Frehley, Criss sold makeup cheap

Kiss frontman Paul Stanley has said that ex-bandmates Ace Frehley and Peter Criss cut a cheap deal over their trademark makeup because they didn’t understand its value.

Current guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer wear the Spaceman and Catman designs after the original members handed over the rights.

Stanley tells 4KQ: “The guys basically sold it off for, you know, not a whole lot, because they didn’t think it was worth anything.

“Quite honestly I’ve always thought our image and what we represent is priceless. It didn’t matter to some people – it truly matters to me.”

He compares the band lineup to a football team, saying: “If somebody is out, somebody else comes along. I don’t think that when you go to see your favourite team, you’re yelling that you want to see somebody who was in the team 20 years ago. Time moves on – but the team lives on.”

And Stanley insists that applies to Kiss, repeating the suggestion that the outfit could continue with no original members. “I didn’t invent the wheel,” he says. “Somebody is out there who can come in and take my place.

“I don’t see a reason for the band to fold, any more than I can see a reason for a team to fold.”

Last week Stanley revealed he missed his family while on tour so much that he scheduled the band’s road trips so that he was never away for too long.

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.