Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (
/ˈfreɪli/; born April 27, 1951) is an
American musician best known as an original member of the
rock band
Kiss. He took on the
persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics. Frehley played with the group from its inception in 1973 until his departure in 1982.
After leaving Kiss, Frehley embarked on a solo career, which was put on hold when he rejoined Kiss in 1996 for a highly successful
reunion tour. His second tenure with Kiss lasted until 2002, when he left at the conclusion of what was purported to be the band's
Farewell Tour. His latest album,
Anomaly, was released on September 15, 2009.
[3] Ace and his wife Jeanette have one daughter, Moniqu
Frehley spent the early 1970s in a series of local bands. In late 1972, his best friend, Bob McAdams (co-author of the book Kiss & Tell), spotted an advertisement for a lead guitarist in the
Village Voiceand showed the ad to Frehley. Both McAdams and Frehley went to 10 East 23rd Street above the Live Bait Bar. Frehley auditioned for
Wicked Lester members
Paul Stanley (
rhythm guitar),
Gene Simmons (
bass guitar) and
Peter Criss (
drums). Frehley, who showed up wearing one red
sneaker and one orange sneaker, was less than impressive visually, but the band liked what they heard from his playing. About three weeks after Frehley auditioned, the new group named him their lead guitarist. By January 1973, Wicked Lester decided on a new name -
Kiss. Frehley designed the band's double-lightning-bolt logo (which has a striking resemblance to the Nazi SS, which Frehley denies having anything to do with it. Although Frehley at the time studied the Nazi Culture.). The band quickly decided to paint their faces for live performances, and Frehley decided to start painting silver stars on his eyes. When the group eventually decided to adopt a stage persona to go with their makeup designs. Frehley became "Space Ace". Later the stage persona would be known as "The Spaceman."
While Kiss spent their early days rehearsing and playing in empty clubs, Frehley took a job as a part-time cab driver to pay his bills. In September 1973, Kiss began to receive a salary from new manager
Bill Aucoin that paid each member $75 a week. This enabled Frehley to quit his job.
Kiss released their debut album,
Kiss, in February 1974—Frehley's sole songwriting contribution was "
Cold Gin". Due to Frehley's lack of confidence in his own singing voice, however, the vocals were performed by Simmons. Frehley wrote or co-wrote several of the band's songs over the next few years but didn't record his vocals on a song until "
Shock Me" (inspired by his near-electrocution during a concert in Lakeland, Florida), which appeared on 1977's
Love Gun.
As lead guitarist, Frehley was known for his frenetic, atmospheric playing, becoming one of the most popular guitarists in the 70s and spawning a generation of new players. Frehley stated in the book
Kiss: Behind the Mask that many guitarists have told him his playing on 1975's hit
Alive! prompted them to pick up the instrument. Frehley is well recognized for using
Gibson Les Paul guitars, including his trademarked model conversion Cara Guitars which filled the stage full of smoke during his live guitar solo.
Along with the three other Kiss members, Frehley released an eponymous
solo album in 1978. His was the best-selling of the four, and the album's lone single — the
Russ Ballard-written "
New York Groove"), originally recorded by
Hello — reached the Top 20 in the United States.
Frehley's songwriting presence within the group increased in 1979. He contributed three songs for 1979's
Dynasty and three for 1980's
Unmasked. While this was not the best time for Kiss on a commercial level in the United States, they were only just beginning to take off in other countries (mostly in Australia, where
Dynasty and
Unmasked are their highest-selling albums). But even as his songwriting role within Kiss was increasing, Frehley found himself increasingly at odds with the musical direction of the band. After Peter Criss left Kiss in 1980, Frehley was often outvoted 2-1 in band decisions, as replacement drummer
Eric Carr was not a partner in Kiss and had no vote. Frehley's participation in the recording of 1981's
Music from "The Elder" was far more limited than with previous albums. This was in large part due to his unhappiness with the band's decision to create a
concept album rather than a straightforward rock album, and also, by Frehley's own admission, his "not relating all that well" to producer
Bob Ezrin, who cut many of Frehley's solos from the recorded tracks.
Although Frehley appeared on the covers for 1982's greatest hits album
Killers and studio album
Creatures of the Night, he had no involvement with
Killers, and minimal (no musical) input on
Creatures of the Night. Frehley's last appearances with the band were the video for "I Love it Loud," a series of European promotional appearances in November 1982 and a band interview with
MTV in early 1983 promoting their
world tour.
