Bryan Adams is releasing a special double A-side single featuring two songs – “War Machine” and “Rock And Roll Hell” – through his new independent label, Bad Records. These songs were originally written by Adams, Jim Vallance, and Gene Simmons for KISS’ 1982 album, Creatures Of The Night.
Available for pre-order now as a limited edition double A-side 7” single, available exclusively via Bryan’s webstore (releasing August 30, 2024).
Every band that’s lasted more than 20 years usually has that one album where they get a second wind. No matter if they were considered yesterday’s news just months before, these records are the ones that remind everyone why acts were so good to begin with, either by going in a different direction or delivering more of the tunes that everyone knows and loves. Kiss never had a problem with straying too far away from the formula, but that dramatic return to the makeup was dead in the water before it had even got started on Psycho Circus.
Because, really, what is Kiss without their makeup? Yes, they technically qualify as musicians, but even the most hardened members of the Kiss army will tell outsiders that they are entertainers first and foremost, and the music is almost secondary to the massive stage show. So how the hell did they manage to pull off a makeup-less version of themselves at all?
It wasn’t an easy decision, but Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons eventually decided to clean off their faces after they lost Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. It had been a long time coming for Criss to leave, but Frehley deciding to quit after Music From the Elder was probably down to the fact that he couldn’t stand the idea of doing another album with hard rock mixed with oboes.
So when the group rebranded after Creatures of the Night, it was time for them to enter the MTV generation. Now, instead of the ‘Demon’ persona that could have killed in music video form, Simmons traded his look for a glamorous look that might as well have been the opposite of his strengths.
They still managed to squeak by for a decade with a new lineup, but when Frehley and Criss joined the group for a few tunes at MTV Unplugged, something felt different. Maybe everyone could let bygones be bygones and make a new record; it was all just a matter of getting everyone on the same page.
Listening to the record Psycho Circus, it initially seems promising. The guitars roar, and Stanley’s delivery of the title track’s chorus would have made a great opening for their tour. However, the rest of the album tells a different story. Aside from ‘Into the Void’, contributed by Frehley, the album feels as though the band members were forced to be in the same room together, lacking genuine cohesion and unity.
You don’t need a rock star’s bankroll to collect pop music memorabilia. But when Madonna’s stage-worn pointy bras are selling at auction for the price of a new Cadillac, it certainly helps.
From concert posters and handwritten song lyrics to one-of-a-kind treasures owned by famous musicians, we dove deep into the lucrative business of rock collectibles and curated a list of pricey artifacts that even includes mass-market novelties like pinball machines and toy microphones. What you won’t see at this gig are vintage vinyl records and star-owned musical instruments (think Hendrix guitars), which are largely considered their own collecting genres.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, in the words of Jack Black in “School of Rock,” “You just sit back and enjoy the magic of rock!”
17. KISS Wireless Microphone
Value: $3,400
In the late ’70s, competing for toy store shelf space with Star Wars action figures was a KISS-merch juggernaut that spawned everything from school lunchboxes to radio-controlled vans. To date, it’s estimated the band has licensed its name to more than 3,000 different products.
15. KISS Radio-Controlled Van
Value: $5,000
There isn’t much KISS didn’t put its name on, and the band’s memorabilia from the 1970s can be extremely valuable. This remote-controlled van dates back to 1978 and features imagery of the original members.
This toy made by Aucoin has stayed in its packaging since the beginning and has been in storage for most of the past 44 years. It sold for nearly $5,000 on eBay in September 2022.
That’s exactly what happened in 1980 when Lynda Carter, still riding high off the success of her starring role in the Wonder Woman TV show, appeared in Lynda Carter Encore!, her second TV variety special.
During a particularly extravagant “Rock ‘n Roll Fantasy” sequence, Carter performs the Bad Company song of the same name, Tina Turner‘s version of Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s “Proud Mary,” Bette Midler’s “Friends” and perhaps most bizarrely, Kiss’ disco-inspired 1979 smash “I Was Made for Lovin’ You.” The song was one of the biggest hits of the band’s career, hitting No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Looking for something to watch? Then you’re best off avoiding these biopics and fictional epics.
Films about our favourite bands can be amazing, life-changing spectacles. But sometimes they can also be something of a letdown. Radio X looks at the times that the music movie has been less than thrilling.
Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)
After the success of Saturday Night Fever, The Bee Gees could do no wrong… or could they? For the follow-up, they decided to make this plotless parade of star cameos masquerading as yet another “tribute” to The Beatles. What had the Fabs done to deserve all this? The Brothers Gibb team up with heart-throb-of-the-moment Peter Frampton, comedian Frankie Howerd sings Mean Mr Mustard, comedian Steve Martin sings Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,Alice Cooper appears for no reason, a wacked-out Aerosmith are the villains and there’s a character called “Strawberry Fields”.
KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park (1978)
Glam metal rockers KISS never really took off in the UK in the 1970s as much as they did in the US, where they seemed to mainly appeal to 7 year olds. This must have been the thinking behind this Halloween 1978 TV special, which sees the rockers star in a mystery produced by cartoon studio Hanna-Barbera in the style of their hit show, Scooby Doo.
The musicians take on a criminal mastermind who’s trying to ruin a theme park using an army of robots – or something – and you can enjoy the sight of Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss kung-fu kicking their opponents while Gene Simmons talks like a robot and occasionally roars. Even small children will be embarrassed.
It’s a question that could have changed the face of rock music in the 80’s, a question that would have altered the paths of many careers, A QUESTION that could have completely altered genre’s of music, and that question is…can Edward Van Halen join Kiss?!
This story is well known in the lore of both bands, but only in the last few years has there been actual confirmation from some of the major players, as Gene Simmons and Ed commented on it. To understand how the question could have even come about one has to look a little into the past.
If you don’t know already, back in the day, when Van Halen was a local L.A. band on the Sunset Strip bringing the house down at the Starwood, the band was in the middle of a show at a locla club, when their show was seen by an incognito Gene Simmons who was there to see another band. This lead to Gene offering to help the band break into the business, by working with them on their demo and attempting to get them signed. After, getting a luke warm reception, from both Kiss’s producer Bob Ezrin and some of the members of the band, Gene ripped up the contract he had with Van Halen so they could be free to sign with another label, which they did when they signed with Warner Bros.
Van Halen kept their relationship with Kiss as they proceeded to redefine rock music in the late 70’s and into the early 80’s, but that trail they blazed came with consequences. Years of hard touring and divisions in wanting to evolve their sound led to fights between David Lee Roth and Ed. 1981’s “Fair Warning“, may have been the shining jewell of Van Halen’s catalogue at the time, but it was a hard time for all in the recording of it. The album and the subsequent tour drove Edward into the ground and he needed a break from both Roth and the road.
«KISS DESTROYS MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, 1977-2019». After more than 250 shows on theirseemingly never ending final tour and on their 50th anniversary, the curtain fell for the very last time. And as we all expected it was in the city where the band was born and at the legendary Madison Square Garden.
«LAST KISS AT THE GARDEN, DECEMBER 1 & 2, 2023» captures all of the magic that surrounded the final two shows of KISStory, which was a lot. An unforgettable experience for the fans coming from different countries who attended the two mind-blowing concerts at the famous venue in New York. But a concert lasts two hours only and the whole experience was much bigger than that. A long weekend that started off on Thursday, November 30th and finished on Sunday, December 3rd. The atmosphere in New York City was unbelievable and KISS was everywhere. A dream-like weekend which the KISS Army worldwide dressed to kill for.
«LAST KISS AT THE GARDEN, DECEMBER 1 & 2, 2023» is a 184 full-colour page and A4 size (8.2×11.4 inches) book with more than 800 photos featuring articles, exclusive interviews, anecdotes, chronicles by fans who were lucky enough to live this historical moment, tickets, posters, clippings, backstage passes and ALL the facts that you can imagine about these two shows at the New York temple. All in all, a real jewel which all the KISS fans will love.
Besides, for this book we had the pleasure and honor to count on Bill Starkey’s collaboration, who as all of you know, founded the KISS ARMY in 1975. Bill wrote the foreword of the book. You can read also an exclusive interview with Russell Dannecker, a fan from New York who holds the astonishing record of having seen 414 KISS concerts!! And besides all of this, the book features contributions by people from the KISS camp and fans telling anecdotes about what happened at those two shows.
The package includes our classic membership card and a commemorative A3 size (11×16 inches) poster.
Episode 582. Steve Stierwalt joins us this week and we talk about the very beginning of KISS on the internet as Steve was there when it all started with his website KISS Freaks. Steve shares stories and insight into putting on the Indy KISS Expos. How much money does it take to put together and make a KISS expo happen? How did Steve’s online store KISS Army Warehouse get started, how did he end up acquiring the inventory from KISS Museum.
Only 400 English versions made!