Kiss put differences to one side for Hall induction
Jewish Telegraph, April 2014
ORIGINAL Kiss band members Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley reunited when they were inducted into the 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in New York City last week.
They all attended despite frontman Stanley accusing Criss and Frehley of antisemitism in his soon-to-be-released autobiography Face The Music (Harper 360, £18.99).
He wrote: “Ace owned a lot of Nazi memorabilia.
“Now, I’m sure there are people who collect that stuff who aren’t Nazis, but Ace was not one of them.”
Stanley also said Frehley and Criss’ “jealousy and resentment focused on the most tangible thing they could pin it on — the fact Gene and I happened to be Jewish”.
But last Thursday, the four took to the stage in suits — without their trademark make-up.
“We are humbled,” said Simmons, who was born Chaim Witz in Israel.
Stanley — born Stanley Eisen in New York — somewhat confusingly told guests: “We’re being inducted for the things we were kept out for. The people don’t want to be spoon-fed.
“The people buy tickets and albums. The people who nominate do not.”
Kiss were inducted by Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello.
He said: “They are four of the most recognisable faces on the planet. It was not easy being a Kiss fan.
“Just as Kiss were relentlessly persecuted by critics, their fans were relentlessly persecuted by the self-appointed arbiters of taste in middle schools and high schools across America.”
Current Kiss members Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer sat in the audience near former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick — who is also Jewish.
The Hall of Fame bosses refused to let them in, along with other former members of Kiss.
Kiss celebrated their induction by appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
They performed classics King of the Night Time World, Black Diamond, Deuce, Hotter Than Hell and Firehouse.
Their performances can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/k3239v8
The Beatles’ Liverpool-born manager Brian Epstein was the recipient of the Ahmet Ertegun Lifetime Achievement Award.
“Without their talent, he would have had nothing to manage,” said Beatles historian Martin Lewis, who started the induction campaign a decade and a half ago after numerous conversations with his mentor, former Beatles publicist Derek Taylor.
“But without Brian Epstein, none of us ever would have heard of the Beatles.”
Epstein, who was gay, died of a drugs overdose in August, 1967.
