Fan club drama, creepy songs, and more tacky merch than you could possibly imagine: Few rock bands know how to stir up scandal quite like KISS.
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00:00Fan club drama, creepy songs, and more tacky merch than you could possibly imagine.
00:04Few rock bands know how to stir up scandal, quite like Kiss.
00:08When it comes to merchandising opportunities, Kiss never turned down the chance to add a few
00:12extra zeros to their bank accounts, regardless of how silly it might have made them look.
00:16That said, when you consider their over-the-top costumes and garish on-stage personas,
00:20it's easy to see how the Kiss brand lends itself well to the world of comic books.
00:24In 1977, Marvel Comics brought the Demon, Starchild, Cat, and Space Ace to the pages
00:30of Marvel Comics' Super Special Number One. Not only that, but the cover claimed that
00:34Kiss' real blood had been used in the making of the comic book. On the suggestion of their
00:38management team, the band flew out to Marvel's plant and mixed their blood with ink intended
00:42for the comic. And while this might sound more like an urban myth than anything else,
00:46it's 100 percent true. Not only was footage taken during the process,
00:50but a notary public was also on hand to witness the band adding their blood to the red ink.
00:56Success didn't come easy for Kiss, as the band needed to convince the music industry
00:59of their star power. One of the group's biggest supporters in the earliest days,
01:03though, was a man named Bill Starkey. In the 1970s, Starkey discovered Kiss' music and quickly
01:08became a mega-fan. Unhappy with what he believed to be the band's lack of recognition, he decided
01:13to co-found the Kiss Army Fan Club. Starkey and others rallied to promote Kiss to anyone and
01:18everyone, even running campaigns to get their music played on radio. As Starkey told the
01:22Indianapolis Star,
01:23"[For me, Kiss is all about the music. It was never about the costumes. The whole idea behind
01:27the Kiss Army was to get them on the radio, because we liked the songs."
01:31Starkey and the Kiss Army's efforts were eventually recognized by the band.
01:34He ended up meeting them, received a Kiss Honorary Member plaque, and was told that
01:38his hometown of Terre Haute, Indiana would serve as the official headquarters for the fan club.
01:42People have offered me money for this crazy thing. I've been offered $10,000."
01:46But then it all came crashing down. In 1976, the company responsible for Kiss merchandising sent
01:52Starkey a letter informing him that it was taking over the Kiss Army. The group turned the fan club
01:56into a money machine, making a reported $5,000 a day in membership fees. And Starkey didn't receive
02:01a single penny.
02:03Fans from Kiss' heyday loved to sing about sex, drugs, and rock and roll. While Kiss never
02:07ventured into the drugs part of the equation, they loved to croon about intercourse and everything
02:12associated with it. A few of their tracks headed deep into misogynistic terrain, as well.
02:16And there's one particular song that's creepy, even by the standards of the day.
02:20Christine 16 leaves nothing to the imagination. It's a song about an older man who's in love,
02:26or lust, with a 16-year-old girl called Christine.
02:29Written and sung by Gene Simmons, who was 28 years old at the time of the song's release,
02:33the lyrics feature said shocking imagery as the narrator watching Christine as she leaves school.
02:37While Kiss was far from the first rock band to sing about underage girls,
02:41this is one track that'll turn the stomachs of anyone who listens to it.
02:45Both the Los Angeles Times and CBS News are both now reporting that Michael Jackson has died.
02:53Even after Michael Jackson's death in 2009, the King of Pop's legend lived on.
02:57In 2011, an event dubbed Michael Forever the Tribute Concert was organized in Cardiff,
03:02Wales. One of the artists announced for the big show was Kiss, but MJ fans were having none of it.
03:07They protested against the rockers' inclusion on the bill due to controversial statements
03:11Gene Simmons had made about the child abuse allegations surrounding Jackson.
03:14Jackson's estate also weighed in, writing a letter to the organizers, Global Live Events,
03:19to express their disappointment in lieu of Simmons' comments. The uproar forced the
03:23organizers to take action. Speaking to CNN, Global Live Events then-CEO Chris Hunt
03:28apologized on behalf of the organization and said,
03:30Under the circumstances, we fully agree that even though Kiss is a band Michael admired,
03:35we have no choice but to rescind our invitation to them to appear in our Tribute Concert.
03:39One of Kiss' most infamous interviews took place during a 2012 appearance on South American TV.
03:44As the interviewer attempted to ask questions to the band, Paul Stanley noticed that the man
03:48was wearing an Iron Maiden shirt. Now, there doesn't appear to be any beef between the bands,
03:53but something about this irked Stanley.
03:55"'Kiss' is K-I-S-S. This does not spell Kiss."
03:59The journalist tried to diffuse the situation, suggesting that it wouldn't
04:02have been right to wear a Kiss t-shirt to an interview with the band.
04:05Before long, Gene Simmons got involved.
04:07So I got a Kiss t-shirt.
04:10One.
04:14The interview turned uncomfortable as the reporter attempted to proceed with the questions,
04:18but the band continued to make passive-aggressive remarks about the shirt and insult the interviewer.
04:22Eventually, the journalist was forced to take off the shirt and turn it inside out
04:26before Kiss finally played ball.
04:28Kiss' heyday remains the era in which Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss,
04:32and Ace Frehley all played together on the band's lineup. While other members have come and gone
04:37since then, this is still considered the iconic roster and the one most cherished by fans and
04:41pundits. But they haven't always gotten on. In Stanley's 2014 memoir, Face the Music,
04:46he accused both Criss and Frehley of being anti-Semites. Notably, both Stanley and
04:51Simmons are themselves Jewish. Stanley said that Frehley owned Nazi memorabilia,
04:55and alleged that he had witnessed Criss committing several racist acts.
04:58Speaking to the New York Post, Stanley once again labeled his former bandmates as anti-Semites,
05:03stating,
05:03"[It's based on years and years of interactions. It's not pulled out of thin air.]
05:07There certainly was anti-Semitism, and I think it's, I don't want to say rampant, but…"
05:15Frehley denied Stanley's claims in an interview with Vice, arguing,
05:19"[Paul's cranky because he can't call me a drunk or a drug addict anymore.
05:22He can't say I'm unemployable. He can't say I don't show up, because I do these days.
05:26So now he's grasping at straws just to grab headlines for his f----- book."
05:31In 2014, Kiss received one of the ultimate accolades for any rock band — they were
05:36inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Considering the prestige of the event,
05:40fans wondered if the original Kiss lineup would perform together on the night itself.
05:43Soon after, though, Frehley told a radio show that Stanley and Simmons had decided they would
05:47perform with the band's newer members, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer, instead of getting the
05:51old crew back together. Kris also backed up Frehley's claims that all hopes of a reunion
05:55had been squashed. Simmons and Stanley denied Frehley and Kris' version of events, however,
06:00putting out an official statement saying that they'd wanted to celebrate the entire history
06:03of the band, with both past and present members. In addition, they said,
06:07"[It is over 13 years since the original lineup has played together in makeup,
06:10and we believe the memory of those times would not be enhanced.]
06:13Contrary to claims made through the media, we have never refused to play with Ace and Peter."
06:17Ultimately, Simmons and Stanley made the decision to not perform at the Rock and
06:21Roll Hall of Fame at all. Gene Simmons has never been one to err on the side of caution,
06:26especially when it comes to the things he says. Take, for instance, his 2014 interview with Song
06:31Facts. When asked if he still gets along with the original band members from Kiss,
06:35Simmons said no, before telling the interviewer that he can't stand people who feel sorry for
06:39themselves. He said,
06:40"[My mother was in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany. I don't want to hear f-----
06:44all about the world as a harsh place. She gets up every day, smells the roses, and loves life."
06:49In addition to this, Simmons made a number of highly contentious remarks about suicide.
06:53On his radio show Sixth Sense with Nikki Sixx, Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx took umbrage with what
06:58Simmons had said, calling him moronic and suggesting that Simmons' words could have
07:01been damaging to people experiencing depression. Taking to Facebook,
07:05Simmons then walked back his comments and apologized, writing,
07:08"[I was wrong and in the spur of the moment made remarks that in hindsight
07:11were made without regard for those who truly suffer the struggles of depression."
07:15Gene Simmons always loved to talk up his legendary escapades between the sheets.
07:19That is, before he married his now-wife, Shannon Tweed.
07:22"'I'm the male of the species, and, you know, I went from famine to feast.'"
07:29In a 2016 interview with The Sun, he insisted that he had been quite the
07:33Lothario when kiss were in their prime. He said,
07:36"'I didn't do drugs in the crazy times, but I did do sex. Did I sleep with 4,800 women?
07:41So they tell me. I did have the Polaroids to prove it, oh yes, but most of them were burned.
07:46Shannon and I got together with them and we had a ritual.'"
07:49Of course, these comments raise another question — why was he holding onto all
07:52these photos of people for so many years?
07:55So what's the truth about Gene Simmons' relationship with Ace Frehley? Depends on
07:59the mood of the day, really. They'd broken up and made up over and over in the years
08:02after Frehley's departure from Kiss. While neither man has ever been shy
08:06about letting loose in the press, Simmons' comments to Guitar World in 2019 enraged
08:10Frehley so much that he decided to shoot back with some eyebrow-raising comments
08:14about his former bandmate. During the interview, Simmons had mentioned how the
08:17door was open for Frehley and Peter Criss to do a few songs on the band's farewell tour,
08:21but added,
08:21"'Could we depend on either Ace or Peter to do a full set, night after night?
08:25Not in your f-----g life.'"
08:26In a now-deleted Facebook post, Frehley laid into Simmons,
08:29accusing him of slander and suggesting that he was a sex addict. Then,
08:33Frehley dropped another shocking allegation, writing,
08:35"'The icing on the cake was when you groped my wife and propositioned her in Los Angeles
08:39at the Capitol Records building behind my back, which I only found out about several weeks later.
08:43She was planning on pursuing a suit against you, but I told her to call it off.'"
08:47Simmons didn't directly respond to Frehley's allegations,
08:49only telling the Los Angeles Times that he adores Frehley and Criss and respects
08:53what they did for Kiss.
08:55Accusations of selling out have always followed Kiss, as it seems there's never
08:59been an item the band would refuse to put their name on.
09:01"'Can you put a dollar sign on the Kiss empire?'
09:04"'We make a living.'
09:06"'500 million.'"
09:09When the group retired in 2023, many expected that the gravy train would continue in terms
09:14of licensing and merchandise, but no one could anticipate what would happen next.
09:18In April 2024, news broke that Kiss had sold its name, image, likeness,
09:22and music catalog to Pop House Entertainment in a deal worth a reported $300 million.
09:28Pop House released a statement at the time, saying,
09:30"'Our partnership will fuse the rich history and iconic status of Kiss with cutting-edge
09:34technology, allowing fans, now and in the future, to experience the band like never before.'"
09:39Truth be told, the deal shouldn't have surprised too many,
09:42since Pop House was the company behind ABBA's hologram show.
09:45Kiss had previously announced plans to have digital avatars of the group play concerts in 2027.
09:51It seems that the members of Kiss can't even agree on the state of rock and roll today.
09:55In a September 2014 interview with Esquire, Gene Simmons argued that there are no more
09:59opportunities for young musicians anymore. He blamed the fleeting interests of the audience
10:03and illegal file-sharing, saying,
10:05"...the death of rock was not a natural death. Rock did not die of old age. It was murdered,
10:10and the real culprit is that kid's 15-year-old next-door neighbor, probably a friend of his."
10:14Almost a decade later, Simmons' bandmate Paul Stanley was asked by Louder if he
10:18shared the same sentiment about rock. Stanley disagreed with Simmons' opinion,
10:22saying how his son plays in a rock band in Los Angeles and how their shows are always
10:25buzzing with people and excitement. He added that the genre has indeed changed,
10:29and what was once popular before might not strike a chord now,
10:32but insisted that the genre will survive in the long run.