Ace Frehley firmly stated that he would unequivocally reject an offer to participate in KISS’ final show following recent remarks made by Paul Stanley. Despite this, Frehley emphasized his ongoing close relationship with Gene Simmons.
During KISS’ “End of the Road” farewell tour, speculation surrounded the possibility of a reunion with the classic lineup, but the final show at Madison Square Garden transpired without Ace Frehley and Peter Criss.
Dismissing previous statements about reunion offers as mere tactics to boost ticket sales, the Spaceman asserted just before the final show that Paul Stanley’s earlier comments about him and the band’s original drummer were the driving factors.
The feud between Frehley and Stanley ignited in March the previous year when Stanley suggested that if KISS had played with the two ex-members during the band’s Rock Hall induction in 2014, they should have changed their name to PISS. Frehley responded with a threat to expose “dirt” on Stanley and Simmons unless he received an apology, eventually opting for a more diplomatic approach.
In a recent interview with Chaoszine, Frehley emphasized that Stanley’s comments had rendered any reunion proposal a non-starter:
“I don’t really understand what happened six or seven to eight months ago when Paul and Gene were in the midst of the ‘End of the Road’ tour. They were saying really nice things about Peter and Bruce Kulick and me. They were saying, ‘We called Ace, we called Peter, and they’re going to be on stage with us and play a few final songs,’ you know, ‘brotherhood’ and all that bullshit.”
Frehley continued, expressing his disappointment with Stanley’s shift in tone and attitude as the show sold out, especially after the Howard Stern interview where Stanley quipped, ‘Well, if Ace and Peter got up on stage with us, you might as well call the band Piss.’
Despite any tension with Stanley, Frehley emphasized his continued strong bond with Gene Simmons:
“Me and Gene are still very close. When I heard that he collapsed on stage in Brazil, I was concerned because I’ve known Gene since 1973. I immediately emailed him and said, ‘Gene, are you OK?’ And miraculously enough, he got back to me in 5 minutes and said, ‘Hey, so I’m doing fine.'”
