🔘 Killer – Album (UK) : Nov 1971

Alice Cooper Group’s Killer was released in the UK by Warner Bros. Records (catalog K 56005) on November 27, 1971. The album first entered the UK Albums Chart on February 5, 1972, landing at #49 for a single‑week run. Following the explosive success of the School’s Out album and single later that year, Killer re‑entered the charts and climbed to a new peak of #27, boosted by renewed interest in the band’s shock‑rock theatrics and rising mainstream visibility.

A pivotal UK release, later recognised for its iconic boa‑and‑calendar imagery and its role in defining the group’s early‑’70s breakthrough.

The cover included a close-up of a boa constrictor (Kachina) and there was a fold-out hanging calendar of Alice. The snake belonged to Neal Smith who said "Kachina was on the road, you can't take a dog or a cat on the road. The snake was great, she ate rats once a month." Neal continued "I used to carry it in a carpet bag. You could take anything on a plane in those days. I have a classic picture where we're waiting for an airplane and there's this little old lady sitting next to this carpet bag with a seven-foot boa constrictor in it."

Tracklist

Side 1

Under My Wheels

Be My Lover

Halo Of Flies

Desperado

Side 2

You Drive Me Nervous

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

Dead Babies

Killer

Release Notes

The debut single from the album, "Under My Wheels," was penned by Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, and Bob Ezrin. This track was performed on the program "The Old Grey Whistle Test" as well as the West German show "Beat-Club." It reached number 59 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The second single, "Be My Lover," was released in the US on February 8, 1972, and in the UK on March 17. Written by guitarist Michael Bruce and produced by Bob Ezrin, the song achieved the No. 49 spot in the US and stayed on the charts for ten weeks.

In Korea, the album was released in two distinct color variations: one in green and the other in blue, with the blue version featuring the previous album printed on the back.

Did you have Killer in your collection? Were you ready for the boa constrictor cover? Share in the comments!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqs9YXNC5RA

Did you have Killer in your collection? Were you ready for the boa constrictor cover? Share in the comments!

Sources

Information is drawn from my personal knowledge and supplemented by web sources, including Discogs, 45cat, AllMusic, Rate Your Music, Wikipedia and BBC Official Charts