KISS honored one of their own this weekend, paying tribute to late guitarist and founding member Ace Frehley during their first performance since his death.
Before launching into their set at the “KISS Kruise: Land-Locked in Vegas” event over the weekend, frontman Paul Stanley paused to reflect on Frehley’s legacy in shaping the band’s history.
“Obviously, before we get going — and we’re going to have an awesome time — but before we get going, we just wanted to take a moment to think about somebody who was at the foundation of this band,” Stanley told the Las Vegas crowd. “We’re talking about Ace. We certainly had differences, but that’s what family is about.”
Stanley, 73, then asked the audience to join him in a moment of silence before the show kicked off — a fitting nod to the guitarist who helped define KISS’s signature sound and image in the 1970s.
A video of the moment is making the rounds on social media, with fans sharing their thoughts on the tribute.
“Paul is a class act always! Very nice,” one shared on TikTok.
Another said, “well done guys…well done.”
Others, however, were quick to call Stanley out for being hypocritical.
“Hey Paul…. Where was the love the last 30 yrs???,” one asked.
Another commented, “YOU KICKED HIM OUT OF THE BAND!!!!”
While Frehley wasn’t actually kicked out of the group, he did leave on his own terms. In a February 2024 interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, Frehley said he grew frustrated that reviews focused more on the band’s theatrics than their music. “For me, it was always the music first and the show second,” he explained. After his 1978 solo hit “New York Groove” became the only KISS solo song to chart, Frehley realized he was “more creative away from Paul, Gene [Simmons] and Peter [Criss]” and decided to form his own band. “I lost millions of dollars by doing that,” he admitted, “but what I gained was sanity… you’ve got to be happy.”
Frehley died on October 16 at the age of 74, just weeks after suffering a fall in his home studio that resulted in a brain bleed. In a joint statement following his passing, Stanley and Gene Simmons remembered their longtime bandmate as “an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history.” They added, “He is and will always be a part of KISS’s legacy.”
This story was originally reported by Parade on Nov 17, 2025, where it first appeared in the Celebs section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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