full line" video label based on the model of a independent record company.
August '82 'Zipper Catches Skin' is released.