🔘 Department of Youth – Single: Feb.1975

A swaggering Welcome to My Nightmare single — theatrical, bratty, and pure mid‑70s Cooper.

🔘 – Overview

Released on February 28, 1975, “Department of Youth” was issued as the third single from Alice Cooper’s first solo album, Welcome to My Nightmare. Backed with “Cold Ethyl”, the single captured Cooper’s shift into a more theatrical, cinematic style following the breakup of the original Alice Cooper Group.

The track entered the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 67, and became a notable hit in Australia, reaching No. 7 on the Kent Music Report. Although it failed to chart in the UK, the single became a staple of Cooper’s mid‑70s stage show, complete with the infamous “kiddie choir” that critics immediately compared to School’s Out.

Contemporary reviews were vivid and divided. Creem called it “a second cousin to School’s Out,” praising the “chorus of child‑things sounding like Cooper’s dead babies resurrected to sing back‑up vocals.” NME described it as “School’s Out all over again… complete with demented kiddie choir and watered‑down Clockwork Orange braggadoccio.” Melody Maker called it “a heavy metal Marc Bolan… gritty and gruesome, but underneath it all, a simple, catchy pop song.” Record World said Cooper sounded “even more vital and exciting here.”

Today, the single stands as one of the defining moments of the Nightmare era — theatrical, tongue‑in‑cheek, and unmistakably Alice.

🔘 – Track List

7" Single — 1975

Side A

Department of Youth

Written by Alice Cooper, Dick Wagner, Bob Ezrin

Produced by Bob Ezrin

Side B

Cold Ethyl

Written by Alice Cooper, Dick Wagner

Produced by Bob Ezrin

🔘 – Variants

• 7", 45 RPM, Single — US — 1975

• 7", 45 RPM, Single — Australia — 1975

• 7", 45 RPM, Promo — US — 1975

🔘 – Chart Performance

United States — Billboard Hot 100

Peak Position: 67

Weeks on Chart: (Not fully documented)

Australia — Kent Music Report

Peak Position: 7

UK

Did not chart.

🔘 – Context & Notes

• Third single from Welcome to My Nightmare

• Produced by Bob Ezrin

• Features the “kiddie choir” that critics compared to School’s Out

• A theatrical centrepiece of the 1975–76 stage show

• B‑side “Cold Ethyl” also appears on the album

• Genre: Glam rock, theatrical rock

🔘 – Visual Archive

Alice Cooper – Department of Youth (1975), backed with Cold Ethyl.

🔘 – Related Material

• Welcome to My Nightmare (1975)

• “Only Women Bleed” (1975)

• “Cold Ethyl” (album track)

🔘 – Discography

Welcome to My Nightmare — 1975

Department of Youth — 1975

Only Women Bleed — 1975

🔘 – Mini‑Timeline

✦ February 28, 1975 — Single released

✦ Spring 1975 — Peaks at No. 67 (US)

✦ 1975 — Reaches No. 7 in Australia

🔘 – Glam Flashback

A bratty, theatrical anthem with a demented kiddie choir and Cooper’s trademark sneer — Department of Youth is pure mid‑70s shock‑pop.

🔘 – Closing Notes

A cult favourite from the Nightmare era, blending satire, swagger, and Cooper’s growing theatrical ambition.

🔘 – Sources

Discogs

Wikipedia

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