🔘DaDa – Album UK: Nov. 1983

Alice Cooper(solo)
Nov 4, 1983
3 min read

Released: November 4, 1983 (UK)

Catalogue Number: Warner Bros. Records 92-3969-1

DaDa stands as one of Cooper’s most surreal, psychologically fragmented, and artistically daring albums — the final chapter of his early‑’80s blackout era. Built on eerie synth textures, dream‑logic narratives, and Bob Ezrin’s atmospheric production, the record drifts between dark humour, unsettling introspection, and avant‑pop experimentation. Long misunderstood on release, DaDa has since become a cult cornerstone, valued for its emotional rawness and its unfiltered plunge into the subconscious.

Released in the UK on November 4, 1983 on Warner Bros. Records, DaDa marked Cooper’s fifteenth studio album and the final entry in his Warner Bros. “blackout trilogy” (Special Forces, Zipper Catches Skin, DaDa). Produced by Bob Ezrin, the album blends dark synth‑rock, theatrical horror, and experimental sound design. It peaked at No. 93 on the UK Albums Chart for 1 week.

🔘 Album Overview

Recorded at ESP Studios in Buttonville, Ontario, DaDa features contributions from Graham Shaw, Prakash John, Lisa Dal Bello, and Dick Wagner. The album makes extensive use of the Fairlight CMI, one of the most advanced digital sampling synthesizers of the early ’80s.

In 2014, Dick Wagner revealed that Cooper had relapsed into heavy drinking during the sessions and that the album was created largely to fulfil a contract — a claim Warner Bros. has never confirmed. Wagner’s autobiography Not Only Women Bleed (2011) includes additional behind‑the‑scenes details, including the inspiration for “Scarlet and Sheba.”

DaDa is the last of Cooper’s self‑described “blackout albums,” created during a period of substance abuse. Cooper later admitted he remembered little of the process and never toured the album. Its songs have never been performed live.

🔘 Release Details

Label: Warner Bros. Records (UK)

Format: 12-inch vinyl LP (no cassette release)

Recorded at ESP Studios, Buttonville, Ontario (1982–1983)

Matrix examples: 92-3969-1 A-1

🔘 Track List

12-Inch Vinyl LP — Catalogue: 92-3969-1

Side One:

A1 DaDa – 4:46 (Ezrin)

A2 Enough's Enough – 4:19 (Cooper, Ezrin, Wagner, Shaw)

A3 Former Lee Warmer – 4:07 (Cooper, Ezrin, Wagner)

A4 No Man's Land – 3:48 (Cooper, Ezrin, Wagner)

A5 Dyslexia – 4:25 (Cooper, Ezrin, Wagner, Shaw)

Side Two:

B1 Scarlet And Sheba – 5:19 (Cooper, Ezrin, Wagner)

B2 I Love America – 3:47 (Cooper, Shaw)

B3 Fresh Blood – 6:53 (Cooper, Ezrin, Wagner)

B4 Pass The Gun Around – 5:43 (Cooper, Wagner)

🔘 Personnel

Alice Cooper – vocals

Dick Wagner – guitar; bass; backing vocals

Graham Shaw – Oberheim OB-X; Roland Jupiter; backing vocals

Bob Ezrin – Fairlight CMI; keyboards; drums; percussion

Richard Kolinka – drums (tracks: Scarlet and Sheba, Former Lee Warmer, Pass the Gun Around)

John Anderson – drums (Fresh Blood)

Prakash John – bass (Fresh Blood)

Karen Hendricks – backing vocals

Lisa DalBello – backing vocals

Sarah Ezrin – DaDa

🔘 Production

Executive Producer: Shep Gordon

Produced by Bob Ezrin

Associate Producers: Dick Wagner, Robert “Ringo” Hrycyna

Recording & Mixing: Bob Ezrin

Publishing: Ezra Music Inc., Mystery Man Music, Rightsong Inc., Under‑Cut Co. Inc., G. Shaw Music Publishing Ltd.

🔘 Singles & Chart Performance

“I Love America” — 12" Single (UK)

Released: November 18, 1983

Label: Warner Bros. – ALICE 1T (920166-0)

Format: 12" Vinyl

A1 I Love America

B1 Fresh Blood

B2 Pass The Gun Around

Chart Performance: Did not chart.

🔘 Album Chart Performance

UK — Official Albums Chart

Peak Position: #93

Weeks on Chart: 1

Label: Warner Bros. Records

Catalogue: 92-3969-1

🔘 Legacy

DaDa has grown into a cult favourite among Cooper fans, praised for its emotional vulnerability, surrealism, and experimental production. Though unsupported by a tour and largely ignored by Warner Bros. at the time, the album is now considered one of Cooper’s most artistically daring works.

🔘 Closing Notes

A must-have for Alice Cooper collectors and fans of ’80s experimental rock. DaDa remains a haunting, enigmatic snapshot of an artist navigating the depths of his subconscious.

🔘 Sources

Discogs: DaDa (1983)

45cat: Alice Cooper Singles

YouTube: DaDa Full Album

Wikipedia: DaDa

Official Charts Company

AllMusic

Billboard (no US chart entry)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlF8Th2oL4Q