Ace Frehley: No Chance I’ll Play at Kiss’ Final Show

Former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley firmly ruled out the idea that he’ll make a guest appearance at the band’s final show this weekend.

Speculation that Frehley and original drummer Peter Criss might take part has been circulating for months, with co-founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley having said offers had been extended in the hope that both would join in for a few songs, perhaps at the encore. Those offers, Simmons and Stanley said, have been refused.

In a new interview on SiriusXM's Ozzy’s Boneyard, host Mark Strigl asked Frehley if there was any chance at all that he might be seen alongside his former colleagues at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 2. “No,” he replied firmly.

READ MORE: Top 10 Ace Frehley Kiss Songs

He continued: “Those guys use my name and Peter’s name months ago. They said that they invited us to perform at that show. I never got a phone call. Peter never got a phone call. They just said that to sell tickets. And recently, Paul Stanley has made negative statements about me and Peter. For example… when people asked him, ‘Is Peter and Ace gonna perform at the Garden?’ he said… we would mar the show if we got up and play. Which is really insulting.”

Ace Frehley Claims No Bad Feelings Against Kiss

Frehley noted that he’d been “touring without Kiss for years,” adding: “I mean, Kiss hasn’t put out an album in what, nine years? I’ve put out five or six.” He predicted his upcoming record, 10,000 Volts, would “really turn heads,” and went on: “I know Gene’s gonna really like it and tell the press he does like it. I have no idea what Paul Stanley’s gonna say. He usually holds back on any deep praise for me, because he’s jealous of me.”

Despite that apparent demonstration of continued bad feeling, Frehley insisted there was none. “I wish Kiss the best, all the best on their final shows,” he asserted. “We say things sometimes in the heat of passion or sometimes our memory [fails us]. But I love those guys. We’re all getting old, our memory isn’t what it used to be – so I just let it roll off my back.”