Latest UK News

Further proving my point that there is a closet KISS fan editing news.bbc.co.uk, there have been 2 KISS stories this week. First is the attached picture which appeared on the "Big Picture" section. The second was the article below:

From: BBC News

GIG MEMENTOES
Kiss fans who saw the rock band on their 2009 US tour had the chance to take the show home with them in their back pockets when they walked out of the venue. 
 
Kiss have made hundreds of thousands of dollars from instant USB recordings.
"We do a multi-track recording of each night and make the recording available on a USB drive right at the end of the show," says Gerrit Schumann from German company Music Networx, which makes the recordings.

"We have USB duplicators that do it pretty much automatically at the venue. We stop recording about half an hour before the end of the show and include a download code, with which the fan can then download the encores and remaining 30 minutes online."

Each stick cost about $20 and an artist will get anywhere between 20-50% of the price, he says. With around 1,000 sticks sold a night at 58 dates last year, that adds up to several hundreds of thousands of dollars for Kiss.

They will do it all again for their European tour this year, where they will also introduce an instant download-to-mobile option.

Kiss, already the masters of music merchandise, are also selling meet-and-greet gig packages for £905 per person in the UK.

Thanks to Dan Bach, I have 12 classic KISS albums on vinyl to give away. All you have to do is answer a couple of questions and a tie breaker on what KISS means to you in 2010.  This is an ideal opportunity for someone new to KISS to expand or start their collection of classic KISS vinyl - it includes classics such as Alive!, Destroyer and Love Gun.

As well as the albums Dan has also included some colour photocopies of some of the items that used to be given away with classic KISS albums, such as the Love Gun toy gun and the masks from the solo albums.

Click here to enter the competition!

Here's an excusive thanks to Matt, it's the full round-up of KISS albums by Gene and Paul that cover a lot more albums than were published in The Sun. Matt spent 4 hours in total with Gene & Paul doing his interview!

Kiss (1974) - Gene: I no longer had to work for a living. I went on salary, I made 75 dollars a week and I became the richest person in the world. Not only was I in a band, doing everything I wanted, I was getting paid $75 a week! Favourite track: Deuce.

Hotter Than Hell (1974) - Paul: Difficult second album? No, we were all piss and vinegar at that stage - “If you’d didn’t like the first album, here’s another!” We were releasing them every eight months. Favourite track: Hotter Than Hell.

Dressed To Kill (1975) - Gene: It was produced by Neil Bogart, our record company president, who couldn’t produce. We started attracting lots of groupies around this time. Mostly, I remember lots of girls. Favourite track: Two Timer.

Alive! (1975) - Paul: A sonic souvenir of the live show. Was it enhanced? You bet! Who wants to hear a guitar string break every time they put on a song? One week it was gold, the next it was platinum. Our rollercoaster ride had begun.

Thanks to a very generous donation from Dan Bach we have a great competition lined up this week especially designed to help kick start the collections of new KISS fans (but of course anyone can enter). Full details shortly....

The following 12" x 6" article appeared in the South Shields Gazette on December 16th, click on the image for a larger version. Watch out for a huge media circus coming our way over the next few months!

Thanks to Matin Wombwell for the picture.

Best of ALIVE 35: North American Tour 2009 Double-CD

A MUST-HAVE FOR EVERY SERIOUS KISS FAN OUT THERE

Concert Online exclusively recorded the concerts of the KISS ALIVE 35: North American Tour 2009.

Now that the tour is over we've remixed and mastered only the very best live performances of all KISS ALIVE 35 klassic hits.

The result:
The 2-CD Best Of KISS ALIVE 35 set - filled to the brim with 27 smashing live audio tracks recorded in 21 locations!

Ranging from genuine KISS Alive! klassics such as "Deuce", "Strutter", and "Rock n Roll All Nite" covering the all-time rock hymns "Detroit Rock City" or "Shout It Out Loud" up to their latest single "Modern Day Delilah" and anthems such as "Lick It Up" this KISS ALIVE 35 2-CD Set has it all.

GET 'EM WHILE THEY'RE HOT!

ACE FREHLEY TO RELEASE 'BEHIND THE PLAYER' DVD WORLDWIDE JANUARY 19TH

LOS ANGELES Legendary KISS guitarist Ace Frehley will release "Behind the Player" a retrospective DVD chronicling his work as one of the world's most influential guitar players.  The DVD will be released worldwide January 19th, through IMV, Rocket Science Ventures and Sony/RED.
 
The DVD features the iconic Spaceman talking about his life as a guitar player, including rare photos and video footage. Ace also gives in depth lessons for his KISS classics "Shock Me" and "Cold Gin." The DVD includes an all-star jam session of Ace playing with George Lynch, John 5, Matt Sorum, Chris Wyse and Tommy Clufetos. Frehley says, "I haven"t done anything like this before, but liked what they were doing with the Behind The Player series. Jamming the tracks with the guys was a lot of fun."
 
Ace Frehley Behind The Player will be available January 19th at music retailers and for digital download everywhere.  In September, Frehley released his first solo album in nearly 20 years, Anomaly, which debuted top 30 on Billboard 200. Ace is currently on tour in Europe, and will be heading off to Australia in early 2010.

http://www.acefrehley.com
 

Due to excellent ticket sales KISS have announced 4 new UK shows - Sheffield, Newcastle, Liverpool and Wembley. This is fantasic news as it essentially keeps them in the UK for 2 weeks, great for PR! Note also that the Brummie date has been moved from the 11th to the 5th May.

Here's the full European dates:- 

2010
Sat 1st May    Sheffield Arena (UK)
Sun 2nd May    Newcastle Metro Radio Arena (UK)
Tues 4th May    Liverpool Arena (UK)
Wed 5th May    Birmingham LG Arena (original date 11th)
Fri 7th May    Dublin, O2 Arena (Eire)
Sun 9th May    Glasgow, SECC (UK) SOLD OUT
Mon 10th May   Manchester MEN Arena (UK)
Wed 12th May   London, Wembley Arena (UK)
Thu 13th May    London, Wembley Arena (UK) SOLD OUT
Sun 16th May    Zurich, Hallenstadion (Switzerland)
Mon 17th May   Geneva, Arena (Switzerland)
Tues 18th May   Milan, Mediolanum Forum (Italy)
Thurs 20th May   Vienna, Stadhalle (Austria)
Fri 21st May    Ostrava, Cez Arena (Czech Republic)
Sun 23rd May    Prague, O2 Arena (Czech Republic)
Wed 26th May   Berlin, O2 World (Germany)
Thurs 27th May   Leipzig, Arena (Germany)
Sat 29th May    Bratislava, Stadium (Slovakia)
Mon 31st May    Hamburg, Colorline Arena (GermanyTues 1st June    Oberhausen, Koenig Pilsner Arena (Germany)
Tues 8th June    Trondheim, Lerkendal Open Site (Norway)
Thurs 10th June   Tampere, Sauna Rock (Finland)
Sat 12th June    Stockholm, Stadium (Sweden)
Sun 13th June    Malmo, Stadium (Sweden)
Mon 14th June   Oslo, Valhall (Norway)
Wed 16th June   Aalborg, Gigantium (Denmark)
Fri 18th June    Arnhem, Gelredome (Holland)
Sun 20th June    Clisson, Hellfest (France)
Tues 22nd June   Madrid, Palacio De Los Deportes (Spain)
Fri 25th June    Vitoria, Azkena Rock Festival (Spain)
Sun 27th June    Graspop Festival (Belgium)

Pre Order – Limited Edition Fine Art Prints of KISS Album Covers ‘Rock And Roll Over’ (RARO) and ‘Sonic Boom,’ Signed by the band and artist Michael Doret

Michael Doret and KISS are now accepting Pre-Orders for the much anticipated Limited Edition Fine Art Prints of cover art for “Rock and Roll Over” and “Sonic Boom.” These fine art editions of giclées are limited to only 250 prints per edition. They are the most faithful incarnations you will ever see of this art—and you will never again see the color reproduced with more clarity and intensity. 

The printed images are oversized at 20? square and printed on 25? square archival “Museo Textured Rag” Digital Watercolor paper. Each Limited Edition print is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity signed by artist Michael Doret. The prints are available for purchase exclusively through KissOnline.com.

Paula Gould
PEG PR For Michael Doret