I REMEMBER...
We found ourselves taking a break and
going down to Woolworths and
buying clown make-up. We had no
idea what we were doing—it was like
kids playing with mud. But we always
wore make-up on stage, after that.
...RIDING THE TSUNAMI OF
SUCCESS MODESTLY. It wasn’t long
before we were playing stadiums and
millions and millions of dollars were
getting thrown in our faces. All of a
sudden, everyone was buying houses
and cars. Except yours truly. I was
paying $200 a month for an apartment
and I had a female housemate—
whom I never touched!—so she took
care of it. I didn’t buy a car or anything
like that until I was 34. It’s the Jewish
way. That’s why we created the
international banking system....ROME STARTED FALLING FROM
WITHIN. By 1979, we had been the
Gallup poll number one group in
America, three times in a row, sold
millions of records and truckloads of
merchandise. But, cliché of clichés,
drugs and alcohol started to affect
Ace [Frehley, guitarist] and Peter
[Criss, drummer], and they
eventually left the band. It felt like
the end at the time, but we got new
members and have had many
different line-ups since.
I’m sorry in my heart
that Ace and Peter aren’t
still playing with us, to
enjoy the fruits of their
labour. If you start
something together, you’d
like to think you can
finish it together. When
you’re first forming a
group in your garage,
you’re so excited. But
being in a band is more
arduous than a
marriage—and it’s
difficult enough to keep
them going....MEETING MY WIFE,
SHANNON, AT THE
PLAYBOY MANSION.
I was filming a movie inWith his wife,
Shannon Tweed© BEI/SHUTTERSTOCK