Who gave the band the name "KISS"? Why did the group's text logo become the reason for accusing its members of Nazism? What did the members of KISS come up with to do to be different from the rest? Why didn't the first KISS albums sell well, and how did the managers manage to promote the band and save Casablanca Records from bankruptcy? What cunning strategy led KISS to take the top spot in album sales and become the most popular band in America? Why did rock musicians gradually lose popularity in the 80s, and what did they have to do to regain public interest?

Creating an image

The history of the group KISS, which "blew up" the world rock scene in the 70s, began in 1972, when New York guys Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley organized Wicked Lester. The group played a mixture of rock and roll and glam rock, but did not last long. Simmons and Stanley decided to radically change their approach to music and left the band with the intention of starting a new band.

Soon, drummer Peter Criss and guitarist Ace Frehley joined Gene and Paul. According to legend, Frehley impressed the other contestants with his eccentricity by showing up to the audition wearing two different shoes. Whether this was done intentionally is unknown, but everyone liked the eccentric Frehley, and he was accepted into the group.

According to Simmons, Stanley came up with the name "KISS" while they were on the train together, and Frehley designed the text logo. Later, when it came to selling records, the musicians found that their letters

s in the form of lightning are similar to the Zig rune, which was used in their symbolism by the SS troops of Nazi Germany. Despite the provocative image, they decided not to change the logo, but in Germany they still had to publish special covers.

Numerous accusations of KISS in Nazism were extremely ridiculous. If only because Simmons is a native of Israel, and Stanley has Jewish roots. It's just that the guys liked the lightning bolt picture of the letters SS and they didn't care what the rest of them thought. Much more important was the stage image of the members of KISS, which not only distinguished them from other groups, but also became a subject of imitation.

The idea to apply makeup on the face belonged to Simmons and Stanley. They decided that this would distinguish them from other bands and make them memorable. The rest of the group supported the idea. So Stanley became Starchild, Simmons became Demon, Frahley became Space Ace, and Criss became

"Cat". Throughout their career, they changed makeup several times, but still remained true to their images.

On the road to glory

KISS' first performance was at the Popcorn Club on January 30, 1973. In November of the same year, the musicians signed a contract with producer Neil Bogart, who was the head of the Casablanca Records label. The group went on their first tour to Canada, and soon recorded their debut album with the simple name "KISS" (1974).

Despite their growing popularity, the first KISS albums sold poorly. "Casablanca Records" was on the verge of bankruptcy, but Bogart's attempts to change the sound did not lead to anything. It was, of course, not the point. For example, the KISS concerts were a great success. And this is not surprising, because on the stage there was a real show with fireworks, smoke bombs and various tricks that the musicians did. The group quickly acquired st

atus the most spectacular, but still few people knew about it. A financial breakthrough was needed, otherwise the group could cease to exist. And soon a solution was found.

Considering the huge popularity of KISS concerts, the decision was made to release a recording of the live concert. From a commercial point of view, the move was brilliant. Live album "Alive!" (1975) not only brought the group worldwide fame, but also saved the Casablanca Records label from bankruptcy.

In the wake of the incredible success of KISS recorded their most ambitious album "Destroyer" (1976). It was followed by the successful "Rock and Roll Over" (1976) and "Love Gun" (1977). All of them received platinum status, proving that the band members are capable of not only putting on a spectacular show, but also making high-quality beautiful music. Their image and style of performance predetermined the emergence of such a genre as glam rock and had a huge impact on the forms

rock hard rock.

In the late 70s, KISS became the most popular band in America. Nevertheless, the managers decided to take the group to a new level. For this, a cunning strategy was invented, which can be conditionally divided into two parts. The first part is the simultaneous release of solo albums by all four members. Each of them found its listener, but the most successful, according to critics, was Ace Frehley's disc with the radio hit "New York Groove".

The second part of the cunning plan involved making a movie that would portray KISS characters as superheroes. It was released in 1978 under the name "Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park" and was trashed by film critics. Despite the negative reviews, the band's fans appreciated the film and elevated it to the rank of a cult.

Thanks to successful management, KISS earned an impressive amount of money and reached the peak of fame. However, soon there was a law

dimensional crisis. It was associated with disagreements between the members of the team. In 1982, Peter Criss left the band, and Ace Frehley left two years later. This was reflected not only in the music of KISS, but also in the sale of albums, as part of the fans, dissatisfied with the dismissal of idols, announced a boycott.

To save their popularity, the musicians took the plunge and appeared in public without makeup! This action returned public interest in the outrageous group, but not for long. In the 80s, glam rock and hard rock, between which KISS maneuvered, gradually lost their audience, and with the advent of grunge, a new era began that put an end to the work of many hard rock bands.

However, KISS still had a huge fan base that is still one of the biggest fan groups to this day. In 1996, after repeated changes in the band members, the musicians announced their reunion in the first place.

composition. The band embarked on the Alive/Worldwide Tour, which was a huge success. This was the last big tour of the legendary KISS. Soon Peter Criss and Ace Frehley left the band forever, and in 2000 the musicians announced a farewell tour.

However, KISS didn't retire. In 2002, Paul Stanley stated that the band would continue with a new line-up. Criss was replaced on drums by Eric Singer, and Frehley was replaced by guitarist Tommy Thayer. With the new line-up, KISS released two albums, "Sonic Boom" (2009) and "Monster" (2012), which are the last works of the rockers to date.

Over the course of their musical career, KISS has sold over 100 million albums, becoming one of the most successful rock bands in history. Their influence on the formation of rock music is difficult to overestimate. Now "KISS" is called nothing but living legends of glam rock

Mar 5, 2014

For more than 40 years now, in each new generation, the number of fans of the legendary American rock band Kiss has only increased. But since they took the stage, a lot of new musicians, new outrageous bands and performers have appeared. But fans of high-quality glam rock, shock rock are still true to Kiss. It is from their work that they begin to get acquainted with the specifics of this rock direction and, as a rule, this acquaintance develops into love for life. So why does Kiss music still have a huge following today, why do their releases sell and buy successfully? Why does every (!) 10th inhabitant of our planet have at least one Kiss album? Why are they so loved, damn it?

Start

The team was formed in the USA, in New York in 73.

Kiss was originally known as Wicked Lester. It was a team of musicians performing glam rock rising to the crest of the fashion wave, as well as rock and roll. And to be more precise, they played a kind of shake from these two directions. The Wicked Lester group was created by two guys at that time still unknown to anyone - Paul Stanley (Stanley Harvey Eisen) and Gene Simmons (Chaim Witz - his real name).

The guys were not afraid, but, on the contrary, they loved to experiment with sound, so they often played music, boldly mixing different directions and styles. But success was in a hurry to them and was in no hurry. Wicked Lester even managed to record an official album, which, alas, was doomed to gather dust on the far shelves of Epic Records. Time after time, feeling the hopelessness of the whole situation, Stanley and Simmons, nevertheless, decided to leave Wicked Lester. And already at the beginning of 72, the guys gradually began to create a new musical group.

Time passed, but already at the end of 72, the musicians accidentally stumbled upon an ad in Rolling Stone looking for a job by Peter Criss. Peter Criss was a prominent and already well-known drummer in the trendy New York music club scene. Once this guy even played in the Chelsea band. In general, Peter was accepted into the fresh line-up of the former Wicked Lester without any questions. So there were already three of them.

When Criss became a member of the band, the musicians began to try to play in a harder style than before. In addition, the guys were insanely inspired by the incredibly popular at that time proto-punk band New York Dolls. Theatricality, "staging", spectacular images, make-up, style and demeanor on stage - all this attracted and inspired the musicians, so they realized that it was time to make their own show on stage - it was time to experiment with the image.

Later, Ace Frehley (Paul Daniel Frahley, guitarist) joins the band. The group was taken aback by Frehley's energy and eccentricity. He came to the audition in two different shoes: one is red, the other is orange. He behaved uninhibitedly and a little defiantly, which the group really liked. He quickly won over all the members of the team. And after a couple of weeks they were playing four.

Once, when the musicians were traveling by train to New York, Criss once mentioned that at one time he was a member of a band called Lips. And Stanley asked him, "How about we call our band Kiss?" Later, the similarity of these “lightning bolts” with the “Zig” rune, which was a well-known symbolism of the Nazi troops, was noticed. In Germany, these symbols were banned. Because of this, most of the Kiss albums that came off the German assembly line after '79 had special, edited covers. The "S" in the band's name logo was depicted as a mirror image of the "Z". And all the ridiculous rumors about the Nazi concept of Kiss were dispelled once and for all. In addition, at one time a myth was very common, according to which the name of the group is nothing more than an acronym for the name Knights In Satan's Service ("Knights in the service of Satan"). But in fact, this phrase is an acronym for programmers, and it appeared much later than the period when Kiss began to call themselves that. The band has always rejected any mystical, satanic or other preposterous grounds for choosing a new name.

Soon Simmons and Stanley proposed to the team a new idea - to create a unique stage make-up for their performances. She was approved and accepted with a bang. Using traditional theatrical make-up, each member of Kiss created an original and conceptual make-up based on the images of their favorite characters from horror films, comics and other curious characters that the musicians liked:

• Paul Stanley - the image of the "Star Child" (Star Child), but later changed the chosen make-up to the image of the "Bandit" (Bandit), but still returned to the original variation after a while;
• Peter Criss - the image of "Cat";
• Gene Simmons designed the Demon makeup for himself;
• Ace Frehley - makeup "Space Ace" (Space Ace).

The band's first concert under the new name Kiss took place in January '73 for literally 3 people at the Popcorn Club in Queens. And in the spring Kiss recorded their first demo with five tracks.

Less than a year later, Kiss left for the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Canada. And the first full-fledged album under the name, coinciding with the name of the group Kiss, appeared on the shelves of music stores in the winter of '74.

Kiss toured a lot, constantly gave concerts, often performed on TV, were recognizable. And despite this, the first edition did not bring them the desired commercial success - sales of the band's debut album could not exceed 75,000 copies. Because of this, everyone suffered losses: both the band itself and the record company Casablanca Records, which released the debut album Kiss.

At the end of the summer of '74, a team of musicians traveled to Los Angeles to begin work on their second edition, which was called Hotter Than Hell. And this release also could not fully recoup all the finances invested in it and, of course, the efforts of Kiss musicians.

After this near-failure, Neil Bogart (the head of the record company Casablanca Records) personally became the producer of the group's activities and set to work on their new album. He recommended to change the style, its basis is to make the team's dark, hard and rather rough sound more pure and juicy, in contrast to the sound that can be heard on Hotter Than Hell.

Soon (75) the 3rd Kiss album appeared under the name Dressed to Kill. He brought success, but still the album was not sold in large numbers.

Yes, indeed, the circulation of the first Kiss music publications was never unbelievable. Why did this happen, given that the band became very popular by their third album, acquired an army of fans and became truly in demand? Some critics believe that Kiss became and still is rock glam stars, largely due to their incredibly exciting, interesting, shocking, bright and outrageous shows. Every performance of Kiss is an unforgettable sight! Therefore, it so happened that this group is always associated first of all with their enchanting show program, and only then - with their music and its specifics.

Finding Success

At the end of 75, the Casablanca music label began to suffer heavy losses. The company was seriously threatened with bankruptcy. And Kiss meanwhile lived and worked under the yoke of losing their contract with Casablanca. And, both for one and for the other, a material take-off was necessary, like a breath of air. The long-awaited breakthrough in financial terms came with the first recording of their live concert. Musicians have long wanted to express and preserve all the excitement, energy and enthusiasm that pervades each of their performances in public. This was realized by Kiss' first "live album" published in September 1975, called Alive!

This release was certified gold and was hailed as the first release by Kiss to enter the Top 40 Top 40 Singles. So success found its owners.

In general, in '78 Kiss were really at the peak of their commercial and public popularity.

Between '76 and '78 Kiss received approximately $17,000,000 in both copyright and publishing payments for their music. In a Gallup poll in '77, Kiss was hailed as the most popular band in the United States of America. By the way, in other countries of the world, musicians also had incredible success. For example, in Japan, the group performed five of their outrageous grand shows at the legendary Budokan arena, thereby breaking the previous record previously held by The Beatles. It is worth noting that since the late 70s, sales of products with Kiss symbols and logos have become an independent source of income for musicians: T-shirts, baseball caps, key rings, and so on. Among all these gizmos, two unusual comics published by Marvel can be distinguished (experts and collectors claim that a particle of the blood of Kiss members was included in the paint of the illustrations of these publications).

solo games

The group's manager Bill Aucoin decided not to stop there and began to make efforts to raise Kiss to a new level of popularity. For this, an interesting strategy was conceived.

First, the simultaneous, parallel release by all 4 members of Kiss of their own "solo albums" was planned. All of the musicians' releases were named simply but tastefully: Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss.

After that, a large-scale and long-awaited project was released - Dynasty - their 5th studio album.

Also, in the format of the newly minted strategy, it was supposed to make a film in which the members of Kiss will play superheroes. The beginning of work on the painting was indicated in September 78. The result is Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park. It was first shown on TV on NBC on October 20 of the same year. And, turning a blind eye to the terrible reviews and reviews of critics, this frankly ridiculous from an artistic point of view, the picture became one of the popular films of the year and even later was shown outside the country already under the name Attack of the Phantoms.

The band members themselves called the process of their work in the cinema ashamed and funny.

recession

The album Dynasty was recorded with a session drummer named Anton Fidge, at the personal request of producer Vinny Poncia, who for some reason disliked and always strongly doubted the talent of drummer Peter Criss.
In general, after the release of the new album Unmasked, Criss was officially deleted from the group.

All drums on the album are written by Anton Fidge. And yet the album was not a success. And in the late spring of 80, Eric Carr was appointed to the place of Kiss's permanent drummer.

The situation was supposed to be saved by the release of Music from "The Elder", which had a lot of wind and string instruments, as well as penetrating synthesizers. The record turned out to be very far from true hard rock, but it was definitely more rigid in sound than the previous one. So what is the result of all these experiments with style and sound?

All attempts to make the best album led to the fact that Kiss began to lose loyal fans who loved their signature style and sound, and the band lost Bill Aucoin and Ace Frehley ... Sadly.

In the autumn of 1982, a work called Creatures of the Night was born, on which fans again heard the heavy and traditional sound of Kiss. But this again did not help to revive the former love of fans and popularity.

Later, due to frequent scandals with Paul and Gene, as well as due to serious problems with drugs and health, Ace Frehley left the group. Instead, they took Vinnie Vincent, who took the stage image of the ancient Egyptian god.

All of them at that moment only dreamed of saving their reputation and preserving Kiss as a group.

Back to the roots

In 1983, Kiss took a step that shattered all the canons - they decided to perform for the first time in front of the public without makeup. This action brought good dividends, and the Lick It Up album finally returned Kiss to the musical Olympus.

The next three releases of the group, sustained strictly in the style of glam metal, allowed the team to consolidate the newly obtained success. And in the spring of '84, the recording of Animalize vinyl began.

In 1985, the group Kiss released the next new album - Asulym, which, in fact, became a continuation of Animalize. In '86, Kiss took a break for a while, but in '87, another Kiss release came out called Crazy Nights. Next: 88 - Smashes, Thrashes & Hits compilation is released with 2 fresh songs from Paul Stanley.

By the end of 89, a new work Hot in the Shade was presented, with the legendary ballad Kiss - Forever.

But tragedy awaited Kiss...

In 1991, Eric Carr died of a rare and terrible disease - heart cancer. Kiss survived the huge loss with dignity, and with the new drummer Eric Singer, they were able to finish the Revenge release that had already begun. Moreover - the group broke through with this edition in the hot 10!

In 1995, at one of the acoustic performances of Kiss, Peter Criss took the stage and sang along with the Hard Luck Woman musicians. And at the end of the summer of the same year, the group performed on MTV (Unplugged show), where at the end of the program Peter Criss joined the musicians along with Ace Frehley.

And confirming the wandering rumors about the reunion of the team, in '96 Kiss openly announced a return to the original line-up of the team. Tickets for the 1st official performance of the reunited musicians in Detroit at Tiger Stadium were completely sold out in just 40 (!) minutes.

In the autumn of 1998, a new studio album, Psycho Circus, was released. The album was certified gold. And the tour in support of the new musical work of Kiss started on Halloween night in the same 98th year in Los Angeles at the Dodger Stadium arena.

In 2000, a statement was made about the beginning of a farewell tour (Farewell Tour) and the final cessation of the musical activities of the Kiss group as a single team. But in Charleston before the concert, Criss leaves the group again. This time, the reason lay in the insufficient amount for the signing of the last contract. The tour was cancelled. Until 2001, no one knew anything about the fate of the group, until it was announced that Eric Singer would be put in place of Criss. It was in this line-up that Farewell Tour continued in Australia and Japan.

Kiss performed at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics closing ceremony. This was Ace Frehley's last performance with the band. Meanwhile, the Kiss group did not want to say goodbye completely ... and did not say goodbye.

It was decided that Kiss would continue its activities!

Our days

Tommy Thayer is finally recognized as a full member of the band as lead guitarist. And most importantly, Peter Criss is back in Kiss.

In Australia in 2003, a grandiose show concert of the Kiss group was held with the assistance of the world-famous Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The result of this was the magnificent "live" Kiss Symphony: Alive IV.

The World Domination Tour followed, becoming one of the most successful in America.

The composition of the group changed several times. The current lineup of Kiss is:

• Paul Stanley (73 - present);
• Jean Simmons (73 - present);
• Eric Singer (1991 - 1996, 2001 - 2002, 2004 - present);
• Tommy Thayer (2002 - present).

In 2009, the album Sonic Boom was released, and in the fall of 2012, Kiss musicians released the Monster album. And we deeply believe that this is not their last work.

And by the way, the question of why Kiss is still in demand can be answered shortly and truthfully - because they are professionals!
These are the best musicians in their field and they know how to put on the best shows in the world!

Tell your friends:

Kiss(Kiss) is an American rock band that gained immense fame in the 1970s and 1980s, playing glam, shock, hard rock and known for their stage make-up and concert shows, accompanied by various pyrotechnic effects. It was formed in New York in January 1973.

The most famous songs are "Strutter" (1974), "Black Diamond" (1974), "Rock and Roll All Night" (1975), "Detroit Rock City" (1976), "I Was Made For Lovin' You" (1979 ), "Lick It Up" (1983), "Heaven's On Fire" (1984), "Forever" (1989), "God Gave Rock and Roll To You II" (1992), "Psycho circus" (1998) . As of 2007, they have over forty-five gold and platinum albums and over 150 million records sold.

History of Kiss

Early years and struggles (1971-1975)

Formation

Kiss has its roots in Wicked Lester, a New York City Rock and Roll (glam band) group formed by Gene Simmons (born August 25, 1949 in Haifa, Israel, with his birth name Chaim Witz) and Paul Stanley (born Stanley Harvey Eisen in Queens, New York January 20, 1952). Wicked Lester, who mixed different musical styles, never achieved success. They recorded one album which was shelved by Epic Records and held live performances. Simmons and Stanley, feeling the need for a new direction for their musical career, left Wicked Lester in 1972 and began to form a new band.

In late 1972, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley found an ad in Rolling Stone magazine written by Peter Criss, a seasoned drummer from the New York club scene who had come from the Chelsea band. Criss (born George Peter John Criscaula on December 20, 1945 in Brooklyn, New York) auditioned it and was accepted into the updated version of Wicked Lester. The trio focused on a much harder rock style than Wicked Lester played. Inspired by the theatrics of the New York Dolls, they also began to experiment with imagery, wearing make-up and various costumes. In November 1972, the band participated in an audition hosted by Epic Records director Don Alice, hoping to secure a collaboration. Although the production went well, Alice did not like the band's image and the style of their music. He actually hated them, and when he was about to leave, he was lashed out by Criss's brother.

In December 1972, guitarist Ace Frehley (born Paul Daniel Frahley on February 22, 1955 in the Bronx, New York) joined the band. According to Kiss & Tell, written by Ace Frehley's best friends, Gordon G.G. Gebert and Bob McAdams (who accompanied Ace at the audition), the eccentric Frehley impressed the band at their first audition, although he showed up wearing two different shoes (one red, one orange) and only started warming up on guitar while the band listened to what some other guitarist. A couple of weeks later, Frehley joined Wicked Lester, which was renamed Kiss.

Creation of symbolism

Stanley came up with the name while they were on the train to New York with Simmons and Criss. Criss mentioned that he used to be in the band Lips, then Stanley asked "How about KISS?" (Gene Simmons recalls this in the Exposed video). Frehley created the text logo (where he made the letters "SS" look like lightning bolts) when he went to draw the word "Kiss" on top of a Wicked Lester poster near the club where they were going to play. Later, the visual similarity of these lightning letters with the Zig rune, which during the Second World War was used in their symbols by the SS, the Nazi troops, was accidentally discovered. However, in Germany, these characters are not allowed, so to avoid misunderstandings, most of the group's albums released after 1979 in Germany had a special edition of the cover, in which the letters "SS" looked like a mirror image of "ZZ". Rumors accusing Kiss of Nazism are highly ridiculous, as Gene Simmons is an Israeli native and Paul Stanley is of Jewish ancestry, thus two of the band's regular members are Jewish. Other rumors suggest that the band's name is an acronym for Knights In Satan's Service or an acronym for Keep It Simple Stupid. None of these rumors have any basis in fact and the band has consistently dismissed them.

The makeup idea belonged to Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. The idea was positively received and, using theatrical make-up, each participant came up with their own unique make-up. Participants' hobbies like comics, horror films, etc. had a clear influence on makeup. Gene Simmons began to paint in "Demon", Peter Criss - in "Cat", Ace Frehley - in "Space Ace" (Space Ace), and Paul Stanley first became "Star Child" (Star Child), immediately changed the image to "Bandit" (Bandit), but almost immediately returned to the original version.

First achievements

Kiss' first performance was on January 30, 1973, for three people at the Popcorn Club (soon to be renamed Coventry) in Queens. In March of the same year, the band recorded their first 5-song demo with producer Eddie Kramer. Former TV director Bill Aucoin, who had seen the band play a few gigs in the summer of 1973, offered them his managerial services in October. Kiss agreed to the terms offered to them by Oikon and signed a recording contract within two weeks. On November 1, 1973, Kiss signed their first contract with renowned pop artist and head of Buddha Records, Neil Bogart, to collaborate with his new label, Emerald City Records (soon to be renamed Casablanca Records).

The band entered New York's Bell Sound Studios on October 10, 1973 to record their first album. On December 31, the band received an official opportunity to perform at the Academy of Music (New York), opening for Blue Öyster Cult. At this concert, Simmons accidentally set his hair on fire (which was sprayed with alcohol) the first time he performed his later popular "Fire Breath" trick, in which he poured kerosene into his mouth and sprayed out a jet of fire.

Kiss' first tour began on February 5, 1974 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. Kiss' self-titled debut album was released on February 18. Casablanca and Kiss aggressively promoted the album throughout the spring and summer of 1974. On February 19, the band performed "Nothin" to Lose", "Firehouse," and "Black Diamond" for their first television appearance on ABC's Dick Clark's In concert. Concert (aired March 29) The band performed "Firehouse" on The Mike Douglas Show on April 29. This broadcast included Simmons' first TV interview and an argument with Mike Douglas in which Simmons revealed himself to be "evil incarnate", causing nervous laughter guest humorist Totie Fields commented that it would be funny if under all that makeup he was nothing more than a “handsome Jewish boy.” Simmons cleverly countered this remark with neither confirmation nor refutation, but simply the phrase : "You only have to know. " To which she replied: "Yes, I know. You can't hide the hook" - a sly reference to Gene Simmons' nose.

Formation

Despite this publicity and constant touring, Kiss initially only sold 75,000 copies. Meanwhile, the band and Casablanca Records were rapidly losing money. The band flew to Los Angeles in August 1974 to record their second album, Hotter Than Hell, which was released on October 22, 1974. The single "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll," failed and the album ended up at #100.

With Hotter Than Hell rapidly losing ground, Kiss was rushed off their tour to record their next album. The head of Casablanca, Neil Bograt, took over the production of the new album, personally changing the dark and rough sound of Hotter Than Hell to a cleaner sound. Dressed to Kill, released March 19, 1975, was a much better commercial success than Hotter Than Hell. It also contained one of the band's most famous and future hit songs, "Rock and Roll All Nite" (Sound sample).

Although Kiss albums did not sell in large quantities, the group quickly acquired the status of the most entertaining. Kiss concerts included many different tricks and gimmicks, such as Gene Simmons spitting blood (actually a mixture of yogurt, juices and food coloring that he ate) or "fire breathing" (when Gene Simmons filled his mouth with kerosene and squirted him to the torch); fireworks from Ace Frilly's guitar during the solo (fireworks, lights and smoke bombs stuffed into the guitar); Rising drum kit with Peter Criss, emitting sparks; Paul Stanley smashing a guitar in the style of Pete Townsend; and lots of pyrotechnics throughout the show.

In late 1975, Casablanca almost went bankrupt and Kiss was in danger of losing their contract. Both sides needed a financial breakthrough to stay afloat. This breakthrough took an unusual form - live concert recordings.

Rise to fame and success (1975-1978)

Kiss wanted to express the excitement that was felt at their concerts and the excitement that, unfortunately for them, their studio albums with their first live album could not convey. Released on September 10, 1975, Alive! went gold, and spawned the first Kiss release to hit the top 40 singles, a live version of "Rock And Roll All Nite". This was the first version of "Rock and Roll All Nite" with a guitar solo, and this recording successfully introduced the final version of the song, eclipsing and displacing the studio original. In later years, the band noted that the extra crowd noise was added to the album, not to fool fans, but to add more "excitement and realism" to the show.

Alive success! not only gave Kiss the breakthrough they were looking for, but arguably saved the Casablanca label, which was close to bankruptcy. Following this success, Kiss partnered with producer Bob Etzrin, who had previously worked with Alice Cooper. The result was Destroyer (released March 15, 1976), Kiss' most musically ambitious studio album to date. Destroyer, with its rather intricate and complex production (adding the sound of an orchestra, boys' choir, elevator drums, radio message-style intros and other effects), moved away from the raw and uncouth sound of the band's first three studio albums. While the album sold well and became the band's second gold album, it quickly fell off the charts. It wasn't until the ballad "Beth" (Sound sample) was released as a standalone single that the album took off again in sales. "Beth" was a #7 hit for the group, and its success restored both the album (which went platinum by the end of 1976) and Kiss sales.

In October 1976, Kiss appeared on The Paul Lynde Halloween Special, backing "Detroit Rock City", "Beth" and "King of the Night Time World". For many teenagers, this was their first memory of a dramatic Kiss appearance. The show was produced by Bill Aucoin. In addition to this production, Kiss was the subject of a brief comedy "interview" conducted personally by Paul Lind. The interview included what he said when he heard the names of the band members

Over the next year, two more highly successful albums were released - Rock and Roll Over (November 11, 1976) and Love Gun (June 30, 1977). A second live album, Alive II, was also released in 1977 on October 14, 1977. All three albums went platinum shortly after they were released. Between 1976 and 1978 Kiss received $17.7 million in copyright and music publishing fees. A 1977 Gallup poll named Kiss the most popular band in America. In Japan, Kiss performed five grand shows at the Budokan arena, breaking the previous record of four held by the Beatles.

Double Platinum, the first of numerous Kiss Greatest Hits compilations, was released on April 2, 1978. This double album included many remixed versions of their hits, such as "Strutter "78", a re-recorded version of one of the band's signature songs. At the request of Neil Bogart, the song was played in a style similar to the then popular disco music.

During this period, sales of Kiss merchandise became a significant source of income for the group. Some of the products released included

1. A couple of comic books published by Marvel (in the first of them, among the red color, in addition to ink, there was also the blood of the members of the group, which they handed over specifically for this).
2. pinball machine
3. Kiss dolls
4. Kits for cosmetics "Kiss Your Face Makeup"
5. Halloween masks
6. Toy medicines "Pets"
7. Board games
8. Toys

And many other memorabilia. An organization of Kiss Army fans was formed. Between 1977 and 1979, worldwide sales (in stores and on tour) reached a whopping $100 million.

Divergence in Solo (1978)

Kiss were at the peak of their commercial popularity by 1978 - Alive II became the band's fourth platinum album in two years, and the ensuing concert tour had the most attendance (560,550) in the band's history. In addition, their annual income for 1977 amounted to US$10.2 million. Kiss, together with their creative manager Bill Aucoin, came up with the idea to take the group to a new level of popularity. To this end, they invented a cunning strategy for 1978.

The first part involved the simultaneous release of four members of the groups of their solo albums. Although the band complained that the release of four solo albums was intended to ease the growing tension with the group, their 1976 contract called for four solo albums before the massive release of a fifth. Although each album was exclusively a solo effort (none of the members played on the other's album), they were labeled and released as Kiss albums (with similar covers and posters inside). This was the only time that all four members released a solo album on the same day.

It was a chance for the band members to showcase their musical tastes and tendencies outside of Kiss (Simmons' album included appearances from Aerosmith members Joe Perry, Cheap Trick : Rick Nielsen, disco diva Donna Summer, Bob Seeger, and later, Cher's girlfriend). Stanley and Frilly's albums were close to the hard rock, glam rock and metal used in Kiss, while Criss' album included R&B elements and was full of ballads. Simmons' album was the most eclectic, actual hard rock, Beatles pop, ballads, and ended with a cover version of "When You Wish upon a Star" (from the Pinocchio cartoon).

In September 1978, Kiss set another precedent: they released four solo albums on the same day, titled simply but tastefully - "Peter Criss", "Ace Frehley", "Paul Stanley" and "Gene Simmons". It must be said that in the struggle for the hearts of the fans, the strength of the musicians turned out to be approximately equal, each of the discs by the end of the year had sold over 1,250,000 copies, and the total circulation exceeded 5 million. The most requested radio hit is the song from the Ace Frehley album "New York Groove", which gets to the 2nd line of the sales rating.

The second part of Kiss and the producer's idea was to shoot a movie that would portray the group's characters as superheroes. Filming was scheduled for September 1978. Although the film was conceived as a cross between A Hard Day's Evening and Star Wars. Episode IV A New Hope", the final results were extremely far from these samples. The script was rewritten many times by different writers, and the band (and especially Criss and Frilly) were overwhelmed by the tedious filming. Peter Criss refused to do any voice work after filming, and he was voiced by another actor.

Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park, which was produced by Hanna-Barbera, was shown on NBC on October 20, 1978. Despite disastrous reviews, the film became one of the best films of the year, and was subsequently released outside the United States in 1979 under the title Attack of the Phantoms. . In later interviews, the band recalls the filming of the film as something unusual, funny, humorous and embarrassingly funny, however, annoyed by the final result of the acting work, they noted that in the film they were shown more as clowns than superheroes. The film's artistic failure created a wall between the band and Ocoin, who was blamed.

Late years in cosmetics

The band's first album of new material in two years, Dynasty, released on May 22, 1979, continued their platinum run. The album contained a song that later became the most famous single and the band's calling card - "I Was Made For Lovin" You ". The song, which combines elements of hard rock and popular disco music at the time, became a hit that entered the top 10 around the world. world (in the US it peaked at #11.) Dynasty was recorded with session drummer Anton Fidge, at the request of producer Vinny Ponchi, who had strong doubts about the reality of Peter Criss' drumming skills. "", which he wrote, played (drums) and sang.

Billed as "The Return of Kiss", the Dynasty Tour was expected by the band and manager to surpass all previous tours in their history. According to the plans, together with the group, a transportable amusement park, made in the Kiss theme and called Kiss World, was to be driven, but this idea was abandoned, as it required too serious funds and investments for implementation. The concert tour "The Return of Kiss" as a result was not the most successful tour in the history of the group, and even attracted a few less people compared to previous ones.

Concerts

Kiss is also known for its incendiary concerts, which featured many effects such as bright fireworks, exploding/smoking guitars (smoke/powder bombs were placed inside the guitar and then ignited), splashes of blood (blood was usually made from food coloring or yogurt), " breath of fire" (Gene Simmons, having filled his mouth with kerosene, spitting fire), and raising the drummer or guitarists to a height using hydraulic lifts. It is worth noting that live albums and live video releases have always enjoyed great success; for example, the great success of Alive! (which went four times platinum) saved the band and label from bankruptcy.

Kiss is one of the most visited and successful live bands in the world.

The Kiss concert in Rio de Janeiro in June 1983 drew an audience of 247,000 people.

The Kiss group, whose photos are presented on the page, is one of the most prominent in American rock culture of the second half of the twentieth century. The style of performances is extremely outrageous, all concerts are held with the use of fiery paraphernalia and fantastic make-up. The amount of pyrotechnics used by the rock band "Kiss" during one three-hour performance can be compared with fireworks at a festive show in a major Russian city. Sometimes the concert continues until the last flashfire on the stage burns out.

Start

The Kiss group, whose history goes back to the distant 1973, began its activities by imitating already well-known performers. Initially, there were only two musicians in the line-up - and Gene Simmons, both owned the technique of playing the guitar and sang well. But without the accompaniment of percussion instruments, things did not work out. Then Paul found his friend drummer Peter Criss, who agreed to participate in the project. Now the trio could already play more complex compositions in the style of hard rock, although it was not yet hard rock.

External paraphernalia

At the same time, the musicians began to search for their own image, they wanted to radically differ from other rock bands. And soon the only true option was found: theatrical-terrifying style in clothes and face painting.

Name

The group "Kiss" began to take on a real shape, and after it included another guitarist, Ace Faile, it was already possible to talk about the concert program. Then the musicians decided to give a name to their offspring. At first they wanted to call the group Lips. But since the image was already working, and the word Kiss could be arranged in a "terrible" style, turning the letters S into fiery lightning, the choice was made in

Makeup as the basis of the image

The musicians found their "masks" in comics and horror films. That's where they got them from. Gene Simmons took on the image of a demon, Paul Stanley settled on a "starchild" mask, guitarist Ace Frehley turned into an "alien", and Peter Criss became a "cat". Later, the "warrior Ankh" appeared, his image was tried on by solo guitarist Vinnie Vincent. And finally, drummer Eric Carr began to put on himself during performances. Six different images on the stage organically complemented each other, thereby creating an overall picture of a fantastic action.

Group "Kiss": biography of participants

It currently consists of both creators, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. They, as before, are vocalists, Paul plays the rhythm, and Simmons - the bass guitar. Behind the drums is Eric Singer, who also serves as backing vocalist. Tommy Tyler - lead guitar and backing vocals.

At different times, six more musicians took part in the group's activities:

• Bruce Kulik - vocals and guitar (1984-1996);
• Mark St. John - lead guitar (1984; deceased 2007)
• Vinnie Vincent - lead guitar (1982-1984);
• Eric Carr - percussion instruments (1980-1991, died in 1991);
• Peter Criss - vocals and drums (1973-1980, 1996-2001, 2002-2004);
• Ace Frehley - vocals and lead guitar (1973-1982, 1996-2002).

Paul Stanley

Born in 1952 in Queens, New York. One of the founding members of the band, guitarist and vocalist. Composer, author of hits Forever, Night, I Want You and many others.

Gene Simmons

The Kiss group owes its existence to this and was born in Tirat Carmel, Israel, in 1949, on August 25th. Bass player, vocalist and actor. - "demon", a bloody, fire-breathing monster.

Eric Singer

Born May 12, 1958 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Drummer and backing vocalist. In addition to the Kiss group, he worked with Alice Cooper. For two decades, he managed to take part in the recording of more than 50 albums.

Tommy Thayer

He was born on November 7, 1960 in Portland, Oregon, USA. He is currently the lead guitarist and backing vocalist in the Kiss band. Passionate fan of Alice Cooper, "Deep Purple" and Rory Gallagher.

Ace Frehley

Born April 27, 1951 in The Bronx, New York. Solo guitarist and vocalist. He left the group twice and returned twice. He came up with the image of an alien, in which he had considerable success at concerts.

Peter Criss

Birthday December 20, 1945, place of birth - New York, Brooklyn. The oldest musician of the Kiss group. Drummer and vocalist. He left three times and returned again. He acted in the form of a cat, which he himself invented.

Eric Carr

Born July 12, 1950 in New York. He played drums and was a backing vocalist. He gained worldwide fame when he worked in the Kiss group. He performed on stage in the form of a red fox. He died in 1991 from heart disease.

Winnie Vincent

Solo guitarist and backing vocalist. Born August 6, 1952 in the city of Bridgeport, In 1982 he replaced Ace Frehley, who left the group. However, two years later he was fired due to a conflict with the producers.

Mark Saint John

Group "Kiss" after the dismissal of Vincent changed its composition. Mark St. John joined as lead guitarist and backing vocalist. He worked until his death from a stroke on April 5, 2007. Bruce Kulik was invited to replace Saint John.

Bruce Kulick

Born in 1953 in Brooklyn, New York, he was accepted into the group as a lead guitarist and vocalist. The only one of the participants who did not wear makeup. At the time of his enrollment, the make-up had already been cancelled.

change

The Kiss group, the biography of its members, current and former, evolution over a long period of time, formation, formation of the repertoire - all this is being studied by music critics today. The image of the musicians has changed radically, makeup has disappeared, there is less outrageousness. The team has changed significantly.

The main criterion in creativity was music. The group "Kiss" and today does not let the public get bored at their concerts, fireworks still fly up to the ceiling, and the musicians are on fire. But this is all theatrical action, it is intended to serve as a visual accompaniment to heavy rock music. The Kiss group, whose photo against the background of fire still excites the imagination, is already perceived somewhat differently. Depth has appeared in the compositions, as it happens in the work of "Deep Purple", there are already really interesting passages. The arrangement has become more understandable, elegant and constructive. The rock group "Kiss" is growing professionally, despite the fact that the musicians have more than forty years of experience behind them. It's just that times are different now, the tastes of the public have changed.

Album release

The musicians have six live discs and twenty studio discs. The first, called Kiss, was recorded on February 18, 1974 and, despite being the debut, went gold in terms of the number of copies sold. The release of studio albums took place as follows:

1. Kiss, 1974 (gold).
2. Hotter Hell, 1974 (gold).
3. Dressed To Kill 1975 (Gold)
4. Destroyer, 1976 (gold).
5. Rock Over 1976 (Platinum)
6. Love Gun 1977 (Platinum)
7. Dynasty, 1979 (gold).
8. Unmasked, 1980 (gold).
9. Music From The Elder, 1981 (gold).
10. Creatures, 1982 (platinum).
11. Lick It Up 1983 (Platinum)
12. Animalize, 1984 (platinum).
13. Asylum, 1985 (gold).
14. Crazy Nights 1987 (Gold)
15. Hot In The Shade 1989 (Platinum)
16. Revenge, 1992 (gold).
17. Carnival Of Souls 1997 (Gold)
18. Psycho Circus 1998 (gold).
19. Sonic Boom, 2009 (gold).
20. Monster, 2012 (platinum).

The Kiss group, whose discography was regularly replenished with studio albums, also recorded a series of their live performances:

1. September 10, 1975, Alive!
2. October 14, 1977, Alive II.
3. May 18, 1993, Alive III.
4. March 12, 1996, Kiss Unplugged.
5. July 22, 2003, Kiss Symphony: Alive IV.
6. July 22, 2008, Kiss Alive 35.

The Kiss group, whose albums became gold and platinum, did not leave the first positions of the American charts. Concerts have already been held in the open air, in country parks and stadiums. The closed halls did not accommodate those who wished.

Decline in popularity

The group "Kiss" has long been the most spectacular throughout the United States. All kinds of circus numbers performed by musicians attracted the public. Fans have long known who is behind the "alien" mask and who the "cat" really is. People came to the concerts of the Kiss group not to listen to music, because by and large not everyone understands hard rock, but to look at an unusual theatrical performance.

The concert usually started at nightfall. As soon as the sun set, the musicians came out onto the unlit stage. Quiet guitar chords had a calming effect. Then the intensity of the sound grew, the ringing strings raised the tone, the chords sounded continuously, higher and higher, and suddenly broke into an uncontrollable crescendo. The stage was engulfed in flames, whirlwinds of flame rushing in all directions. The concert of group "Kiss" began.

The audience was provided with two and a half hours of a grandiose show, boiling hard rock, a metallic taste of heavy metal style and a spontaneous riot of yellow, thick fire. Between the three-meter flames, four musicians and one composition merged into a single whole.

Concerts were held with the same success, and yet the popularity of the group began to decline. The concert tour, which took place in the fall of 1979, was almost a failure. And the next studio album has not caused a stir. Gradually, the group "Kiss" left hard rock for the sake of market conditions and lost some of their fans from among the lovers of this style. Although I bought new ones, one of those who prefer more calm, elegant music in the glam rock style.

The streak of bad luck ended in the fall of 1991, the album Revenge was received quite favorably by the public, and the reputation of "Kiss" was restored.

reunion

In the spring of 1996, the Kiss musicians announced a return to the original line-up. The Alive/Worldwide Tour was organized and was a success. The concert program, in which four members of the first line-up took the stage, was made up of hits from the group of the seventies. Classical masks were again drawn on the faces of the musicians, the whole stage was on fire, engulfed in flames, as during the Love Gun period. The tour lasted about a year, 192 performances took place, which collected nearly $47 million.

farewell tour

At the beginning of 2000, the musicians of the Kiss group announced the end of their creative activity. The farewell tour was scheduled for the month of March 2000 and was supposed to take place throughout North America. During the tour there was a hitch, he left the group. Left without a drummer, the musicians of "Kiss" were forced to suspend the tour. Fortunately, we managed to quickly compensate for the loss, Eric Singer joined the group. With the new line-up, the Kiss group finished performing in the USA and moved to Japan, and then to Australia.

Cooperation with a symphony orchestra

In early 2003 the band was invited to perform with the Melbourne Orchestra under David Campbell. The already unusual format of the performance was decorated with a children's choir. The concert was a resounding success. His recording was later included on the Kiss Symphony/Alive IV album.

Latest projects

In the spring of 2001, the Kiss musicians began work on their next studio album, and in July the single "Hell and Hallelujah" was released, later included in the Monster disc.

In January 2015, the project Yume No Ukiyo Ni Saetimina was created in collaboration with the Japanese girl group Motoiro Clover Z.

KISS

In the early 70s, the "Wicked Lester" team appeared in New York, led by Gene Simmons (Chaim Witz, b. August 25, 1949) and Paul Stanley (Stanley Harvey Eisen, b. January 20, 1952). The group performed an eclectic mixture of different styles and did not enjoy any popularity. At the end of 1972, drummer Peter Criss (Peter Kriskula, b. December 20, 1945) joined Paul and Gene, and a couple of months later guitarist Ace Frehley (Paul Daniel Frehley, b. April 27, 1951) joined the company. The group's style now became much tougher, and soon the name changed - the quartet took the name "Kiss". The Kiss' debut performance took place in January 1973, and six months later, the first demo was recorded with producer Eddie Kramer. By this time, the group's manager was Bill Aucoin, who immediately arranged for his wards a contract with the newly minted label "Casablanca Records". The firm provided the musicians with good promotion, however, despite this, sales of the debut album were far from expected. The second record was also commercially unsuccessful, and the head of "Casablanca" Neil Bogart decided that it was time for him to intervene. He personally took on the production of the third album and lightened the sound of "Dressed To Kill" compared to the bleakness of "Hotter Than Hell". But again, sales were low, although the concert popularity of "Kiss" was at its best. The use of branded make-up, pyrotechnic and bloody fake effects aroused increased interest among the public, and people poured into the performances.

This alignment helped to make the right decision for a major breakthrough. In the autumn of 1975, the double live album "Alive!" was released, which led "Kiss" to real success. Thanks to the live version of "Rock And Roll All Nite", the album sold very well, which saved "Casablanca" from impending bankruptcy. In 1976, joining forces with producer Bob Ezrin ("Alice Cooper"), the musicians released the studio album "Destroyer", which no longer had such a rough sound as its three predecessors. The disc quickly overcame the gold mark and, although it did not stay on the charts for a long time, thanks to the ballad "Beth", it subsequently reached platinum. Platinum became and three subsequent works: "Rock and Roll Over", "Love Gun" and "Alive II".

Between 1976 and 1978, "Kiss" earned about 20 million dollars and became the most popular gang in America. The shelves were filled with goods with the symbols of the group, and the army of its fans was indicated by a six-figure number. In 1978, when the band was at the peak of their popularity, the musicians, together with Bill Aucoin, started two grandiose projects: the simultaneous release of four solo albums by each of the members of "Kiss" and the shooting of a fantasy film with the band. The first idea was a commercial failure, and none of the solo albums came close to "Love Gun" in terms of circulation. In the process of implementing the second idea, friction began in the team, which subsequently led to the resignation of Peter Criss. In 1979, the album "Dynasty" was released, which included the group's most famous hit single, "I Was Made For Lovin' You". Peter, who came to his senses after a car accident, almost did not take part in the sessions, and Anton performed his functions Fig. A similar story was repeated during the recording of the next album, and after the release of "Unmasked" Criss was officially struck from the lineup, and Eric Carr (Paul Caravello, b. June 12, 1950) took his place.By the way, that disc had a semi-pop sound, and Bob Ezrin was called in to save the day for the first time since "Dressed To Kill", but "Music From The Elder", which was made under his direction, was stuffed with strings, brass and synths and was quite far from hard rock. "Kiss" not only lost a lot of their fans, but also Ace Frehley and Bill Aucoin.

In the autumn of 1982, the album "Creatures Of The Night" was released, on which the group played heavy music again, but the inertia of the public affected here, and commercial success could not be returned. A little later, instead of Frehley, Vinnie Vincent was officially introduced into the line-up, who made his debut on the tour dedicated to the 10th anniversary of "Kiss". In 1983, to save their popularity, the "kisses" took a decisive step - for the first time they appeared in public without makeup. This action paid dividends, and the album "Lick It Up" returned the team to the platinum frontiers. With three subsequent records, the group consolidated its success, although the best time for the team remained in the 70s. In the spring of 1984, Vincent was replaced by Mark St. John, who, in turn, gave way to Bruce Kulik (b. December 12, 1953).

The end of the 80s was blurred by the somewhat unsuccessful "Hot In The Shade", and at the beginning of the next decade the team received a serious blow - on November 24, 1991, Eric Carr died. Despite the loss, "Kiss" with a new drummer Eric Singer completed the album "Revenge" and broke into the top ten with it. After the release of "Alive III", interest in the band's work began to grow again, and eventually this led to a reunion of the classic line-up. The world tour that took place on this occasion was a great success, and in September 1998 a new studio album, "Psycho Circus", was born. And although Frehley and Criss were nominally involved in its creation, Kissomaniacs were of little interest. They swept CDs off the shelves in large numbers and thus secured the album at number three on the Billboard. In 2000, a farewell tour was announced and the subsequent discontinuation of Kiss, but after the end of the tour, Stanley and Simmons, who seized power, changed their mind. In 2003, the Australian tour took place, during which the band, together with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, recorded the live album "Alive IV". Further appearances were sporadic, with Frehley and Criss replaced by Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer. In 2006, the Kiss started releasing the Kissology DVD compilations, with all three parts being huge successes and selling multi-platinum copies.

After a couple of years, the band broke away from their sedentary lifestyle and embarked on an extended tour called the "Kiss Alive/35 World Tour". At the same time, the vow of studio silence was broken, and in October 2009, Kiss fans received a new album, Sonic Boom, which brought back their golden 70s. The release was so eagerly anticipated that the quartet set a personal chart record by entering the second spot on the Billboard in its first week of release. Machine "Kiss" once again earned to its fullest, and it did not stop even the news of the death of Bill Aucoin (considered at one time the fifth member of the group). In August 2011, a message appeared on the official website that the 20th album, "Monster", was being prepared for release. On it, like last time, the team played straightforward hard - no keys, no ballads, and even made the sound a little harder. And although "Monster" lacked the effect of the long-awaited comeback, the album was met with applause from critics and started at number three on the main billboard list.