Guitar/vocal --- Paul Stanley
Bass/Vocal --- Gene Simmons
(Chaim Witz)
Drums/Vocal --- Pter Criss
( Peter Crissoula)
Guitar/Vocal --- Ace Frehley
(Paul Frehley)



BAND HISTORY

Following the demise of Wicked Lester, Kiss were formed
in 1972 by Paul Stanley
(b. Paul Eisen, 20 January 1950,
Queens, New York, USA; rhythm guitar, vocals) and
Gene Simmons
(b. Chaim Witz, 25 August 1949, Haifa,
Israel; bass, vocals),who went on to recruit Peter Criss

(b. Peter Crisscoula, 27 December 1947, Brooklyn, New York,
USA; drums, vocals) and Ace Frehley
(b. Paul Frehley,
22 April 1951, Bronx, New York, USA; lead guitar, vocals).
At their second show at the Hotel Diplomat, Manhattan,
in 1973, Flipside producer Bill Aucoin offered the band
a management contract, and within two weeks they were
signed to Neil Bogart's recently establishedCasablanca
Records. In just over a year, Kiss had released their
first three albums with a modicum of success. In the
summer of 1975 their fortunes changed with the release
of Alive!, which spawned their first US hit single,
with the reissued live versionof 'Rock And Roll All Nite'
climbing to number 12 in November. The appeal of Kiss
has always been based on their live shows: the garish
greasepaint make-up,outrageous costumes and pyrotechnic
stage effects, along with their hard-rocking anthems,
combined to create what was billed as 'The Greatest
Rock 'n' Roll Show On Earth'. Their live reputation
engendered a dramatic upsurge in record sales,and Alive
became their first certified platinum album in the USA.
Destroyer proved just as successful, and also gave them
their first US Top 10 single,earning Peter Criss a major
songwriting award for the uncharacteristic ballad, 'Beth'.
ubsequent releases, Rock And Roll Over, Love Gun and Alive II,
each certified platinum,confirmed the arrival of Kiss
as major recording artists. By 1977 Kiss had topped the
prestigious Gallup poll as the most popular act in the USA.
They had become a marketing dream: Kiss merchandise
included make-up kits, masks,board games, and pinball
machines. Marvel Comics produced two super-hero cartoon books,
and a full-length science-fiction film, Kiss Meet The
Phantom Of The Park,was even produced. The ranks of their
fan club, the Kiss Army,had swollen to a six-figure number.
In September 1978 all four group members released solo albums
on the same day, a feat never before envisaged, let alone matched.
At the time, this represented the biggest shipment of albums
from one 'unit' to record stores in the history of recorded
music. The albums enjoyed varying degrees of success;Ace Frehley's
record came out on top and included the US Top 20 hit single,
'New York Groove'. Gene Simmons, whose album featured an
impressive line-up of guests including Cher, Donna Summer,
Bob Seger and Janis Ian, had a hit single in the UK with
'Radioactive', which reached number 41 in 1978. After the
release of Dynasty in 1979,which featured the worldwide hit
single, 'I Was Made For Lovin' You', cracks appeared in
the ranks. Peter Criss left to be replaced by session player
Anton Fig, who had previously appeared on Frehley's solo album.
Fig played drums on the 1980 release Unmasked until a permanent
replacement was found in the form of New Yorker Eric Carr

(b. 12 July 1950, d. 24 November 1991), who made his first
appearance during the worldtour of 1980. A fuller introduction
came on Music From The Elder, an album that represented a radical
departure from traditional Kiss music and included several ballads,
an orchestra and a choir. It was a brave attempt to break new
ground but failed to capture the imagination of the record-buying
public. Frehley, increasingly disenchanted with the musical
direction of the band, finally left in December 1982. The two albums
prior to his departure had featured outside musicians. Bruce Kulick,
who had contributed to the studio side of Alive II and played on
Stanley's solo album, supplied the lead workto the four previously
unreleased tracks on the Killers compilation of 1982, and Vincent
Cusano
(later to become Vinnie Vincent ) was responsible for lead
guitar onthe 1982 release, Creatures Of The Night. By 1983 the
popularity of the band was waning and drastic measures were called
for. The legendary make-up that had concealed their trueidentities
for almost 10 years was removed on MTV in the USA. Vinnie Vincent made
his first official appearance on Lick It Up, an album that
provided Kiss with their first Top 10 hit in the UK. The resurgence
of the band continued with Animalize. Vincent had been replaced
by Mark St. John
(b. Mark Norton), a seasoned session player and
guitar tutor. His association with the band was short-lived, however,
as he was struck down by Reiters Syndrome. Bruce Kulick was enlisted
as a temporaryreplacement on the 1984 European Tour, and subsequently
became a permanent member when it became apparent that St. John would
not be able to continue as a band member. Further commercial success
was achieved with Asylum and Crazy Nights, the latter featuring
their biggest UK hit single, 'Crazy Crazy Nights', which peaked
at number 4 inOctober 1987 and was soon followed by another Top 40
hit single, 'Reason To Live'. Hot In The Shade succeeded their third
compilation album, Smashes, Thrashes And Hits,and included another US
hit single, 'Forever', which reached number 8 in February 1990. Work on a
new Kiss album with producer Bob Ezrin was delayed following Eric Carr's
illnessdue to complications from cancer. He died on 24 November 1991,
in New York, at the age of 41. Despite this setback, Kiss contributed
a hit cover version of Argent's classic 'God Gave Rock 'N' Roll To You II'

(UK number 4, January 1992) to the soundtrack of the film Bill And Ted's
Bogus Journey, and brought in replacement drummer Eric Singer

(ex- Black Sabbath ; Badlands ). The album Revenge also provided them
with their highestcharting US album
(number 4), and their first Top 10
release since Dynasty reached number9 in 1979. The Kiss My Ass tribute
album was released in 1994, with contributions from Lenny Kravitz, Stevie
Wonder, Garth Brooks, Lemonheads, Faith No More, Dinosaur Jr,
Rage Against The Machine and others. The interest in Kiss My Ass led to
a historic reunionfor MTV Unplugged. A stable unit with Bruce Kulick

(guitar) and Eric Singer
(drums), together with Simmons and Stanley,
appeared to be on the cards, but Frehley and Criss returned for a
reunion tour. So successful was the tour that Kulick and Singer
were naturally somewhat annoyed and both quit. Their irritation was
further exacerbated by the fact that a new studio album, Carnival Of
Souls, featured both of them.In 1997 Vincent sued the band, alleging
that they owed him royalties. A year later,Psycho Circus marked the
return of the original line-up to the studio. With a history spanning
three decades, Kiss's impact on the consciousness of a generation of music
fans, particularly in the USA, remains enormous.