Ace Frehley

Ace Frehley — latest news, discussion & facts — IJR

Kiss

Frehley spent the early 1970s in a series of local bands including one called Molimo who recorded half an album for RCA in 1971. In late 1972, his friend, Chris Cassone, spotted an advertisement for a lead guitarist in The Village Voice and showed the ad to Frehley. Frehley went to 10 East 23rd Street above the Live Bait Bar and auditioned for Paul Stanley (rhythm guitar), Gene Simmons (bass guitar), and Peter Criss (drums). Frehley showed up wearing one red and one orange sneaker and was less than impressive visually, but the band liked what they heard from his playing. About three weeks later the band named Frehley as their lead guitarist. By January 1973 the band came up with the name Kiss. Frehley designed the band's double-lightning-bolt logo, which was polished up by Stanley. The band quickly decided to paint their faces for live performances and Frehley decided to start painting silver stars on his eyes. When the group eventually decided to adopt stage personas to match their makeup and costumes, Frehley became Space Ace. Later his stage persona was also known as The Spaceman. Frehley stated that this persona was inspired by his interest in science fiction and space travel.

While Kiss spent their early days rehearsing and playing in empty clubs, Frehley worked as a part-time cab driver to pay bills. In September 1973, Kiss began to be managed by Bill Aucoin, and Frehley quit his cabbie job.

Kiss released their debut album, Kiss, in February 1974 – Frehley was credited for writing two songs, "Love Theme from Kiss" (the only song co-written by the four original members) and a fan classic, "Cold Gin". Due to Frehley's lack of confidence in his own singing voice, however, Simmons performed the vocals. Frehley wrote or co-wrote several of the band's songs over the next few years but did not record vocals on a song until "Shock Me" (inspired by his near-electrocution during a concert in Lakeland, Florida), which appeared on 1977's Love Gun.

As lead guitarist, Frehley was known for his frenetic, atmospheric playing, becoming one of the most popular guitarists in the 1970s and spawning a generation of new players. Frehley stated in the book Kiss: Behind the Mask that many guitarists have told him his playing on 1975's hit Alive! prompted them to pick up the instrument. Frehley is well recognized for having used Gibson Les Paul guitars, including his trademarked model conversion Les Paul Custom (that was designed and implemented by John Elder Robison, known as "Ampie", an audio engineer working with the band), which filled the stage with smoke during his live guitar solo.

Along with the three other Kiss members, Frehley released an eponymous solo album in 1978. His was the bestselling of the four, and the album's lone single—the Russ Ballard-written "New York Groove", originally recorded by Hello—reached the Top 20 in the United States. His songwriting presence within the group increased in 1979. He contributed three songs for 1979's Dynasty and three for 1980's Unmasked. While this was not the most commercially successful time for Kiss in the United States, the band was beginning to take off in other countries (mostly in Australia, where Dynasty and Unmasked are their biggest-selling albums). In 1981, a star was named after Frehley in the International Star Registry.

Even as his songwriting role within Kiss was increasing, Frehley found himself increasingly at odds with the musical direction of the band. After Peter Criss was voted out of Kiss in 1980, Frehley was often outvoted 2–1 in band decisions, as replacement drummer Eric Carr was not a partner in Kiss and had no vote. Frehley's participation in the recording of 1981's Music from "The Elder" was far more limited than with previous albums. This was in large part due to his unhappiness with the band's decision to create a concept album rather than a straightforward rock album.

By 1982, Frehley decided he wanted to leave the group, declining to sign a $15 million contract. He would later detail that “We were just constantly busy, and the drugs and the alcohol and all the partying in conjunction with that type of schedule just started to get to me. By the early ‘80s I just wanted to jump off the roller coaster because I thought I was going to crash.” He appeared on the covers for the 1982 releases Killers and Creatures of the Night, but he had no involvement with Killers, and minimal (no musical) input on Creatures of the Night. Frehley's last appearances with the band were in the music video for "I Love It Loud", a series of European promotional appearances in November 1982, and a band interview with MTV promoting their 10th anniversary world tour.

Solo career/Frehley's Comet

In December 1982, Kiss began the Creatures of the Night tour without Frehley: he was replaced by Vinnie Vincent. Frehley retained a one-quarter share in the Kiss partnership until 1985, however. He received one-quarter of the profits for both Lick It Up and Animalize although he had no involvement with either record. In 1984, Frehley began his post-Kiss solo career by assembling a band that included, among others, drummer Anton Fig (who had performed on Frehley's 1978 solo album and on two Kiss albums). Bassist John Regan (who had worked with Peter Frampton), whom Frehley met in 1980, was also an original member of the band as was vocalist/guitarist Richie Scarlet and keyboardist Arthur Stead. The group, whose name alternated between 'Ace Frehley' and Frehley's Comet, recorded a series of demos throughout 1984 and 1985. The band performed their first ever live show at S.I.R. Studios in New York City on November 30, 1984, and played a handful of shows in the Northeast United States in March 1985.

After a few unsuccessful attempts at securing a recording contract, the group eventually signed to Megaforce Records and released their first album, Frehley's Comet, on July 7, 1987. The album was co-produced by Eddie Kramer, who had produced not only a number of Kiss albums, but Frehley's 1978 album and some of his 1984–85 demos. Fig, now being the in-studio drummer for David Letterman's late-night television show, performed on the album but was unable to maintain a permanent commitment to touring. He played on the 1987 tour in the United States when Frehley's band played a double bill with Y&T, and White Lion opening the shows. By the time the band began recording this album, Scarlet had left the group to pursue other projects and was replaced by Tod Howarth. In addition, at some point between the initial Frehley's Comet shows in 1984–85 and their signing to Megaforce, the band had become a four-piece, with Stead no longer playing with the group.

Frehley's Comet, a mixture of hard rock and pop metal, was a successful return to the music scene for Frehley. The album peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard 200 (selling nearly 500,000 copies), and the single, a Russ Ballard cover "Into the Night", reached No. 27 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. "Rock Soldiers" was an autobiographic song, written partially about Frehley's April 1982 police chase in White Plains, New York while driving a DeLorean with his friend. The music video for "Rock Soldiers" received moderate airplay on MTV, particularly on Headbangers Ball.

Despite the positive reviews and healthy album sales of Frehley's Comet, Frehley was unable to maintain much commercial momentum. Two 1988 Frehley's Comet albums—the live EP Live+1 and second studio album Second Sighting peaked at No. 84 and No. 81, respectively. A pair of tours in support of Alice Cooper and Iron Maiden ended prematurely, with the band claiming lack of payment in both cases. In order to reverse his band's declining commercial fortunes, Frehley dropped the Frehley's Comet moniker and issued 1989's Trouble Walkin' under his own name. Tod Howarth and Jamie Oldaker also decided to leave before recording started on the album, and were replaced by Scarlet and Sandy Slavin. Despite the return to a more traditional hard rock style, Trouble Walkin' continued the pattern of declining sales, and peaked at No. 102. After the tour for Trouble Walkin' ended prematurely with John Regan resigning after an April 1990 show in Las Vegas, Frehley did not perform live for two years, until July 1992.

One notable aspect of Trouble Walkin' was the guest appearance of Peter Criss, who provided backing vocals on several tracks, along with Sebastian Bach and other members of Skid Row. It was the first time Criss and Frehley had performed together on an album since Kiss' 1979 album, Dynasty, although Criss had shown up briefly at a Frehley's Comet show in Los Angeles in 1987, playing drums on a final encore of "Deuce". Frehley would return the favor by playing solos on Peter Criss' Cat 1 album on TNT Records, released in 1994. In contrast to the somewhat adversarial relationship Frehley had with Kiss (particularly Gene Simmons) throughout the 1980s, he and Criss had maintained good ties during the decade. In June 1995, Frehley's and Criss' bands embarked on the "Bad Boys Tour" with Scarlet on guitar, marking the end of Frehley's solo band for several years as Kiss shortly thereafter reunited and began touring together again.

Return to solo career (2003–2025)

In 2006, Frehley performed Kiss' "God of Thunder" with Rob Zombie, Slash, Gilby Clarke, Scott Ian, and Tommy Lee at the VH1 Rock Honors in Las Vegas on May 25, 2006.

In October 2018, Frehley and Bruce Kulick reunited with Kiss on the Kiss Kruise. The six musicians performed "2,000 Man", "New York Groove", "Nothin' to Lose", and "Rock and Roll All Nite". This was the first time Frehley and the band had performed together since 2002 for the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics and Kulick's first time performing with the band live since his departure in 1996.

Frehley did not participate in Kiss' final tour, which began on January 31, 2019, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Stanley and Simmons did not rule out the possibility of Frehley and Peter Criss making appearances during the final tour, with Stanley stating that he was "open to the idea". Simmons later invited Frehley to perform encores with the band for their final tour, but Frehley turned down the invitation, also ruling out the possibility of performing at the band's final show and expressing doubt that the band would stop touring. In June 2022, Simmons reportedly told the Finnish Chaoszine that he and Stanley had met with Frehley to try to convince him to make guest appearances with the band but that Frehley was making demands (regarding his makeup and having guitarist Tommy Thayer not play encores) that could not be satisfied. It was announced on December 15, 2020, that a Kiss biopic was in the works, with hopes to release it on time with the band's final concert. Deadline has reported that Netflix has nearly finalized a deal to produce the Kiss biopic titled Shout it Out Loud, which will be released in 2026. The film will be made with close cooperation from both Simmons and Stanley, and will focus on the formative years of the band.

After the announcement of the biopic, a two-part documentary on the band titled Biography: Kisstory was also announced and aired on A&E on both June 27 and 28, 2021, with an exclusive live performance following after its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 11, 2021. Simmons claimed (in June 2022 when being interviewed by Chaoszine) that he and Stanley had invited Frehley and Criss to participate in the documentary but that Frehley and Criss told Simmons that "they might do it if they have complete control of the edit. I said, 'We can't do that, because even we don't have that. But I won't control what you say; you can say whatever you want.' The answer is no—both of them."

In the June 2022 interview with Chaoszine, Simmons also discussed Frehley and Criss' health and a Kiss fan convention in May 2022, Nashville, Tennessee, called the "Creatures Fest". Frehley, Criss, Vinnie Vincent, and Bruce Kulick all performed at the event. Criss joined Frehley for part of Frehley's set, and both Kulick and Frehley joined Vincent for part of his set. Simmons was asked if he had seen fan footage from the event, to which he responded "Somebody showed me about 30 seconds, yeah. It was very sad. I felt sad for Peter [Criss]…" He elaborated about Criss' health, claiming that "When I called to invite Peter to be in the documentary, his health isn't what it should be. I don't wanna get too specific because it's part of his private life. But no, physically, he wouldn't be able to do it. Neither would Ace." With regards to Frehley, Simmons said that "[he cared] about Ace [Frehley], but he's not in shape—he can't play that way and doesn't have the physical stamina to do that" and he felt that Frehley and Criss' actions had resulted in their poor relationship with himself and Stanley.

Shortly before Kiss' final two shows, and after the end of the tour, Frehley stated that he was not opposed to appearing at the final concerts in New York City. He also stated that he would have accepted such an offer, even if both he and Thayer were wearing his "Spaceman" makeup, for a $250,000 payment for each of the two final shows. Frehley also denied that he and Criss had been invited, claiming that "[Stanley and Simmons] just said that to sell tickets." 10,000 Volts was released in 2024, debuting at No. 72 on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of 13,000 units. The album has also topped both the Billboard Hard Music and Rock Album Charts. Additionally, it came in at No. 2 on the Independent Chart, No. 3 on the Internet Albums Charts, and No. 4 on the Vinyl, Album Sales, and Current Album Sales Charts. The album has charted internationally. Frehley's next album, Origins Vol. 3, was planned for release in 2025.

On December 7, 2025, Frehley was posthumously among the former Kiss band members who received a 2025 Kennedy Center Honors, with former Kiss bandmates Paul Stanley and Peter Criss openly paying tribute to him shortly before the event in interviews with People.

Solo and Frehley's Comet

Ace Frehley (1978)

Frehley's Comet (1987)

Second Sighting (1988)

Trouble Walkin' (1989)

Anomaly (2009)

Space Invader (2014)

Origins Vol. 1 (2016)

Spaceman (2018)

Origins Vol. 2 (2020)

10,000 Volts (2024)

Live albums

Live+1 (1988)

Greatest Hits Live (2006)

Compilation albums

12 Picks (1997)

Loaded Deck (1998)

Solo singles

1978: "New York Groove" – from the album Ace Frehley, his 1978 Kiss solo album. This is a cover of a song written by Russ Ballard, which was recorded by the band Hello, for their album Keeps Us Off the Streets, released in 1976.

1987: "Into the Night" – from the album Frehley's Comet.

1987: "Rock Soldiers" – from the album Frehley's Comet.

1988: "Words Are Not Enough" – (from the album Live+1).

1988: "Insane" – from the album Second Sighting.

1988: "It's Over Now" – from the album Second Sighting.

1989: "Do Ya" – from the album Trouble Walkin'. A cover of a Jeff Lynne song, written in 1971 whilst in The Move. The song was later recorded with Jeff Lynne's ELO, and included on their album A New World Record, released in 1976.

2009: "Outer Space" – from the album Anomaly.

2014: "Gimme a Feelin'" – from the album Space Invader.

2014: "The Joker" – from the album Space Invader. A cover of the Steve Miller song from his 1973 album The Joker.

2016: "White Room" – from the album Origins Vol. 1. A cover of the Cream song from their 1968 album Wheels of Fire.

2016: "Fire and Water" – from the album Origins Vol. 1. A cover of the Free song from their 1970 album, Fire and Water, featuring Paul Stanley of Kiss on vocals (promotional video).

2018: "Bronx Boy" – from the album Spaceman (released as a single on April 27, 2018, Ace Frehley's birthday).

2018: "Rockin' with the Boys" – from the album Spaceman. Released October 15, 2018 (promotional video).

2019: "Mission to Mars" – from the album Spaceman. Released May 28, 2019, with animated YouTube video.

2020: "Space Truckin'" – from the album Origins Vol. 2. A cover of the Deep Purple song. Released July 28, 2020, with animated YouTube video.

2020: "I'm Down" – from the album Origins Vol. 2. Released as a Visualizer on YouTube on September 3, 2020. The song "I'm Down" was originally recorded by the Beatles and was the B-side of their 1965 single "Help!".

2023: "10,000 Volts" – from the album 10,000 Volts. Released November 23, 2023 (promotional video).

2024: "Walkin' on the Moon" – from the album 10,000 Volts. Released February 2, 2024 (promotional video).

2024: "Cherry Medicine" – from the album 10,000 Volts. Released February 22, 2024 (promotional video).

Guest appearances

"Eugene" – song on the 1981 self-titled album by Crazy Joe and the Variable Speed Band. Frehley co-wrote and co-produced the song with Joe Renda and played synth drums.

"Bump and Grind" – song on the 1984 Wendy O. Williams album WOW, Frehley played lead guitar.

"Bad Attitude", "Walk the Line", and "Blue Moon Over Brooklyn". Frehley played lead guitar on these three songs that feature on his former Kiss bandmate Peter Criss' album Cat 1 – the 1994 Criss album.

"Cherokee Boogie" – song on the 1996 compilation album Smell the Fuzz: Guitars that Rule the World 2. The song was written, produced and engineered by Frehley, who also played all guitars on it.

"Rocker Room Theme" – song on the 1998 Still Wicked album Something Wicked This Way Comes. Frehley played rhythm and lead guitar. CD also features Ron Leejack (Wicked Lester), Gordon G.G. Gebert, MaryAnn Scandiffio and Michael Sciotto.

"Foxy Lady" – song on the 1998 ESP (Eric Singer Project) album Lost and Spaced. Frehley played lead guitar.

"Freedom" – song on the 2000 Karl Cochran album Voodooland. Frehley played the guitar solo on the bonus demo version.

Insanity of Life – on the 2002 Richie Scarlet album, Frehley played guitar on "Johnny's in Love" and lead guitar on "Too Far Gone", which he co-wrote with Scarlet.

"Know Where You Go" – On the 2002 Anton Fig album Figments, Frehley played lead guitar.

"Bad Choice" – on the 2005 Kathy Valentine album Light Years, Frehley played the lead guitar solos.

"2,000 Man" (new version) – In 2005, Frehley played this new version on Eddie Trunk's Merry Kissmas special. Chris Cassone on acoustic guitar and harmony vocals. Chris suggested the song to Frehley for the Dynasty LP and recorded the demo at North Lake Sound.

"God of Thunder" (live version) – In 2006, Frehley was a guest at the VH1 Rock Honors. He performed with a 'super-group' of Rob Zombie, Slash, Gilby Clarke, Scott Ian, and Tommy Lee. They performed the Kiss song "God of Thunder".

"Black Diamond" (live version) – On June 25, 2008, Frehley appeared onstage at New York's Madison Square Garden with Pearl Jam for an encore performance of Kiss's "Black Diamond" sung by drummer Matt Cameron.

"The Ride" – August 12, 2008 Black Pain Society by Jam Pain Society. Frehley played lead guitar on the song.

"Highway to Hell" (live version) – On July 21, 2009, Frehley appeared on the Dark Horse Tour with members from each of the tour's participating bands in a rendition of AC/DC's "Highway to Hell". Frehley played lead guitar with Chad Kroeger of Nickelback on rhythm guitar and backing vocals—and Austin Winkler of Hinder and Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach sharing lead vocals.

"Nothin' but a Good Time" – Frehley played lead guitar on a re-recorded version of this song, which features on Bret Michaels' 2013 album Jammin' with Friends. The song was originally recorded and released as a single by the rock band Poison.

"Never Too Hot" – Ace recorded the lead for old friend, Chris Cassone, for his BBQ All Stars CD.

"Rise Up (Back from the Grave)" – This is a collaboration between Kris Randall and Ace Frehley released in 2014. Written by Ace Frehley and Kris Randall. Co-produced by Kris Randall and Andy Bigan. Guitars/background vocals, Ace Frehley. Vocals/guitar/bass, Kris Randall; drums/bass, Andy Bigan.

"Starman" – Ace Frehley played lead guitar on Joe Silva's cover of the David Bowie song, released in 2014. The recording also featured Anton Fig on drums and Will Lee on bass, both of whom featured on the Ace Frehley 1978 Kiss solo album.

Ace Frehley

Ace Frehley

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Live room · 1 here

Notable quotes

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Early life, family and education

Music career

Early career

Kiss

Solo career/Frehley's Comet

Reunion with Kiss (1996–2002)

Return to solo career (2003–2025)

Death

Personal life

Technique

Discography

Kiss

Solo and Frehley's Comet

Guest appearances

Filmography

Interviews

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