Paul Stanley and KISS perform at Arena di Verona on July 11, 2022 in Verona, Italy.
Photo: Getty Images, Francesco Prandoni. All rights reserved.
As part of the “End of the Road” tour, Kiss will perform their – probably! – give last concerts. Paul Stanley revealed that there would be no reunion of the original cast.
50 years of KISS: An era is over
In a conversation with “UCR”, Paul Stanley revealed that the absence of original Kiss members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss had to be expected at the band’s farewell concerts. Stanley gives the reason that the tour would celebrate the band and its history over the last 50 years and not the original line-up. Weird argument, because Frehley and Criss are part of this 50 year period. Stanley’s reasoning also reads strangely:
“As important as the original cast was, I can say that without them we wouldn’t be here today, and with them we wouldn’t be here today.”
This shouldn’t particularly shock fans, because Stanley has already explained in the past what his position on Frehley and Criss is. In early 2023, he told Howard Stern that he refused to play alongside his former bandmates at the band’s 2014 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction because it would be “demeaning to the band.” Stanley is of the opinion that the current line-up of the band is perfect because they brought Kiss to where they are now. Kiss in its original line-up were more like “Piss”, explained the singer and guitarist. Even though Frehley demanded an apology after this statement, he never received one.
Likewise, Frehley and Criss refused to give new interviews for the 2021 “KISStory” documentary, after which Stanley said the pair’s demands for compensation and creative control were unreasonable: “It makes no sense to allow anyone to come in and do that To have a say.”
Until the last two concerts at the beginning of December, Kiss will play a total of 22 concerts in the USA in October and November as part of their “End of the Road” tour.