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EXPLAINED: Ace frehley - The Real Truth

“I got the engineer sitting here, Gene’s standing up, Paul’s on the other side, looking at me. He goes, ‘We need an eight-bar solo’”: The short-lived Kiss guitarist who was supposed to succeed Ace Frehley

After Ace Frehley decided to leave the Kiss circus in 1982, Paul Stanley and co. were left without a lead guitarist for Creatures of the Night. One session player got the opportunity of a lifetime...

Guitar World

“I have absolutely no regrets. But with Eric Carr’s illness, I wish I’d handled that differently. The idea that someone close to me had cancer and was going to die, I couldn’t take it in”: Paul Stanley recalls the darkest day in the history of Kiss

“In some crazy way I thought that Eric might get better and come back to the band”

MusicRadar

“I always tried to push him to be better, and he’s always been my incentive for trying to be better – better than him, sometimes”: Paul Stanley on the synergy and the rivalry that drove Kiss

“That bond is really the constant in the life of Kiss”

MusicRadar

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Ace Frehley's main Kiss guitar, the 1975 “Budokan” Gibson Les Paul, sells for over half a million dollars at auction

Frehley's iconic Les Paul was part of Julien's' recent “Music Icons” sale, which also included guitars owned and played by Eddie Van Halen and Johnny Cash

Guitar World

“The very guitar Ace played at Kiss’s legendary four night residency at Japan’s Nippon Budokan arena”: Ace Frehley’s iconic ‘Budokan’ Les Paul Custom sells at auction for $512,000

The 1975 Cherry Sunburst Les Paul Custom was the late Kiss guitarists go-to electric in the late '70s and was all over Love Gun

MusicRadar

Kissmas Day, millions of dollars and the road to the bargain bin: Why the four solo albums were the beginning of the end for Kiss

Kiss's solo albums were meant to be a celebration of their dominance: Instead, they signalled the start of the decline

Metal Hammer

KISS star Gene Simmons shared one regret over late bandmate Ace Frehley

KISS star Gene Simmons has confessed he wishes he'd done more to help his former bandmate Ace Frehley when he was battling addiction issues - admitting he regrets failing to stage an intervention "decades ago".

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“A guitar that sits at the intersection of love, collaboration and some of the most influential songwriting of the late 1960s”: The 1913 Gibson used to write Here Comes the Sun and Let It Rain – owned by Eric Clapton – is now up for auction

Alongside the Clapton/Harrison acoustic, one of Ace Frehley’s Les Pauls from Kiss’s peak popularity era is also included in the auction

Guitar World

Paul Gilbert: What I learned and taught at GIT

Paul was a student and a tutor at LA's G.I.T. (Guitar Institute of Technology). Here are the shred secrets he learned there – and taught

Guitar World

“One of the most historically significant guitars in rock and roll”: Ace Frehley’s iconic 1975 Gibson Les Paul expected to sell for more than half a million dollars at auction

The Les Paul will be sold alongside stage-played guitars from Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kirk Hammett and Billy Duffy at an upcoming auction

Guitar World

"He had to talk down agun-toting S.W.A.T. team after AceFrehley accidentally shot himself." For 40 years, Danny Francis kept rock stars out of trouble - and his stories prove it

When Danny Francis died in 2025, he left behind a lifetime of memories with Paul McCartney, Bad Company, Kiss, Bon Jovi, Cher and more

Louder

“I’m watching this sort of genius develop right in front of me, and he seems he has no physical barriers”: Joe Satriani on what it was like to teach a teenage Steve Vai

Here's this "goofy" Ace Frehley fan with big hands and he keeps coming back for more... Satch says it wasn't long before he recognised Vai's potential

MusicRadar

“Gene and Paul came back to the studio with their jaws on the floor. Gene said, ‘No-one has ever turned down Kiss’“: The glam-rock guitarist who accidentally turned down Kiss

Punky Meadows, best known as the guitarist for glam-rock outfit Angel, sets the record straight on auditioning for Kiss, being chosen on the spot, but never actually making the band…

Guitar World

“He said, ‘I know Eddie Van Halen. I have enough money that if I wanted to have him play on this, I could. I want you to play on it’”: Pete Evick has played with Bret Michaels for 21 years. Here’s what he learned

He compares the Poison singer to Prince and Trent Reznor in terms of creativity, hails his boss for the freedom he’s given, recalls making early gear choices for the wrong reasons, and says he can only tolerate one Marshall amp – but it’s his all-time favorite

Guitar World

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Guitar World

“I want to dedicate it to everyone in the guitar shop I grew up in and everyone in a bedroom with a dream”: Guitar at the Grammys 2026 – Slash and Andrew Watt pay tribute to Ozzy, Bruno Mars takes a solo, but Brent Hinds excluded from In Memoriam segment

Guitar acts and guitar-driven records won big at music’s biggest night, across myriad different genres

Louder

"He asked me 'Do you have long hair? Are you willing to wear a dress and high heels? Are you willing to wear lipstick?' Those questions fascinated me." Peter Criss recalls his first conversation with Gene Simmons and the birth of Kiss

Founding Kiss drummer Peter Criss was intrigued by a strange phone conversation that led to rock and roll greatness

Guitar World

“The guitar wasn't always user-friendly, and the old-school lights often became red hot, leading to burns”: The Smoker, the Rocket-Shooting Les Paul… The one with, like, a million lights – here are Ace Frehley’s 5 most iconic Kiss guitars

Because to be Spaceman in Kiss, a plain old blackguard Tele ain't gonna cut it

Guitar World

“I didn’t really think about it. I did my best guitar work there without thinking. I just emptied my head!” How Frehley’s Comet sent Ace Frehley’s post-Kiss career into orbit

In his final interview for Guitar World magazine (conducted in early 2025 and not published until now), Ace Frehley looks back on the 1987 album that brought him back into the limelight

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Guitar World

“It’s heavy, cutting, psychedelic and very offthe cuff. It’s got the vibe of a madman”: Ace Frehley’s 6 greatest Kiss guitar moments

You wanted a list and you got a list but, oh boy, was it hard to whittle it down to six

Louder

In Memoriam: A tribute to the musicians we lost in 2025

Musicians who travelled up to the great gig in the sky in 2025 include Ozzy Osbourne, Brian Wilson, Ace Frehley, Sly Stone, Marianne Faithfull and many more

MusicRadar

“Eddie told me, ‘Roth is driving me nuts. I can't take it. I gotta leave. I know you're looking for a lead guitar player. Do you want me in the band?’”: When Eddie Van Halen asked to join Kiss – and they turned him down!

Guitar World

“The fact that I played rhythm guitar on Cold Gin on stage alongside Ace will always seem surreal”: My time with the Spaceman – why Ace Frehley was one hero you had to meet

As artist relations for Marshall and GW journo, Nick Bowcott got to be pretty close to the late Kiss co-founder. Here he recounts some fun times on Earth with the Spaceman

Louder

“That was the one time Kiss succumbed to the critics. We wanted a critical success. And we lost our minds”: This sci-fi concept album was Kiss’s attempt to match The Beatles and Pink Floyd. Instead it became their most epic fail

Even Gene Simmons is embarrassed by it

Guitar World

“Having Tommy Bolin play on my songs was a compliment, but artistically it ruined it for me. It led to a lot of conflict”: Moxy’s Earl Johnson lost control of his band as they tracked their debut album. After decades away, he might have got it back

The Canadian hot riffer explains how he was edged out of playing solos on his own songs, how it broke down his partnership with his singer, and why he’s still chasing his Led Zeppelin-style vision

Guitar World

“I heard someone playing deep, fiery guitar in the room next door. I thought, ‘Boy, I wish that guy was in the band!’ I looked over the balcony… It was Ace”: The otherworldly life and times of Kiss guitar icon Ace Frehley

The Spaceman leaves a legacy of millions of fans rocked, countless players inspired, and a rock guitar scene that will never be the same again

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