After nearly 50 years, KISS is saying goodbye to touring. The over-the-top purveyors of heavy metal have embarked on a year-long finale tour titled “One Last KISS: End of the Road World Tour.” The 105-stop tour spans North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand and will encapsulate KISS’ larger-than-life show for the last time.
Before his storied rock rise, KISS’ lead singer Paul Stanley recalls being a New York cab driver and driving people to Madison Square Garden to see Elvis. He remembers telling himself that night, “One of these days, people are going to be driving here to see me.”
Stanley formed KISS in 1973 along with bassist and back-up vocalist Gene Simmons. Inspired by glam rock, the band was determined to make its performances into an all-encompassing experience.
“As a rock fan I had gone to see bands who oftentimes made you think they were doing you a favor by showing up when I just paid them,” Stanley says. “I think there was a lot of apathy onstage in a sense of complacency.”