Heavy Metal Band KISS Completes 40 Years

The heavy metal band KISS are known for their black and white face paint and bombastic stage outfits. They started its first show from a New York club, Jan 30, 1973 when Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons had to move out from a previous band, Wicked Lester. They played for an audience of ten people for only $50.

"Wicked Lester had just finished its album. Though we had a real recording contract with a major label, and though we had finished an entire album, we were depressed - it just wasn't what we had envisioned," said the band's co-frontman and bassist, Gene Simmons, Classicrockmagazine reported.

"We tried firing the other three guys but some wouldn't leave. So we quit. We started again with a vision: 'Let's put together the band we never saw on stage."

Simmons and Stanley had to struggle initially. While Simmons was involved in creating a press kit, Stanley made promotional material with help from a friend.

"I made a phone call, cold, to a place called Popcorn in Queens, New York. We got the gig: three nights, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, for the sum of $150. That was the beginning," said the 63-year-old bassist.

The bassist thanked the fans for supporting the band all these years. He also thanked Stanley saying, "without whom I would never have been able to achieve my dreams." He also thanked, "the band, past and present, for continuing to treat the stage as holy ground and the fans as our bosses," in a statement.

Stanley, vocalist and songwriter said, "My dream from the start was five years of glory with Kiss. Every band member who has stood with me at some point during these decades has played an essential part in turning that five-year dream into a phenomenal 40-year reality. Humble thanks."