On March 9, 2001, Eric Singer began his second tour of duty with Kiss, performing while wearing the band’s famous “Catman” makeup for the first time at a show in Yokohama, Japan.
Original drummer Peter Criss‘ own second stint with the group, which began with the highly successful 1996 reunion tour, had ended acrimoniously a few months earlier, with Criss angrily destroying his drum kit during the last U.S. show of the original lineup’s farewell tour on Oct. 7, 2000.
Criss and Kiss were reportedly unable to come to terms on a contract extension that would enable him to perform on the 2001 Asian and Australian dates of the tour. So the band recruited Singer, who served as the group’s third drummer between 1991 and 1996, following the death of Eric Carr. (Singer and longtime guitarist Bruce Kulick then both stepped aside for the band’s full-makeup and costume reunion with Criss and original guitarist Ace Frehley.)
This final spate of 2001 Farewell Tour concerts, which began in Yokohama and ran for 15 dates through April 13 on the Gold Coast of Australia, mostly went off without a hitch. Still, the decision to have Singer wear Criss’ makeup (and two years later, to have current guitarist Tommy Thayer don Frehley’s “Spaceman” designs) caused some controversy among fans, and resulted in some sharp criticism from Criss.