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Alice Cooper: The word retirement doesn’t exist in my vocabulary

Alice Cooper says the word "retirement" "doesn’t exist" in his "vocabulary".

The 72-year-old rock legend has enjoyed decades of success but is showing no signs of slowing down with two touring bands: his own band and The Hollywood Vampires with movie legend Johnny Depp and Aerosmith’s Joe Perry.

The ‘Poison’ hitmaker also insisted that the Vampires have not had a single argument since forming in 2015, despite them being "three alpha males".

Asked if he plans to hang up his microphone anytime soon, Cooper told KZZK radio station: "Not in the least. That word doesn’t exist in my vocabulary.

"A long, long time ago, I said if I come into your town and put on a show and nobody shows up, well, then I know I’m done. That hasn’t happened. "At 72, I was not expecting to be in two touring bands.

"And the [Hollywood] Vampires are just like my band — everybody in that band are best friends.

"You’ve got Johnny Depp, Joe Perry and myself — three alpha males — and we’ve been together six years and I have never heard one argument. Everybody just goes, ‘Okay. Good idea. Let’s try that.’"

The ‘School’s Out’ hitmaker previously stated that he has no desire to retire because he still "belongs" on stage and both he and his wife, Sheryl Goddard, his dancer, get "restless" if they take too much time off.

He explained: "I feel better now physically than I ever have in my life. I’ll get up on stage and do that show and be the only one who’s not breathing hard.

"I’m not making records now to build a new audience, I’m making records because there’s a huge fanbase around the world that wants to hear new songs.

"So why wouldn’t I make albums? It’s what I do. Why wouldn’t I go up on stage?

"I feel more at home on stage than just about anywhere else. It’s where I belong.

"If Sheryl and I go six months without a tour, we both get a little restless. And then in the middle of the tour we’re like, ‘We can’t wait for the tour to be over?’ I don’t have any desire to retire and I’m not going to go fishing. What am I gonna do?"

Meanwhile, Cooper – who recently dropped his Covid-inspired track, ‘Don’t Give Up’, which features a message of hope and encouragement – has been learning to tap-dance during quarantine.

The musician and his spouse have been enjoying some quiet family time with their children and grandchildren during the Covid-19 lockdown and the rocker has even decided to learn a new skill.

He explained "You know that Geico commercial with the whole family clogging? That’s us. We have a friend who’s a great tap dancer, and every Wednesday night, he has an hour-long online class. So the whole family goes in the backyard where we have all this plywood on the ground, and everybody’s got tap shoes on. My wife and daughters are professional dancers, so they’re way ahead of me. But every Wednesday night is tap night."