Sean Michaels | The Guardian
Kiss have announced that they will not perform at their induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, blaming an ongoing “emotional situation” with two of their former members. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley were apparently unable to reconcile with original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, though they credited the two men with being “at the very foundation” of the band’s 40-year career.
“Kiss has always been a band unlike any other,” they wrote on theirwebsite yesterday. “Being unlike other bands also means making choices and decisions unlike other bands … To bring this [dispute] to a quick end, we have decided not to play [the concert] in any line-up and we will focus our attention on celebrating our induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
From the moment Kiss were announced as members of the Hall’s 2014 class, fans were asking questions about which previous band-members would appear at the ceremony on 10 April. Although Criss and Frehley were part of the group’s founding line-up, they haven’t performed with Stanley and Simmons in about ten years. “Both of these guys had three chances to be in the band and three times they fucked it up,” Simmons explained to Radio.com in October. “[And] when you have a cancer in your system, it’s best to cut it out as fast as you can.”
But Simmons appeared to be softening his view in a later interview with Rolling Stone. Asked if he would be open to playing with Criss and Frehley, he replied, “Sure, why not?” “There’s never been bad blood,” he insisted. “I love them as people. I just hate drugs and alcohol … If you don’t have the balls to get on the stage straight, it’s an insult to the fans and the band members.”
On Friday night, Frehley claimed that Simmons hadn’t made any real effort to mend fences. “They just shot down any type of reunion with us – with makeup [or] without makeup,” he said in an interview with radio DJ Eddie Trunk (via Blabbermouth). “Paul and Gene have decided to perform with [current Kiss lineup] Tommy [Thayer] and Eric [Singer], and it looks like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is going along with it.” Frehley also stated that he would never agree to play alongside Thayer or Singer. “That’s absurd,” he said.
Criss verified Frehley’s claims in his own online statement. “I have been denied a performance with Gene and Paul,” he complained. “No original performance, in or out of makeup, has been offered to us.”
Meanwhile, Kiss maintain that they “never refused to play with Ace and Peter”. “Our intention was to celebrate the entire history of Kiss and give credit to all members including long time present members [Thayer] and [Singer] … all [of whom] have made this band what it is,” they wrote. “[But] it is over 13 years since the original lineup has played together in make-up and we believe the memory of those times would not be enhanced [by performing] … there is no way to please everyone.”
Formed in 1973, Kiss have sold more than 100m albums worldwide. Their latest, 2012’s Monster, peaked at No 7.