Alice Cooper 'scraps gig on religious grounds'

Alice Cooper has been forced to scrap a forthcoming gig in Finland after the venue's owners reportedly objected to his controversial stage show on "religious grounds".

According to Contactmusic, the 'School's Out' rocker was due to play the Tampere Areena on December 11, but officials have subsequently declared that the concert conflicted with their "Christian-based policies". Venue boss Harri Wiherkoski has since confirmed the cancellation and attributed the move to objections from other clients who use the arena.

Gig promoter Kalle Keskinen, who helped organise the show, admitted that he was shocked by the reaction, telling Finland's YLE News: "[Several religious groups] and others use Tampere Areena for their events, so the venue's management did not want Alice Cooper appearing in the same hall. The contract which we received from Tampere Areena specifies that no artists may perform there who 'incite evil and the power of darkness'.

"We never imagined that a rock veteran who has performed in Finland in four separate decades without any problems and who has spoken in public of his own religious convictions would not be allowed to perform at Tampere Areena in 2009."

The promoters now hope to move the gig to the city of Espoo, but are "awaiting [Cooper's] approval of the new arrangements".

Madonna was also recently criticised by Poland's president for alleged "Satanic provocation" for scheduling her August 15 performance on the same date as the Feast Of The Assumption.