🎼 Flush the Fashion – Album: Apr. 1980

In the spring of 1980, Alice Cooper shocked fans and critics alike with a radical new wave reinvention. After years of horror theatrics and hard rock, he emerged with a sleek, angular, synth-tinged sound that embraced the rising new wave movement.

Released on 28 April 1980 by Warner Bros. Records, Flush the Fashion marked one of the most drastic stylistic shifts of Alice Cooper’s career.

🔘 Release Details

Label: Warner Bros. Records

Catalogue Number: BSK 3436

Country: USA

Release Date: April 28, 1980

Format: LP Album

🔘 Personnel

• Alice Cooper — Vocals

• Davey Johnstone — Lead Guitar

• Fred Mandel — Keyboards, Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals

• Dennis Conway — Drums

• John Cooker Lopresti — Bass Guitar

• Flo & Eddie — Backing Vocals

🔘 Key Highlights

• Alice Cooper’s bold new wave makeover

• Produced by Roy Thomas Baker (Queen, The Cars)

• Shortest album in Cooper’s catalogue (28:34)

• Lead single “Clones (We’re All)” reached No.40 on the Billboard Hot 100

🔘 The Story

After a period of personal struggles and the commercial disappointment of 1978’s From the Inside, Alice Cooper teamed up with legendary producer Roy Thomas Baker. The result was Flush the Fashion — a sharp left turn into new wave territory with shorter songs, angular guitars, and a much tighter, modern sound.

The album’s striking cover was reportedly created by Cooper himself after he learned the artwork budget was only $5,000. He carved the title into a bathroom wall with a knife and told the label to photograph it.

Clocking in at just 28 minutes, it remains the shortest studio album of his career. While it divided longtime fans, it has since gained cult status as one of his most adventurous and fun records of the era.

🔘 Track List – LP

Side One

A1. Talk Talk — Sean Bonniwell — 2:09

A2. Clones (We’re All) — David Carron — 3:03

A3. Pain — 4:06

A4. Leather Boots — Geoff Westen — 1:36

A5. Aspirin Damage — 2:57

Side Two

B1. Nuclear Infected — 2:14

B2. Grim Facts — 3:24

B3. Model Citizen — 2:39

B4. Dance Yourself to Death — Cooper / Crandall — 3:08

B5. Headlines — 3:18

🔘 Chart Performance

• US Billboard 200 — Peak: #44

• UK Albums Chart — Peak: #56

• Canada — Peak: #19

• Australia — Peak: #32

🔘 Context & Notes

• Drastic stylistic shift toward new wave

• Shortest running time of any Alice Cooper album

• Cover art famously created by Alice carving the title into a bathroom wall

🔘 Discography

From the Inside – 1978

Flush the Fashion – 1980

Special Forces – 1981

🔘 Singles

• Clones (We’re All) – April 1980

• Talk Talk – September 1980

🔘 Glam Flashback

Even the King of Shock Rock couldn’t resist the pull of the new wave — Alice traded his snakes for sharp suits and delivered one of the most unexpected (and underrated) albums of his career.

#ReleaseChronicle #AliceCooper #FlushTheFashion #1980 #NewWaveAlice #RoyThomasBaker

🔘 Sources

Discogs, Wikipedia, Billboard, Official Charts.

📝 Copyright Notice

All magazine scans, photographs, and original text excerpts referenced in this entry remain the property of their respective copyright holders. This Chronicle entry is a transformative, non-commercial archival summary created for historical documentation and educational reference. No ownership of the original material is claimed or implied.