Ace Frehley recalls the many on-stage accidents and mishaps he experienced when performing with Kiss, including the time he almost died on stage.
In an interview with Music Radar, the former Kiss guitarist remembers the on-stage disaster which could have taken his life, and eventually lead him to writing the classic song Shock Me, which featured on the glam metal band's 1977 album, Love Gun. It was also the first track Ace appeared on as lead vocalist.
During a show in Lakeland, Florida in 1976, Frehley was electrocuted by a staircase rail on stage, which became electrically-charged due to a grounding issue.
“I should have been dead that night,” he says. “The fact that I got electrocuted and didn’t fall forward was a godsend. There must have been angels pushing me back.
“I was standing on top of four Marshall cabinets on a staircase when I got shocked. I had a heavy Les Paul around my neck, and my body should have fallen forward—but I didn’t.”
Fortunately, though his hands took quite the shock from the rail, the Kiss founder avoided what could have been a fatal fall, and even managed to complete the performance. He continues, “If I fell forward, I would have broken my f**king neck. But I fell back, and the road crew dragged me back off of the staircase. I had no feeling in my hands for five to ten minutes.
“I went on to finish the show,” he declares. “But I maybe had feeling in half of my fingers by the time it was done. It was crazy shit, man, but I did get Shock Me out of it. So, I guess it wasn’t all for nothing.”
Looking back on far less dangerous experiences, Frehley remembers taking many tumbles while performing due to the height of his platform boots - a Kiss wardrobe staple.
“I used to fall a lot in those boots,” he says. “A lot of times. Paul would cover for me by walking over to me like it was part of the show. He made it look like it was choreography or something. If nobody realised I’d fallen, I play on my knees and get back up. It was just part of the show!”.
When performing the outro to their 1974 song Black Diamond, the guitarist would frequently fall to his knees - a move which eventually lead to severe knee damage.
"During the Reunion Tour, I ended up chipping a bone in my knee, and the doctor said, ‘Listen, you gotta stop doing that, or you’ll end up in a wheelchair.’
“We ended up putting a pad under the carpet where I’d fall. I tried to hit it—and if you look at old videos, you can see that I’d go down one knee at a time.”
Plenty more accidents took place at their shows, including the moment Frehley accidentally shot a rocket at bassist Gene Simmons' head.
Last year, Ace Frehley released his eighth solo album 10,000 Volts.
