{"id":205327,"date":"2025-10-17T00:16:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T00:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/205327\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T00:16:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T00:16:11","slug":"kiss-cofounder-ace-frehley-dies-at-74-after-suffering-fall-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/205327\/","title":{"rendered":"KISS Cofounder Ace Frehley Dies at 74 After Suffering Fall at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rocker Ace Frehley<\/a>, the founding guitarist of KISS<\/a> who went on to have a successful solo career of his own with hits like \u201cNew York Groove,\u201d has died. He was 74.<\/p>\n

Frehley’s family announced his death in a statement shared with Variety<\/a>, Rolling Stone<\/a> and Good Morning America<\/a> on Thursday. Oct. 16, saying the rocker died earlier that day in Morristown, N.J.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are completely\u00a0devastated and heartbroken. In his last moments, we were fortunate enough to have been able to surround him with loving, caring, peaceful words, thoughts, prayers and intentions as he left this earth,” the statement read. “We cherish all of his finest memories, his laughter, and celebrate his strengths and kindness that he bestowed upon others. The magnitude of his passing is of epic proportions, and beyond comprehension. Reflecting on all of his incredible life achievements, Ace\u2019s memory will continue to live on forever!”<\/p>\n

TMZ<\/a> previously reported that the rocker was on life support due to a brain bleed caused by a fall in his studio several weeks ago.<\/p>\n

Frehley told fans about the fall in a statement shared to Instagram<\/a> on Sept. 25, writing at the time that he would need to cancel a performance scheduled for the next day in Lancaster. Calif.<\/p>\n

The statement described the fall as \u201cminor,\u201d and said that the star was \u201cfine,\u201d but could not travel to the show, per doctor\u2019s orders.<\/p>\n

\u201cAce looks forward to continuing on his tour and finishing work on his next album, Origins Vol. 4,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n

\"Gary<\/p>\n

Gary Miller\/Getty<\/p>\n

Ace Frehley performing in Cedar Park, Texas in 2023.<\/p>\n

Then on Oct. 6, Frehley canceled the rest<\/a> of his 2025 tour dates \u201cdue to ongoing medical issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frehley \u2014 who was born in the Bronx, New York as Paul Frehley \u2014 was known for his \u201cSpaceman\u201d persona and makeup in KISS, which he co-founded in 1973 and eventually left in 1982.<\/p>\n

Despite a rocky relationship with former bandmates Gene Simmons<\/a> and Paul Stanley<\/a> in the ensuing years, Frehley briefly rejoined the band for a reunion tour in 1996, and last played with the group on the KISS Kruise in 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve always been a fatalist and believed in fate. When I was 16 years old, I was convinced I was going to be a rock star. Nobody could change my mind,\u201d he said in a 2018 interview at Musicians Institute<\/a>, per Blabbermouth. \u201cSomebody said to me in an interview, ‘What would have happened if KISS failed?’ I said, ‘I would have been famous with another band.’ Nothing was going to stop me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tensions between Simmons and Frehley went back years; in 2019, Simmons told Guitar World<\/a> that Frehley and founding drummer Peter Criss had been fired from KISS three times, in part because they \u201cweren\u2019t carrying their load\u201d and weren\u2019t dependable onstage.<\/p>\n

\"George<\/p>\n

George De Sota\/Liaison<\/p>\n

(L-R) Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Paul Stanley of KISS performing in New Jersey in 2000.<\/p>\n

In response, Frehley denied that he\u2019d been fired, and called Simmons and Stanley \u201ccontrol freaks, untrustworthy and\u2026 too difficult to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the group in 2014, with inductor Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine calling Frehley his \u201cfirst guitar hero.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the induction, Simmons praised Frehley, too<\/a>, saying, that \u201chis iconic guitar playing has been imitated, but never duplicated, by generations of guitar players around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

After leaving KISS, Frehley formed his own group called Frehley\u2019s Comet, which put out two albums, and launched a successful solo career that began in 1978 with a platinum-selling self-titled debut (With Space Invader in 2014, he became the only KISS member to crack the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 albums chart with a solo album, according to his biography<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"Robert<\/p>\n

Robert Knight Archive\/Redferns<\/p>\n

Ace Frehley in an undated photo<\/p>\n

Ace Frehley contained hits like \u201cRip It Out\u201d and \u201cNew York Groove,\u201d the latter of which is still played by the New York Mets whenever they win a home game at Citi Field.<\/p>\n

Frehley said in 2018 that his favorite KISS song is \u201cDeuce,\u201d but named Ace Frehley as his favorite album he\u2019s recorded, noting that \u201cit\u2019s stood the test of time.\u201d He\u2019s since released a number of solo albums, including 10,000 Volts in 2024.<\/p>\n

He was dad to a daughter, Monique, with ex-wife Jeanette, and said in the 2018 interview that it was Monique who\u2019d inspired him to get sober in 2006.<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty<\/p>\n

Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss and Gene Simmons in Los Angeles in 1975.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy daughter calls me up and goes, ‘Dad, I’m not hearing good things about you.’ I looked in the mirror and just said, ‘S— \u2014 she’s right,’\u201d he said. \u201cThat evening, I called my sponsor and he took me to an AA meeting, and I’ve been sober ever since.”<\/p>\n

In a 2024 interview with Anti Hero<\/a> magazine<\/a>, Frehley summed up his legacy in his own words.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to say, almost every guitar player I meet, at least 75%, if not more, say to me, \u2018I picked up the guitar because of you. When I heard Alive! that was it, I decided to pick up a guitar and start learning your songs,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s going to be pretty much my legacy, that I was able to make the transition from a supergroup like KISS to being a successful solo artist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the original article on People<\/a><\/p>\n