(BANG) -Alice Cooper took his stage name from a message his mother received from a Ouija board.

The rocker originally performed under his real name, Vincent Furnier, until his mother's dalliance with the occult led him to adopt the name of the group he was singing in.

He explained: "My mother did a Ouija board session and asked, 'Who is Alice Cooper?' It spelt out 'Vincent.' "

Although the 'Poison' hitmaker got his stage name from his mother, he got his love of music from his pastor father.

The singer explained: "My dad and I were the best of friends. He dug music a lot. He loved the British invasion in particular. And he listened to our music too. He knew Alice Cooper wasn't Satan."

However, the pair eventually drifted apart because of Alice's rock 'n' roll behaviour.

He explained: "He couldn't condone the lifestyle of sleeping with every woman in Los Angeles and being an alcoholic."

(C) BANG Media International