Ace Frehley: Flash and Balls
Ace Frehley: Flash and Balls
Flash and Balls, that’s what many people thought the ad Paul Stanley placed in the “Village Voice” had said. And Ace Frehley on January 3rd, 1973 answered the call for flash and balls! Paul Stanley recently posted on Twitter the original ad with the more accurate wording, he wrote:
“WOW! I put this ad in the newspaper and auditions were TODAY a long, long time ago.”
WOW! I put this ad in the newspaper and auditions were TODAY a long, long time ago. pic.twitter.com/I0u109v4Dt
— Paul Stanley (@PaulStanleyLive) January 3, 2019
But doesn’t Flash and Balls have a better ring to it?
Enter Spaceman’s Flash and Balls
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.”
Check out when KISS was at Pine Knob (aka DTE) not too long ago:
And if that’s still not enough, check out Ken Settle’s rough day photographing KISS.
