Kiss (often stylized as KISS) is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973 by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley. Well known for its members' face paint and stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid-to-late 1970s with their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood-spitting, smoking guitars, shooting rockets, levitating drum kits, and pyrotechnics. The band has gone through several lineup changes, with Stanley and Simmons the only remaining original members.
With their make-up and costumes, they took on the personae of comic book-style characters: The Starchild (Stanley), The Demon (Simmons), The Spaceman or Space Ace (Frehley), and The Catman (Criss). Due to creative differences, both Criss and Frehley had departed the group by 1982.
In response to a wave of Kiss nostalgia in the mid-1990s, the original lineup re-united in 1996, which also saw the return of their makeup and stage costumes. The resulting Alive/Worldwide Tour was commercially successful. Criss and Frehley have both since left the band again and have been replaced by Singer and Tommy Thayer, respectively. The band has continued with their original stage makeup, with Singer and Thayer using the original Catman and Space Ace makeup, respectively. In September 2018, Kiss announced that, after 45 years of recording and performing, they will embark on their final tour in 2019.
Kiss is one of the best-selling bands of all time, having sold more than 100 million records worldwide, including 25 million RIAA-certified albums. On April 10, 2014, Kiss was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
