Ace Frehley aka “The Spaceman” was born Paul Frehley on April 27, 1951, in the Bronx, New York. According to allmusic.com, Ace was highly influenced in his youth by bands like The Rolling Stones, The Who, and Cream. After playing locally for a while, Paul, who adopted the name Ace, answered an ad (Flash and Balls!) in the “Village Voice” for a lead guitarist.

After trying out, Ace became the fourth member of KISS along with bassist/singer Gene Simmons, rhythm guitarist/singer Paul Stanley, and drummer Peter Criss.

Biography.com has some of the major events of the KISS timeline. On January 30th, 1973, KISS played its first show at the Popcorn Club/Coventry in Sunnyside, Queens. Less than a few months later in August of 73, KISS scores a record deal after meeting Bill Aucoin. Two weeks later they are now the first act signed for Neil Bogart’s Casablanca Records.

The first three records do modestly well, but then they land in Detroit on May 16th, 1975. KISS records a live performance at Detroit’s Cobo Arena. KISS Alive! brings the band to new heights.

A series of platinum albums and sold-out tours lasted from 1975-1979. KISS began to have a slight descent from fame at this point. Criss leaves the band in 1980 and is replaced by Eric Carr.

Frehley hit the drugs and alcohol heavy for the next two years and finally decided to leave the band in 1982. He started his own solo band Frehley’s Comet.

After numerous ups and downs KISS reunited in 1996 for the Alive/Worldwide Reunion tour. The tour was one of the highest-grossing acts of the year.

They followed that success with a new album, featuring all the original members titled Psycho Circus in 1998. As a bonus, they also got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Ace stayed on as a member till the end of the Farewell Tour in 2001.

As to returning to the band for another tour, Ace had this to say in a 2019 interview with “Juliet: Unexpected” podcast:

“The only way I would consider coming back is [if] I took over Tommy’s [Thayer] place. He took over my place — a character that I invented. He’s pretty much going through the motions, but the only way I would consider going back is to replace Tommy and regain my throne. Number two, I’d like a big paycheck because I think I deserve it.

I don’t think Paul and Gene are going to make me an equal partner. I quit a long time ago and I was an equal partner at that juncture. Since then, those guys have been running the show, and they’re control freaks, so they’re always going to run the show from now until the end of time.

On the last reunion tour, I was a paid musician — a hired gun in a sense — even though on stage, we all looked like it was one for all and all for one.”

Did you know KISS was inducted into the Rock in Roll Hall of Fame back in 2014?

Rock Hall Induction Ceremony: 8 Biggest Drama Moments

• KISS

  Good lord…who could forget this one?! KISS’ induction was long overdue, but they certainly made up for the late honor with a whole boatload of drama. From controversy around only the original four members being inducted to whether or not the band would perform to the all-out war of words in the press, it’s amazing the band were inducted without a hitch.

• Blondie

  This one was awkward. When Blondie was inducted in 2006, past group members Frank Infante, Jimmy Destri, Nigel Harrison and Gary Valentine were invited to attend the ceremony, but Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and Clem Burke wouldn’t let them perform. During the band’s acceptance speeches, all the performance controversy came to a head thanks to Infante’s time at the mic.

• Creedence Clearwater Revival

  Another awkward moment! CCR was part of the 1993 induction class, and when it came time to perform, John Fogerty refused to so with former bandmates Doug Clifford and Stu Cook. Per Fogerty’s book Fortunate Son:  My Life, My Music, he said it was due to Clifford and Cook’s roll in an ongoing dispute with their record label.

• Steve Miller

  Many artists take issue with the Rock Hall in how they operate the induction ceremony, but no other artist has taken the system to task quite like Steve Miller in 2016.  With the exception of how he spoke to a publicist who was only trying to do her job, this might be one of the most rock and roll moments in Rock Hall induction history.

• Sex Pistols

  The Sex Pistols were a no-show when they were inducted into the Rock Hall in 2006, but they did send a letter, which was read by Rolling Stone founder/Rock Hall co-founder Jann Wenner. (Spoiler:  The letter’s badass.)

• Van Halen

  What a mess this induction was!  VH was inducted in 2007, and around that time, the following things happened:  Michael Anthony was fired and replaced with Eddie Van Halen’s son, Wolfgang; EVH was receiving treatment for alcohol/drug addiction; and David Lee Roth was rejoining the band for a reunion tour. Long story short: The only members to attend the induction was Anthony and Sammy Hagar. Velvet Revolver ended up performing in tribute to VH, with Anthony and Hagar performing “Why Can’t This Be Love” with the house band.

• Chicago

  After Chicago was announced as part of the 2016 Rock Hall induction class, an epic back-and-forth began regarding whether or not Peter Cetera would actually attend and perform at the induction ceremony.  In the end, Cetera opted to sit out the ceremony, which surely disappointed many of Chicago’s fans who hoped to see the founding singer/bassist reunite with the band since quitting back in 1985.

• Guns N’ Roses

  In hindsight, GN’R’s Rock Hall induction in 2012 is now even more awkward since Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan reunited for the “Not In This Lifetime…” tour.  At the time, Rose declined the ceremony invite and wrote a letter stating, “Let sleeping dogs lie or lying dogs sleep or whatever. Time to move on. People get divorced. Life doesn’t owe you your own personal happy ending especially at another’s, or in this case several others’, expense.”  Guitarist Izzy Stradlin also sat out the ceremony but considering his reclusive ways, that wasn’t terribly shocking.

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