PAUL STANLEY On Feud Between ACE FREHLEY And GENE SIMMONS: 'I Wouldn't Lose Any Sleep Over It'

May 29, 2019

Paul Stanley says that fans shouldn't lose any sleep over the feud between his fellow KISS co-founders Gene Simmons and Ace Frehley.

"I think that whatever ill will or anger there is usually dissipates over time," Stanley told Fox News Digital earlier this month (see video below). "Hopefully it will. The difference between us and other families or other relationships is that ours finds its way into the news. Everybody goes through things that are similar, but in our case, it's entertainment for people. Reading the news and gossip is entertainment. You don't get to read what your neighbors are spatting about, but you get to read what celebrities are spatting about. But I wouldn't lose any sleep over it."

Before KISS's "End Of The Road" tour launched in January, Frehley addressed some comments Simmons made about about a possible reunion of the band's original lineup, dismissing Gene's claim that Ace had been fired from KISS three times (he says he quit),alleging that Simmons groped Ace's wife during one of the bassist's "Vault Experience" events in Los Angeles and accusing Simmons and Stanley of trying "to derail my solo career multiple times over the years." After the allegations, he included a threat: "Without a complete and heartfelt apology, an offer to give me my old job back and removing Tommy [Thayer] from the throne I created, the shit will hit the fan and they'll [sic] be no stopping it. It's on!!!" He concluded the post with an image of him pointing at a camera emblazoned with the words, "The gloves are off!!"

Frehley's post was an apparent response to an interview Simmons gave Guitar World, in which Gene said he wasn't sure if he would invite Frehley and original drummer Peter Criss on the "End Of The Road" tour. "Ace and Peter have gotten three chances," Simmons said. "They were in and out of the band — fired — three times. For drugs, alcohol, bad behavior, being unprofessional … they weren't carrying their load. … So the short answer to your question is we'd love to have Ace and Peter join us here and there. And if they don't, it's not going to be because of us. But they're never going to be in KISS again."

Regarding his last statement, that Frehley and Criss will never be full members of KISS again, Simmons added: "Three times is the charm; 'I promise I'll pull out' doesn't work. It's the boy who cried wolf: 'Oh, I've been straight for a million years.' Terrific! Have a good life! … Would we welcome Ace or Peter to jump up onstage for a song or two? Of course. Could we depend on either Ace or Peter to do a full set night after night? Not on your fucking life."

Less than a month later, Simmons refused to go into detail about Ace's explosive remarks, telling the Los Angeles Times: "I'm not gonna say anything in print other than I love Ace and Peter and I thank them forever — they're every bit as important as Paul and myself for launching the band. I'm not going to make any guesses of why the emotions are so volatile, but it's happened before."

In the months after KISS announced "End Of The Road", fans wondered openly if Frehley and Criss would be involved in the tour, especially considering the apparent recent goodwill between Paul and Gene and Ace. Frehley's latest album "Spaceman" — a title suggested by Simmons himself — features two songs the pair wrote together, and the duo completed a joint summer tour of Australia, after which Frehley fired his solo backing band and hired Simmons's.

Find more on Kiss
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).