As the controversy rages among KISS fans over whether Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer should wear the makeup made famous by Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, Paul Stanley defended his band by saying that the answer is simple. In a new interview, he said KISS own the rights to their “Spaceman” and “Catman” characters, which they bought from the former members for a song.
Speaking to Australia’s 4KQ, Stanley said, “The guys basically sold it off for, you know, not a whole lot, because they didn’t think it was worth anything. Quite honestly, I’ve always thought our image and what we represent is priceless. It didn’t matter to some people — it truly matters to me.”
Stanley added that being in a band is no different from being an athlete on a team, where lineup changes are natural with the passage of time. “If somebody is out, somebody else comes along,” he said. “I don’t think that when you go to see your favorite team, you’re yelling that you want to see somebody who was in the team 20 years ago. Time moves on, but the team lives on. … I didn’t invent the wheel. Somebody is out there who can come in and take my place. … I don’t see a reason for the band to fold, any more than I can see a reason for a team to fold.”
additional source: ultimateclassicrock.com
24 Responses
Ace and Peter should start Ratt tribute bands..
excellent point, gary b.
Soooooo any thought of giving them a more fair price? No of course not. Sorry but your hate for them does not justify your greed. No matter how you spin it and try to blame them I don’t think they deserved to be ripped off.
‘Fair Price’??? Ace and Peter left in the early 80’s when KISS was on life support. What would a fair price have been back then…$100 each? Paul and Gene made an investment in the band and themselves when Ace and Peter offered their images up and then years later cashed in on it. Its the American dream man! Good God some of you haters get quite ignorant and can’t wait to pounce when a Paul Stanley quote comes up.
“A more fair price”? First of all, no one knows what price they were paid. Second, without knowing the price, how do you know if it was fair or not? Obviously, Ace and Peter thought it was fair enough to accept the price being offered. If 20 years after selling their images, Ace and Peter have seller’s remorse, how is that Paul/Gene’s fault? Also, neither Ace nor Peter have complained about the price they received. Their complaint is that Paul/Gene bought their images and are making millions off something they created. Guess what? Once you sell something, you have no claim on the item…and you can’t go back for a better price.
Why should Paul and Gene do that? They saw the value of those intellectual assets and Ace and Peter didn’t. Nor did Ace or Peter do their due diligence to determine the value, or hire someone to do it for them (or, if they did hire someone, those people didn’t do their job). They chose to take the cash or terms, and they have to live with that. It’s called business. It seems likely that this is where a lot of the sour grapes are coming from.
Okay, okay, Paul, you’ve convinced me. I get it.
The characters must live on!
But can we at least have Ace’s black stunt double from the Phantom of the Park movie as the Spaceman? How about getting Tim Kelly as the Ankh?
You still don’t get it Paul, and obviously you never will. Huge difference between being in a band and being on a sports team, of course sports teams change, but the song remains the same…
There will NEVER be another Kiss.
Agree with Paul on the makeup, but not on he and Gene being replaced…the two main members still being around, and the fact that the other two were out of the band for years,back and then out again, makes two people wearing the makeup that are not original somewhat acceptable, but if all four were not original, that is nothing more than a cover band…he sounds ridiculous when he compares the band to a football team…sports teams have those that came and go, due to age or a business decisions and it is expected that your favorite player will hang it up at some point and the team will go on…a band?? Not even close to the same thing…at some point all bands hang it up…I wish Kiss would lose the makeup and just be a rock band at this point…