Sometimes even the plans that seem foolproof and destined to lead you to a life of rock and roll rapture can end in flames. No one is more well-acquainted with that tragedy than Kiss’s short-lived former lead guitarist, Vinnie Vincent, whose blink-and-you’ll-miss-it stint with the band frankly seemed to result in more hassle than it was ever worth.
The dance with disaster began back in 1982, when he was drafted into the band to replace then-guitarist Ace Frehley, assuming what turned out to be the significant role of The Ankh Warrior, the final character of Kiss’ makeup era. But if it seemed like the stars were aligning, Vincent’s luck soon ran short as his official contributions to Kiss became ever murkier due to the trapdoors and loopholes of their employment contract.
Without trying to turn this into a lesson in rock and roll HR, the guitarist claimed that he was a session musician while the rest of the band – and the world – considered him a fully-fledged leading member. Thus, when it came round to the legalities of Kiss’s 1982 album Creatures of the Night, the two opposing views of Vincent’s role became embroiled in a battle of wills that, in the end, cost the man in question his finances, let alone his sanity.
To be fair, the issue didn’t so much concern Creatures of the Night itself – Vincent had still been considered a session musician and thus not credited at this point, despite playing lead guitar on six of the tracks and writing a further three – but it was only afterwards, when Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley wanted to officially bring him into the fold, that he began to throw the toys, or in this case, the guitars, out the pram.
After all, Simmons’ and Stanley’s point was understandable – Vincent had been there throughout some truly defining moments for the band, including their decision to ditch the makeup, and they couldn’t see why he wouldn’t sign on the dotted line to join the gang. Indeed, on the follow-up album Lick It Up, their first unmasked effort, he co-wrote eight of the ten songs, hence having all the appearances of a lead guitarist. But the demands to keep things Vincent’s way eventually became too much, and he was unceremoniously fired from Kiss following their tour for the record in 1984.