Alice Cooper has credited his Christian faith and a 'one on one relationship with Jesus' with saving him from alcoholism and said there is nothing about Christianity that is incompatible with his being a rock star.

The 70-year-old told the New York Daily News newspaper's Confidential column that he was warned by doctors to quit drinking or die 37 years ago, when he woke up vomiting blood and was taken to hospital.

He recalled: 'Everything that could go wrong was shutting down inside of me.

'I was drinking with Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix and trying to keep up with Keith Moon and they all died at 27.'

And the rock star – who has children named Calico, Dash and Sonora with wife Sheryl Goddard – admitted that it took his brush with death to bring him back to the church.

'My wife and I are both Christian. My father was a pastor, my grandfather was an evangelist,' he said. 'I grew up in the church, went as far away as I could from it – almost died – and then came back to the church.'

He added: 'There's nothing in Christianity that says I can't be a rock star. People have a very warped view of Christianity. They think it's all very precise and we never do wrong and we're praying all day and we're right-wing. It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with a one on one relationship with Jesus Christ.'

Cooper finds time for Bible study every day and goes to church each Sunday, and is proud that none of his children has had problems with drugs or alcohol.

He is preparing for his role as King Herod in the live action version of 'Jesus Christ Superstar' alongside John Legend in the lead role aired on NBC next weekend.

Cooper once described himself as a born again Christian, saying: 'I'm a new creature now. Don't judge Alice by what he used to be. Praise God for what I am now.'