KISS Approached All Former Members About Their Final Show

KISS manager Doc McGhee has revealed the fact that every surviving ex-KISS member has been approached and invited to perform on stage with the band for their last show ever. This finale is scheduled to happen on July 17, 2021 in New York City, marking the last of the extensive End Of The Road world tour, which still has 75 shows left for 2020 to finish.

For a roll call, the surviving former KISS members are the original lead guitarist and founder Ace Frehley, original drummer Peter Criss, 80s-90s lead guitarist Bruce Kulick, and the only ever second lead guitarist of the band, Vinnie Vincent. The band’s deceased former members are Eric Carr, who was the drummer from 1980 to 1991, and Mark St. John who was part of the 1984 catalog, Animalize.

During a Q and A on the KISS Kruise, McGhee said, “Ace and Peter will be and have been invited to come and play with us at anytime. Like I always say, people in New York would love to see Joe Namath still play football for the Jets. Unfortunately, he can’t. We want to include everybody that played with Kiss to celebrate the 45 years of Kiss.”

McGhee also revealed that they are still planning how the show will go, considering the involvement of the former members. “We’re still looking at what we’re going to do on the final show of Kiss … and, yes, they’ve all been talked to about it, so I can see us doing something,” he said. “It’s very difficult, though, when people say, ‘Oh, you should bring Ace and Peter up.’ I mean, how do you do that when you have two Catmen and two Spacemen?’ So you say, ‘Okay, you don’t wear makeup, and you wear makeup.’ And then they go, ‘Well, that was my makeup.’ I don’t know.”

The task was “real hard to do … but we’ll figure it out because they’re very much a part of the heritage of Kiss. They’re acknowledged by Gene and Paul and everybody in this room as being founding members and some of the reasons why we’re sitting here. So, it’s important to you guys, it’s important to us. It’s just a matter of the balance. We bring it where it works for everybody, and everybody is having a great time,” McGhee admitted.

Paul Stanley was the voice of resonance for the band, with McGhee agreeing to the sentiment as well, “They could not have done what they’d done without Ace and Peter … and they couldn’t do what they’re doing now with Ace and Peter.”