Original Kiss Band Members Names And Ages

Kiss band members stage names are the Starchild (Stanley), The Spaceman or Space Ace (Frehley), the Demon (Simmons), and the Catman (Criss). Each nickname is inspired by different comic books.

Paul Stanley (The Starchild)

Paul Stanley’s persona in the American rock band is the Starchild. Stanley’s makeup displayed one star over his right eye. 

The makeup is inspired by the comic book named The Essential Starchild. Before finalizing the Starchild concept, Paul tried out a new character ‘the Bandit’ for a brief time with a Lone Ranger-style mask design and make-up pattern.

Likewise, the vocalist of the Kiss band also tried painting his entire face red. Stanley always had a thing for stars and if it was the time to put something on his face he knew it had to be a star.

Gene Simmons (The Demon)

The Israeli-American musician, Gene Simmons, goes by the stage persona named The Demon. The character is inspired b the novel KISS: The Demon.

Simmons wears the outfit and makeup matching the character demon from the novel. His distinct makeup is like the demon with wings around the eyes and tongue sticking out at most times.

Best recognized as the bassist of the Kiss band, Simmons is also one of the founding members of the band. The bassist immigrated to the US at the age of eight with his mother and settled in New York City.

Eric Singer (The Catman)

The drummer of the Kiss band, Eric Singer, goes by the stage persona The Catman. Before him, Peter Criss, a former member, went by the makeup and look.

He wears makeup with a green circle around his eyes and two straight horizontal lines on the cheeks, giving the illusion of a cat’s mustache. 

Initially, he was hired as a drummer following the departure of Cris.  Eric debuted with the Catman persona in the rock band in their Australian and Japanese leg of Kiss’ Farewell tour.

Singer taking over the persona which was used previously stirred up some controversies.

Tommy Thayer (The Spaceman)

Tommy Thayer goes by the persona of The Spaceman in the rock band, Kiss. The persona was previously donned by Ace Frehley.

Thayer went by the stage persona of The Spaceman for the first time at a private concert in Trelawny, Jamaica, filling in and performing onstage with the rock band. The musician was initially hired for part-time work for Kiss band’s then-upcoming book, Kisstory, in 1994.

Ace Frehley

A former member and one of the founders of Kiss, Ace Frehley, was the original Spaceman or Space Ace. Frehley played the lead guitar for Kiss.

Frehley was born Paul Daniel “Ace” Frehley. He gracefully donned the persona of The Spaceman from its inception until his departure in 1982.

Following his departure, he went on to form his own band named Frehley’s Comet. Eventually, Frehley embarked on a solo career which came to a hiatus when he returned to Kiss.

Peter Criss (The Catman)

Peter Criss is the co-founder and original drummer of the hard rock band Kiss. Criss is the one who established the stager persona ‘The Catman’

However, as stated above, the Catman persona now is donned by the current member Eric Singer. Criss embarked upon a disastrous solo career as his second solo album Out of Control was a huge commercial failure.

Still, he was involved with a number of bands between the 1980s and early 1990s, usually each of which lasted less than a year. In 1995, Criss rejoined Kiss after his first departure. The drummer left the band in 2001 over a contract dispute.

Original Kiss band members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons are the only remaining consistent members. 

Stanley and Simmons are still performing as the vocalist and bassist of Kiss respectively. Fellow founding member Frehley contributed to the band from 1973 until 1982 and rejoined the band again in 1996 until 2002.

Criss, another co-founder, and the original drummer departed from the band three times. First, he was fired from the band; however, the prime reason remains ambiguous until this day. 

Then, he returned to Kiss in 1995 and appeared at the official Kiss Konvention in Los Angeles. Criss yet again left the band in 2001 over a contract dispute only to rejoin the band in late 2002.

During his third tenure with the band, Criss appeared on the Kiss Symphony: Alive IV DVD and CD before withdrawing from the band in March 2004.

As of 2023, Stanley resides in Beverly Hills with his wife Erin and their three children. Whereas, Gene and his wife Shannon Lee Tweed, a Canadian actress, live in Los Angeles.

One of the original members and co-founders of Kiss, Frehley released his latest solo album titled Origins Vol. 2. on September 18, 2020. He is soon planning to drop his The 21st Century Singles Collection, containing seven 7″ 45RPM LPs.

Kiss Band members ages range between 63 and 74. The former members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss are 72 and 78 years old as of 2023.

• Paul Stanley (72 years old)

The vocalist of the band, Paul Stanley age is 71 years old as of 2023. Stanely was born on January 20, 1952, in New York City, U.S.

• Gene Simmons (74 years old)

As of 2023, the bassist, Gene Simmons, is 74 years old. Simmons was born on August 25, 1949, in Haifa, Israel.

• Eric Singer (65 years old)

Eric Singer will celebrate his 65th birthday in 2023. The American drummer was born on May 12, 1958, in Cleveland Ohio, U.S.

• Tommy Thayer (63 years old)

As of 2023, the lead guitarist, Tommy Thayer age is 63 years old. Born in 1960, Tommy celebrates his birthday on November 7 every passing year.

Kiss band members without makeup went up on the stage in 1983, marking the emergence of the band’s unmasked era. 

It was Stanley who convinced the other members in taking up a big change for the good. The hard rock band was recording their 11th studio album titled Lick It up when the vocalist came up with the idea.

Stanley wanted to prove to everyone, including his fans, that they are a real band with or without their makeup and stage persona, co-founder Gene Simmons revealed this information in his book titled Kiss and Make-Up.

They did a photo session to see how would they look while Simmons still stuck out his tongue to keep something connected with his past. They released Lick It Up with unmasked faces and the image promptly made grand rounds on the web.

KISS members net worth is between the scope of $10 million and $400 million. The income is procured primarily from their music careers.

• Gene Simmons ($400 million)

Gene Simmons net worth is $400 million. A large portion of his fortune comes from his triumphant career trajectory,

Besides band activity, he has had the opportunity to make rounds as a solo artist too. Likewise, Simmons also earned a sizable sum from tours, digital performances, and other ventures.

• Paul Stanley ($200 million)

Paul Stanley net worth is $200 million. Stanley income is accumulated primarily from his music career.

Stanley’s involvement in other projects besides Kiss includes starring as the Phantom in a Toronto production of The Phantom of the Opera and many more.

• Eric Singer ($15 million)

Eric Singer net worth is $15 million. 

He stockpiled a significant sum working as a musician throughout the years. Singer previously worked with several bands and artists including Black Sabbath, Badlands, and more.

• Tommy Thayer ($10 million)

Tommy Thayer net worth is $10 million. 

The lead guitarist played for the band Black ‘n’ Blue before making it to the hard rock band, Kiss.

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