This might be one of the most 1986 things MTV ever did.
Halloween night started at 8 with four hours of Elvira — comedy from Salem and a pile of appropriately creepy music videos from Bauhaus, Siouxsie, Oingo Boingo, Ozzy, The Cure, the Ramones and plenty more.
Then at midnight, MTV went live to Detroit for Alice Cooper at Joe Louis Arena.
And Alice wasn’t just an old rock star being brought back for nostalgia. He was in the middle of a real comeback. His new album Constrictor was his first in three years, and the Halloween concert sold out so quickly that another Detroit show had to be added.
Constrictor reached No. 59 on Billboard, his strongest U.S. album showing in six years, while MTV helped introduce Alice and all that horror-rock theater to a younger generation.
Look closely at his band, too. That’s Kip Winger on bass and Paul Taylor on keyboards. They would soon help form Winger, whose first album went platinum. Kip later said Alice taught him a tremendous amount about touring, interviews and putting on a show.
Kane Roberts was another big part of Alice’s comeback, co-writing every song on Constrictor before eventually getting his own solo deal.
And Elvira was already becoming MTV’s unofficial Queen of Halloween. This was her second big Halloween takeover after a six-hour guest-VJ marathon in 1984.
Elvira at 8. Alice Cooper live at midnight.
I’d take that Halloween television schedule again today.
Do you remember watching MTV on Halloween night?
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