KISS main men Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons refused to regroup the original KISS line-up for a performance at the band’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction because they were afraid fans would demand a reunion tour, according to guitarist Ace Frehley.
Stanley and Simmons pulled the plug on a performance at induction in April after the Hall of Fame bosses refused to honor their current bandmates alongside original members Frehley and drummer Peter Criss, so the live spectacular fans had hoped for was nixed – and now the group’s original guitarist tells WENN the KISS army will never forgive his old bandmates.
He explains, “After 40 years, you think they could have given the fans 15 minutes that night. Peter and I wanted to perform, the Hall of Fame wanted us to do it, but Paul and Gene shot it down. It was a moment in history that was lost and some of the fans will never forgive them for that.
But I’ll tell you why Paul and Gene didn’t wanna perform with me and Peter – they were afraid of history repeating itself. When me and Peter performed with them on the MTV Unplugged sessions in 1995, the place went completely crazy and they had to scrap their album that they had just recorded with Bruce Kulick and Eric Singer and they had to do a reunion tour.
They’re on tour right now with Tommy (Thayer) and Eric (Singer) and they didn’t want anything to overshadow that. They were afraid that everyone was gonna demand a reunion again if we played.”
And Frehley has used his new WENN interview to respond to fresh criticism from Stanley, who recently stated his former lead guitarist was not fit “to wear the uniform,” explaining, “If you no longer can uphold your end or live up to the stature that we set for ourselves in the beginning, if you are compromised by drugs or alcohol, if you’ve lost sight of how lucky we are to be in this position, then you no longer deserve to wear the uniform.”
Frehley insists he was never as bad as his former bandmates paint him – and he hopes his new album Space Invader, due August 19th and his first solo album in five years, will prove he’s still got what it takes.
He adds, “It’s a joke. In concert, I always delivered, and 95 per cent of the time I delivered on record. It’s there, it’s history. All they’re trying to do is discredit me, so it validates the new line-up. They’ll look foolish when my new album comes out.
“I think they’re just cranky that every time they go on the Internet they have to read fans saying, ‘Get Ace back’.”
source: express.co.uk
187 Responses
Sorry, Ace had. 2 awsome Frehleys Comet. Albums
.he was on the verge. National Spotlight,
What’s he do, disband the band, and hook up
With Ritchie. scarlet, Bad Move Ace.
Ace came ‘very close, but let it all go
That’s EXACTLY how I felt when he disbanded Frehley’s Comet. Those are both great albums. Some of the songs reminded me of 70’s KISS. I did not like Trouble Walkin and lost interest for years. I am looking forward to Space Invader even though I was not that impressed with Anomaly. The sample I heard a few weeks back was very good and I am hoping to be blown away by the new album.
Paul states as earlier mentioned in the WENN interview excerpt that if you dont remember how lucky you are to be in the position you’re in. I guess that doesn’t include douche bag Gene that in so so self indulgent and wants us to KISS his money hungry ass. “Frank Smith” I agree with you about a bunch of old ladies squabbling. I think Genes wig is on too tight. I agree with “Greg” when he said the makeup-less days were lean. If it had to be left up the 4 chords that paul and gene play THEIR albums be selling maybe 6k a year.
Ace can play and has talent writing songs, I hope he has a good production out of the studio. I mean by that if you listen to first couple maybe three kiss albums YIKES.
Oh boy! A Gene Simmons wig joke! They were, like Ace Frehley, funny back in ’86.
Please. It’s Paul and Gene’s baby. They can do what they want. I saw the last Ace tour with Kiss (he absolutely did NOT deliver, by the way) and the last tour with Peter (he was even worse; it is the only concert I’ve ever been to – out of almost 400 – that I was absolutely convinced there was another musician playing the parts backstage. One of the worst performances by a “major” artist I have ever seen). It has to be embarrassing for Gene and Paul to be the frontmen and have absolutely NO IDEA what is going to happen behind you. In a perfect world? Sure, the band would be all four, sober, healthy, fit, engaged… but the world doesn’t work that way, and the only reason it isn’t is because of the choices of Ace and Peter. Live with it.
Bill, thanks for being the only truthful person here, well said! !!!
It’s just another extreme opinion, but you sure like it.
Bill, I’m not defending Ace & Peter, or condoning their behavior, but I have seen Paul & Gene make a ton a mistakes in concert STONE COLD SOBER! Paul’s voice flying all over the place, hitting wrong notes, playing the wrong riff, and Gene, if I had a dollar for every time he forgot the words to his songs, I would be rich! They all have embarrassed themselves at times, but at least Ace & Peter had an excuse, (again not condoning it) but what was Paul & Gene’s excuse? I call it, just being human, they’re all human, nobody’s perfect.
Nobody’s perfect, b-b-but Gene comes awfully close.
who delivered gene and paul’s baby? I didn’t even know they got engaged.
LMFAO! 🙂
Bill, I never said peter was the cats ass (sic) when it came to drumming, reunion or not. My Kiss army days lasted from 1976 til about a week ago when Gene Douchebag wants us to KISS the 1% ass.
I AM A DISABLED VETEERAN AND LIKE SO MANY HAVE SACRFICED LIFE AND LIMB, LITERALLY. YEA THEY PARTAKE IN WOUNDED WARRIOR, BUT AGAIN GENE DOUCHEBAG HAS NO RESPECT FOR THOSE THAT WORK HARD FOUGHT HARD EACH DAY. GOT IT?
You may have lost a piece of your brain as well. (and I am a veteran also) Not sure what your point is.
I didn’t know that!
Thank you for your undying sacrifice and service. I love Vets. God bless you and any other veterans on this board. May only good things come your way 🙂
Dana from here 🙂
Ditto brilliant observation !!
Absolute bottom line. Well said Bill. The last time I saw Peter he was hitting the drums like he was ready for a nursing home. Why would Gene & Paul bust their ass to deliver at a credible level & put up w/ such an obvious weak link. Peter was done & he knew it.
W/ Tommy & Eric they get rock solid EVERY night.
James Perkins
Houston, Texas
G and P back then in 1995/6 knew what to expect (musically and personally) from Peter and Ace, so why then did they embark on the reunion tour? Yes, it was the money, and more than that, it was the only chance to get Kiss back into the spotlight and on the big stage again. If that had not happened, Kiss would not be here today. Btw, looking at the musical talent that you are referring to, what about Gene as a bass player? Ask any major artist confidentially what they think about gene as a musician, well, I do not think anyone would call him a goof bassist. What about paul as a guitar player? Most of us here would be able to handle that, so actually, even if not that genial compared to really great talents, Peter and Ace we needed (like Eric and Tommy are needed today) to provide an input that G and P could never have created themselves save for their voices and their songwriting abilities. So please, no black.and-white judgement when it comes to the musical talents of the original members. None of them is great alone, it was the combination plus the stage show they created together.
The last two Kiss albums kicked ass. $10 now Ace, $6.19 by october when you hit those dumps Warrant & Skid Row and the rest of the usual suspects play. Doc has big plans for you and Peter in Vegas next year.
If the last two Kiss albums kicked ass, I’d hate to hear anything they release that sucks. Nevermind, they were both terrible!
Doc has NO plans for Ace and Peter in Vegas. Stop spreading rumors and play fair. Grow up.
Play fair? LOL! Yes, everyone ELSE here is playing fair, right? I think Lee is the least of your problems if you want everyone to “play fair”…
Everyone else isn’t spreading lies and rumors here, MYOB,.
He was joking–so just RELAX!!
That’s strange–in another post you told Bill he was the ONLY truthful person here. But HERE you say everyone else is not spreading lies? Do you pay attention to what you say?
Oh, and “MYOB”???!!! That was a dumb thing to say on a website that welcomes all views. Completely out of place. Wouldn’t you agree?
Lee,
You are absolutely right! The last two albums are great but some can’t get over certain issues and can’t look (or listen) past those issues. Monster is the best album since Revenge. Its a killer album like Creatures, Revenge, Destroyer, etc…
On another note, I am looking forward to Ace’s new album. I believe he is clean and sober, and clear minded. I think he is focused and has this creative streak and should ignore the press about Paul and Gene’s comments. The press asks questions and Gene and Paul give their honest opinions (no agenda despite what many have said) and then it gets back to Ace and Peter and all hell breaks loose. Obviously, some here have never even listened to the last two albums but they are willing to s#@t all over it because they’re upset about other issues with KISS.
no Mike, I was addressing the people like Lee who are insinuating a Las Vegas reunion is in the works. You completely missed my point.
Regardless, telling him to stop will only fuel the fire. Then again, maybe he will stop, but someone will read your post and get it started again.
You may like Kiss Mike, but you sir are nuts to compare Monster to Destroyer, Creatures, or Revenge. The album may be a bit better than Crazy Nights but not much.
Judas, no sides taken here, if you took a vote, I’d say a majority of Kiss fans aren’t too thrilled with Monster. It lacks lots.
People said the same about Destroyer when it first came out…
FANS said the same!
Hm, how do we/you know there is no agenda, have you looked into their minds? Do you really believe stars talk the truth in public, not being aware of the fact that they are exposed to an audience that will weigh and interpret every syllable of their statements? I mean, I presume that whenever anyone of these artist open their mouth in public on some TV channel or in an interview or what-/whereever they have an agenda, and that is to promote their product. Especially, when it becomes clear that certain artist keep repeating certain statements ….! So, by repeatedly putting Ace’s and Peter’s contributions and their character traits down they will be able to promote their current product. One might call this an agenda, meaning that it is done deliberately, not randomly or accidentally in one of the interviews, it has been fed to us on countless occasions. I also do not think you are right it is only because interviewers keep asking the same questions all the time, remember that stars like them can make the press ask the questions they want to be asked or there will be no interview. This, of course applies to all of the stars out there, musicians, actors, etc. It is one of the main principles of how the media work and of how you make people like and then pay for what you do.
Those last 2 Kiss albums “kicked ass”????? If they kicked ass they would be playing them on these past few tours. They were horrible. What they continue to play is the albums that KICKED ASS back in the day…..Joe in The Cuse
Great point Joe, if Sonic & Monster were so great, the fans would demand to hear these songs live, and Kiss would have to play some of the new songs, but nobody’s demanding it, not enough anyway. 😉
The tour with Def Leppard is the only one they haven’t played any current songs. That has no bearing on whether an album “kicks ass”.
Paul and Gene have admitted they play the songs that audiences respond best to. Then there are songs they have NEVER played live. Does that mean the songs they don’t play live sucks?
Of course not Mike B, there are ALOT of really good Kiss songs they have never played live, and to this day I’ll never know why not, but the point is about Sonic & Monster, it’s o.k. if you like those albums, but most Kiss fans really don’t. The last new song “Hell Or Hallelujah” that they performed live, really did not get much of a positive response from what I’ve heard. When you have a back-catalog of hundreds of songs like Kiss has, not too many people want to hear a “new” song, especially when you’re only playing for an hour & 15 minutes. Again, not saying Sonic & Monster totally suck, but compared to Destroyer, Love Gun, COTN, Revenge, can they really compare?
One more thing Mike, as a lifelong Kiss fan, if you had a choice between Destroyer and Monster, which album would you want to hear live in it’s entirety? 🙂
Doug, to answer your question, yes I would rather hear Monster live and in its entirety over Destroyer. I have heard most of the songs off Destroyer live hundreds of times already! Good question though.
No, that’s not what that means. However, if they love and want to push this lineup so much, you’d think they’d play songs that they created. Last tour they only played one song from each album. If those albums are so great, they’d play them.
Sorry Mike B……but it has ALOT of bearing. If the albums sold big…aka “demand”….then they would be playing those albums/tunes on the tours…….they don’t. Even that meathead “Dana’s boyfriend says” can’t even argue that ……. Joe in The Cuse
It was number three on Billboard 200 when it came out. Right now, they are supporting the KISS 40 Years album, which of course spans their entire career.
If you listened to the samples that Ace let us listen to for free, you would come to the conclusion that I did. ITS GOING TO BE F#@# GREAT!! I cant wait for the new cd to be released and I would love kiss to release something near good , better than monster. haha. Also I like to say its kind of depressing that some of these great bands are retiring, so be thankful we have ace still jamming! haha!
Ace and peter in KISS Vegas this fall. I’m in
STOP. You’re rumor mongering. BS. Ace and Peter are NOT doing ANYTHING with Kiss in Vegas.