📰 New Year New Single –Blitz Begins: Jan. 1973
- Alice Cooper Group
- Jan 13, 1973
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 18
Melody Maker announces the Alice Cooper Group’s explosive return with “Hello Hurray,” the launch of the Billion Dollar Babies era, and a massive North American tour.
📰 Key Highlights
• Published in Melody Maker (UK), January 13, 1973
• Cover insert + one‑page article
• Announces the single “Hello Hurray”
• Confirms Marc Bolan played guitar on the London mix
• Previews the Billion Dollar Babies album
• Details a 60‑date North American tour
• Written by Michael Watts in New York
📰 Overview
This Melody Maker insert marks the official beginning of the Billion Dollar Babies campaign. It captures the Alice Cooper Group at their commercial peak — theatrical, ambitious, and preparing to launch their most elaborate show to date. The article positions “Hello Hurray” as the dramatic opening statement of the new act, setting the tone for a year of spectacle and excess.
📰 Source Details
Publication / Venue: Melody Maker
Date: January 13, 1973
Format: Cover insert + one‑page article
Provenance Notes: Early UK press for the Billion Dollar Babies era.
📰 The Story
⭐ 1. “Hello Hurray” – The New Single
The article reveals that “Hello Hurray” was chosen as the opening song of the new stage show — a theatrical overture with the line:
“Roll up with your American dream, I’ll be ready.”
Originally a ballad, the track was re‑imagined with:
• increased tempo
• strings
• brass
• a burlesque, vaudeville‑inspired atmosphere
It was recorded across three locations:
• Greenwich, Connecticut (Alice’s home base)
• Record Plant, New York
• Morgan Studios, London — where Marc Bolan contributed guitar
The single was scheduled for release:
• January 15 in the US
• Last week of January in the UK
The B‑side was an even more elaborate version of the same song.
⭐ 2. The Album – Billion Dollar Babies
The article confirms the album’s title and release schedule:
• Europe: late February
• USA: February 18
It notes that the album:
• took longer to construct than any previous Cooper LP
• retained a loose conceptual structure
• would form the backbone of the new stage show
⭐ 3. The Show – Bigger, Wilder, More Theatrical
The new tour was designed as a three‑act production, each 20–30 minutes long, allowing for multiple costume changes and elaborate staging.
Props included:
• a dentist’s chair
• a television set
• a toy box
• a giant tooth
The group’s office described it as:
“More theatrical than ever, but without being too hard on everyone.”
⭐ 4. The Tour – A Rock & Roll Circus
The tour schedule was enormous:
• 60 dates across America and Canada
• Opening: January 27, New Orleans
• Closing: March 21, Salt Lake City
• Followed by Europe, beginning in Copenhagen
• UK dates set for April
Melody Maker calls it:
“More extensive than the Stones’ rock and roll circus last summer.
It may even be the biggest grossing rock tour ever in America.”
This was the moment the Alice Cooper Group became a stadium‑level phenomenon.
📰 Visual Archive
“New Year New Single” insert, Melody Maker, January 13, 1973.
📰 Related Material
Explore the tags below for connected posts and themes.
📰 Closing Notes
This Melody Maker insert marks the ignition point of the Billion Dollar Babies era — a moment when the Alice Cooper Group embraced full theatrical excess and prepared to dominate 1973.
📰 Sources
• Melody Maker, January 13, 1973
• Alice Cooper Group discography and tour archives
• Contemporary UK press coverage
📝 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.
ALICE COOPER are pulling out all the stops in the New Year with a new single, new album and a mammoth 60-date tour of America and Canada.
The single, "Hello, Hurrah," has been intended as the opening song of Alice's new act, which will go further along the line of theatricality. One of the lines is "roll up with your American dream, I'll be ready."
A slower song than "Elected" and "School's Out," it was originally treated as a ballad, but the tempo has been upped and strings and brass added to achieve a burlesque effect. It was recorded in three different places Greenwich, Connecticut (where Alice lives), the Record Plant in New York, and Morgan Studios in London, where Marc Bolan played guitar.
The song, by Rolf Kemp, was featured on a Judy Collins album. Alice is understood to have found it through his friendship with actor Stacey Keach, Judy Collins' friend. The flip is the same number with an even bigger production.
It will be released in England the last week in January and in America on January 15.
The album, "Million Dollar Babies" out in Europe the end of Febru ary (America on February 18) has been under construction longer than any of their previous ones, and still conforms to a loose concept.
It will form the basis of their new show, which is divided into three acts of 20 to 30-minute duration to allow for a number of costume changes (there'll be a supporting act, too). "It's more theatrical than ever," says the group's office, "but without being too hard on everyone."
The tour kicks off on March 5 at Rochester in New York state and ends 57 cities later at New York Madison Square Gardens on June 3. This makes it more extensive than the Stones' rock and roll circus last summer. It may even be the biggest grossing rock tour ever in America.
by MICHAEL WATTS in New York
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