Clive King | Contact Music
Gene Simmons has ruled out a reunion of the original Kiss line-up.
The 66-year-old rocker shut down speculation that a recent collaboration between the ‘Lick It Up’ hitmaker’s former guitarist Ace Frehley and Paul Stanley signalled return of the founding members.
When quizzed on the rumours, he said: ”No, that means nothing. We’ve tried that. Ace and Peter [Criss, original KISS drummer] came into the band and were thrown out three different times because of drugs and alcohol. I mean, how many strikes do you want? And to new fans, it means nothing.”
The bassist-and-singer formed KISS in 1973 in New York City with his pal Paul and the band – along with current members Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer – were inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
The rock band are famous for their own stage personas and trademark black and white face paint, and Gene – whose alter ego is known as ‘The Demon’ – would love for four young musicians to take over the KISS characters and carry on the group’s legacy.
The ‘Crazy Crazy Nights’ hitmaker told the Calgary Herald newspaper: ”The team has got to be bigger than any member in it, and that includes Paul and myself. I would like nothing more than on the day that we finally play our last concert that four new, deserving, young men are going to be stepping up and wearing the crown … But doing it justice, not going through the motions. They’ll know the songs, they’ll keep the personas, the personalities alive, and continue on. Why not?”
Gene still finds it astonishing how the music of KISS has endured over their five-decade spanning career which began in the 1970s.
Speaking of the their huge success – which includes collecting more gold albums than any other band in America – Gene previously said: ”Have KISS sold millions of records? Yes. Are we are the luckiest bastards in the world? You’re goddam right we are. I feel like the man on top of the highest mountain in the world, shouting out at the top of his lungs, ‘Isn’t this great. How did we get up here?’ ”
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