Paul Stanley has scathingly suggested KISS should be called P*** if they performed with Ace Frehley and Peter Criss again.
The 71-year-old rocker formed the band with singer Gene Simmons, guitarist Ace and drummer Peter in 1973 but the latter duo quit in the 1980s, though they have both performed with the group since then but the rhythm guitarist has no desire to get back on stage with his former bandmates again.
Paul was asked about the group’s decision not to perform at their Rock + Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2014 and branded the institution “demanding, quite honestly” as they were insistent he and Gene should perform with Ace and Peter again, not current bandmates Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer.
Speaking on ‘The Howard Stern Show’, he said: “At this point, that would be demeaning to the band, and also would give some people confusion. ‘Cause if you saw people onstage who looked like KISS but sounded like that, maybe we should be called P***.”
The ‘Crazy Crazy Nights’ hitmaker accused the Rock + Roll Hall of Fame of hypocrisy and “purposely” blocking their induction for years before they were finally included.
He said: “The hypocrisy is that we’re not a band they like. They purposely kept us out for 15 years. And other bands that they embrace, they induct people’s moms and songwriters and all these people.
“And with us, it truly was unfair. Because we had too much pride in this line-up, which is KISS, and has been KISS for 20 years. It’s not newcomers. … This is the band that has carried the flag and taken it, really, to another level. This is the band I always dreamed it would be.”