KISS frontman Paul Stanley has said that the band could continue in the future without any of the original line-up.
The flamboyant rock icons launched their farewell ‘End Of The Road’ tour in 2019, which is now expected to finish up in late 2022.
While original members Stanley and Gene Simmons are still present and correct in the line-up, guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer – the respective replacements for original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss – now complete the quartet.
Quizzed by Germany’s Radio Bob! on whether a new iteration of the band could emerge once he and Simmons have retired, Stanley replied: “I think that recasting KISS or KISS 2.0 is not what we have ever talked about. Can KISS continue and can it evolve without us in it? Well, yeah, because it’s already 50 per cent there.
“In other words, there was a time where people said, ‘Well, it can only be the original four.’ [And then] it was, ‘Well, it can only be the original three.’ Well, things move on and circumstances change.”
He added, per Blabbermouth: “Could I see KISS evolving with different personnel? Yeah.
“As big a fan as I am of what I do — and I think I’m damn good — there’s other people around who could pick up the torch and bring something to the philosophy and to the live show and to the music. It would be KISS. It wouldn’t be KISS 2.0.
“If it were to happen, yeah, it would be really just a continuation of the philosophy that we’ve always had, and that’s that KISS is bigger than any member.”
In contrast, Ace Frehley previously said that the thought of KISS continuing without any of its original members was “the most ridiculous statement I’ve ever heard [Stanley and Simmons] make”.
He said: “They’re trying to rationalise to the fans, ‘Well, you know, we replaced Peter and we replaced Ace, and eventually we’re gonna replace ourselves. That’s like Mick Jagger saying, ‘Yeah, after me and Keith [Richards], die, The Rolling Stones will continue on with two other guys.’ I mean, it’s a joke.”
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