Tobias Forge: There would be no Ghost without Alice Cooper

(Image credit: Avalon/PYMCA/Gonzales Photo/Christian Hjorth/Universal Images Group - Getty)

Ghost vocalist Tobias Forge has revealed some of his musical heroes while hosting a show on ABC Australia's Rage channel.

The singer also played some of his favourite tracks on the show and while he spoke about King Diamond, Faith No More, Jane’s Addiction, Duran Duran, Kraftwerk, Bjork, Black Eyed Peas and A Camp, he singled out Alice Cooper and Accept for special praise – admitting that without Cooper, Ghost wouldn’t exist.

He said: “What is shock rock without Alice Cooper? I lack the proper words to fully explain how vital he’s been for the whole genre of rock’n’roll.

“But also speaking from a context where, I guess, we are also a theatrical shock-rock band, we wouldn't have been here had it not been for Alice Cooper."

Forge also pointed out that one of his favourite bands are German rock veterans Accept, who the vocalist says have been “slightly overlooked” throughout the years.

He adds: “Where Scorpions have been more known for their big ballads, their little brothers Accept are one of my favourite bands from that time, who definitely get way too little credit for their fantastic songwriting and their complete, ballsy nature.”

Last week, Ghost released a lyric video for their Prequelle track Faith and also recently announced the UK and European leg of The Ultimate Tour Named Death which will take place throughout November and December.

Ghost will be joined by special guests All Them Witches and Tribulation,

Ghost: The Ultimate Tour Named Death UK and European dates
Nov 16: Nottingham Motorpoint Arena, UK
Nov 17: Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, UK
Nov 18: Glasgow SSE Hydro, UK
Nov 20: Dublin 3Arena, Ireland
Nov 22: London SSE Arena Wembley, UK
Nov 23: Leeds First Direct Arena, UK
Nov 30: Katowice Spodek, Poland
Dec 01: Prague Universum, Czech Republic
Dec 03: Budapest BSA, Hungary
Dec 05: Mantova Palabam, Italy
Dec 06: Zurich Halle 622, Switzerland
Dec 08: Barcelona Palau Sant Jordi, Spain
Dec 10: Lisbon Altice Arena, Portugal
Dec 11: Madrid Palacio Vistalegre, Spain
Dec 13: Eckbolsheim Zenith Of Strasbourg, France
Dec 17: Esch-Sur-Alzette Rockhal, Luxembourg
Dec 18: Saint-Herblain Zenith Nantes Metropole, France
Dec 19: Toulouse Zenith Toulouse Metropole, France

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more for Louder. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, The Tragically Hip, Marillion and Rush.