{"id":719285,"date":"2026-06-06T16:02:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T16:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/719285\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T16:02:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T16:02:11","slug":"i-always-tried-to-push-him-to-be-better-and-hes-always-been-my-incentive-for-trying-to-be-better-better-than-him-sometimes-paul-stanley-on-the-synergy-and-the-r","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/719285\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI always tried to push him to be better, and he\u2019s always been my incentive for trying to be better \u2013 better than him, sometimes\u201d: Paul Stanley on the synergy and the rivalry that drove Kiss"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cAt the end of the day, if it was a relay race, the two of us won it.\u201d That\u2019s how Paul Stanley summed up his long relationship with his co-star in Kiss, Gene Simmons.<\/p>\n

It was in 1970 that the two musicians first joined forces in a New York-based group named Rainbow, which was subsequently renamed Wicked Lester. And although this venture failed \u2013 the band was dropped after recording an album for Epic Records \u2013 Stanley knew even then that his future lay with Simmons.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Speaking to Outlaw magazine in 2019, Stanley said of their connection: \u201cSoon after we met, and once we\u2019d sorted out a few differences, I realised I was far better off in this duo, this partnership, than on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The pair went on to form Kiss in 1973, with Stanley on rhythm guitar, Simmons on bass, Ace Frehley on lead guitar and Peter Criss on drums \u2013 and all four taking turns on lead vocals.<\/p>\n

Nothin’ To Lose (Remastered 1997) – YouTube
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For the next 50 years, Stanley and Simmons led the band through success and failure, line-up changes and reunions, until the conclusion of the End Of The Road tour in 2023.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat bond is really the constant in the life of Kiss,\u201d Stanley said, \u201cand it was based on some very core values \u2013 like work ethic, and the broad knowledge of music that Gene and I shared.\u201d<\/p>\n

Combining hard rock power and pop hooks with an over-the top-image and explosive stage show, Kiss shot to superstardom with the breakout success of their 1975 album Alive!<\/p>\n

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18 September 1978 was a landmark day for Kiss, with the simultaneous release of solo albums by the four band members.<\/p>\n

Asked whether this brought out a competitive streak between the four of them, Stanley replied: \u201cI think that was true for Gene and I. I\u2019ve always tried to push him to be better, and whether or not he\u2019s known it, he\u2019s always been my incentive for trying to be better \u2013 better than him, sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tonight You Belong To Me – YouTube
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In the end, it was Ace Frehley\u2019s solo album that fared best commercially, with the single New York Groove peaking at No 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

But Frehley was a loose cannon with a taste for the rock \u2019n\u2019 roll lifestyle that was shared by Peter Criss. Moreover, Kiss were signed to Casablanca Records, which was infamous for a cocaine culture among its staff.<\/p>\n

In that era, with decadence all around them, both Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons remained resolutely drug-free.<\/p>\n

Stanley explained to Outlaw: \u201cI saw what drugs did to people. You only had to look at Billie Holiday, or other jazz greats, to see what heroin and other drugs have done to countless people.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw people around me die. The currency at that point was mainly sex and drugs. It was what people used to get backstage, to the hotel, to befriend you. Quite honestly, I would forego the drugs \u2013 it\u2019s not in my nature \u2013 but I was happy with the sex.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cWhen I was a teenager, working at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, I saw musicians that I really looked up to, they had these big medicinal pill bottles of blow, and I saw how it affected their opinions and decisions, and not productively or positively. That just affirmed for that drugs had no place in my creativity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea that being wasted or broke is a badge of honour for a rock star \u2013 I think it\u2019s pathetic. To see people in bands drugged to their eyeballs because other bands had done it, it\u2019s sad to me, it\u2019s transparent and futile, and it doesn\u2019t lead to any place good. Also, it\u2019s walking a tightrope that you\u2019re not really trained to walk, and it\u2019s a far fall.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the late \u201970s, despite his vehement opposition to drug-taking, Stanley was a frequent visitor to Studio 54, the famous \u2013 and famously drug-infested \u2013 Manhattan nightclub. This was where he found the inspiration for the disco-influenced Kiss hit from 1979, I Was Made For Lovin\u2019 You.<\/p>\n

Kiss – I Was Made For Lovin’ You – YouTube
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Stanley said of Studio 54: \u201cIt was a den of iniquity, Sodom and Gomorrah, and I have to say there were elements of it that were far too decadent for me. There was a freedom there without any sense of consequence, and sadly that took its toll, whether it was drug addiction or AIDS.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the drugs and the promiscuity, I don\u2019t think anybody realised at that point where it would lead. But it just crossed a line that wasn\u2019t comfortable to me. It was too dangerous.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudio 54 was a great place to go dancing, and it wasn\u2019t Saturday Night Fever, it wasn\u2019t all white suits, the John Travolta look. But it couldn\u2019t last, and there were other great clubs in New York \u2013 a place downtown in the far west side called Heartbreak, where we would go on a Tuesday and just dance all night.\u201d<\/p>\n

By 1982, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss had left Kiss. Both would eventually return to the band for periods \u2013 Frehley from 1996- 2002, Criss from 1996-2001 and then 2002-4.<\/p>\n

In 1983, with Vinnie Vincent in place of Frehley and Eric Carr in place of Criss, the previously unthinkable happened \u2013 Kiss took off their iconic makeup. This was for the launch of the album Lick It Up, the band having uncharacteristically missed a trick by using the title Unmasked for a previous album in 1980.<\/p>\n

This reinvention of Kiss was Stanley\u2019s decision. \u201cI wanted to prove,\u201d he said, \u201cthat Kiss could stand on the music alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

From 1983 until the end of that decade, Stanley was proven right. Kiss continued to thrive, even if the relationship between the two leading figures became strained, as Simmons lost focus, distracted by a parallel career in acting and the kind of empire-building illustrated by his record label Simmons Records \u2013 leaving Stanley to carry the band.<\/p>\n

Stanley admitted that he and Simmons had endured some difficult times: \u201cIt happens. That\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n

He insisted, however, that there was never a point when he lost belief in Kiss.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not a quitter,\u201d he said. \u201cCertainly there were times when, in a sense, I woke up and said, \u2018Where the hell are we? How did we get off course?\u2019 And that\u2019s the time when you work the hardest to get back on track.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just not in my nature to throw in the towel. I wouldn\u2019t do that for me, and I wouldn\u2019t give the people who don\u2019t like me or us the satisfaction. So my incentive was twofold.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his interview with Outlaw, Stanley acknowledged Frehley and Criss.<\/p>\n

\u201cI very much respect the past and how it got us here,\u201d he said. \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t exist without the original members, the four of us who started the band.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the greater tribute went to Gene Simmons.<\/p>\n

Kiss – Rock And Roll All Nite (1975 Promo Video) – YouTube
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\u201cGene is as close to me as any brother could be,\u201d Stanley said. \u201cSomebody recently asked me, \u2018Is he your best friend?\u2019 No, he\u2019s like my brother. Brothers don\u2019t necessarily see each other all the time, they don\u2019t always get along, but they are always there for each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever competitive nature we\u2019ve had, or resentments over the years, perhaps that\u2019s what fuelled this thing. So in this ball game we won \u2013 but we won together, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cAt the end of the day, if it was a relay race, the two of us won it.\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":719286,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,134,136],"class_list":["post-719285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=719285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/719286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=719285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=719285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=719285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}