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BLACK VEIL BRIDES & VILLE VALO Co-Headline Fall Tour Of U.S. & Canada

General Onsale Begins Friday, June 2 at Time on LiveNation.com

This fall, the classic season for dark and romantic music,  BLACK VEIL BRIDES  and  VV (VILLE VALO)  will co-headline a massive tour in select cities across North America. Presented by Hot Topic, the BVB & VV 2023 tour (featuring special guests  DARK DIVINE ) combines three unique bands who champion the heavy-hearted, hopeless, and broken with mixtures of high intensity and melody.

Produced by Live Nation, tickets to the tour will be available starting Tuesday, May 30 at 12 pm ET via presales with additional presales running throughout the week ahead of the general onsale beginning Friday, June 2 at 10 am local time on LiveNation.com. For more information on the presales visit BlackVeilBrides.net.

“We cannot wait to join forces with Ville Valo and give both of our audiences in North America an unforgettable experience each night,” says Black Veil Brides frontman Andy Biersack. “This run has been in the works for quite a while. We couldn’t be happier now that we can finally share the news. Ville is an icon. We have all been fans of his not only for his work in the hugely influential band HIM but as a torchbearer for an entire generation of rock fans and musicians.”

“There’s something tinnitus-inducingly romantic about the idea of being sandwiched nightly between Black Veil Brides and Dark Divine on this autumnal trek across North America,” muses Valo. “And imagining us explore the architecture of doom and gloom from three distinctly different musical perspectives has already made the bats in my belfry suitably ravenous.” 

Andy adds, “This tour is a dream come true and will be something special. Dark Divine is new to the scene but garnering a lot of attention quickly and rightfully so. They are hands down one of the best young bands out there, and we are certain the BVB Army and VV fans will love them.” 

Committed to uncompromising expression, with a foundation in hard rock tradition and rule-breaking iconoclasm, Black Veil Brides is a transcendent celebration of life-affirming power and anthemic catharsis. A gothic vision first summoned in a small town by an isolated kid fascinated with death, rock, theatricality, and monsters (both real and imagined), Black Veil Brides is now a postmodern heavy metal institution with a legion of like-minded fans and supporters worldwide. 

2021’s The Phantom Tomorrow produced BVB’s first Top 10 single, “Scarlet Cross.” Last year’s The Mourning EP offered similar success with “Saviour II,” joining a rich catalog that includes “Knives and Pens” (over 160 million views on YouTube), the certified gold “Fallen Angels,” and the recently certified platinum “In the End.” (It’s possible Black Veil Brides may even release another brand-new song in the not-too-distant future…) 

HIM, renowned as one of the most commercially successful Finnish bands of all time, has sold over ten million records. Ville Valo, the band’s frontman, released a series of beloved albums with HIM from 1997 through 2013, boasting influential modern goth-rock anthems like “Right Here in My Arms,” “Join Me in Death,” “Buried Alive by Love,” and “Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly.” Declaring Neon Noir a perfect record for fans of HIM, Ghost, and Evanescence, Kerrang! wrote, “If you’ve been seduced in Mr. Valo’s musical twilight before, then you can now prepare to pulse in the glow of the heartagram once again.” In a VV cover story, Valo told the magazine, “It is a continuation of what I’ve done in the past and what might happen next.”

Hot Topic Presents BVB & VV 2023 Tour Dates:

Sept 10 – Louisville, KY – Paristown Hall

Sept 11 – Birmingham, AL – Avondale Brewing Company

Sept 12 – St. Petersburg, FL – Jannus Live

Sept 14 – Myrtle Beach, SC – House of Blues

Sept 15 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live!*

Sept 16 – Niagara Falls, NY – The Rapids Theater*

Sept 17 – Toronto, ON – HISTORY

Sept 19 – Montreal, QC – MTELUS

Sept 20 – Hampton Beach, NH – Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom

Sept 22 – Wallingford, CT – Dome at Toyota Oakdale Theater

Sept 23 – Bethlehem, PA – Wind Creek Event Center

Sept 24 – Montclair, NJ – The Wellmont Theater

Sept 25 – Huntington, NY – The Paramount

Sept 27 – Grand Rapids, MI – GLC Live at 20 Monroe

Sept 28 – Gary, IN – Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana*

Sept 29 – Columbus, OH – KEMBA Live!*

Sept 30 – Indianapolis, IN – Egyptian Room at Old National Centre

Oct 01 – Chesterfield, MO – The Factory

Oct 03 – Austin, TX – ACL Live

Oct 05 – Tulsa, OK – Tulsa Theater*

Oct 06 – Omaha, NE – Steelhouse Omaha

Oct 07 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee

Oct 09 – Winnipeg, MB – Burton Cummings Theatre

Oct 11 – Edmonton, AB – Edmonton Convention Centre

Oct 12 – Calgary, AB – Grey Eagle Event Centre

Oct 14 – Vancouver, BC – Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre

Oct 15 – Spokane, WA – The Podium

Oct 16 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre

Oct 18 – Garden City, ID – Revolution Concert House

Oct 19 – Wheatland, CA – Hard Rock Live

Oct 20 – Riverside, CA – Riverside Municipal Auditorium

*Not A Live Nation Date

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the world’s leading live entertainment company comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, and Live Nation Sponsorship. For additional information, visit   www.livenationentertainment.com .

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Black Veil Brides and Ville Valo 

Jon Freeman | Freeman Promotions I  [email protected]

Live Nation Concerts

Monique Sowinski |  [email protected]

Nadine Peña |  [email protected]

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• VV - Ville Valo

VV - Ville Valo Tour Dates

Former HIM frontman Ville Valo will be joining forces with Black Veil Brides later in 2023 for an extensive co-headlining tour across North America. The 31-date outing takes place in September/October invading U.S. cities like like Louisville, Huntington, Grand Rapids, Columbus, Austin and Seattle. Canadian shows are planned for Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. Joining the tour in support will be special guests Dark Divine. The artist recently wrapped up his Neon Noir Tour earlier this year which was joined by Kælan Mikla .

VV will continue supporting his self-titled debut album released on January 13th, 2023 via Heartagram, Spinefarm and Universal Music. Before disbanding HIM in 2017, the band's final 2013 album 'Tears on Tape' reached #15 on the Billboard 200 and includes the single 'Into the Night' which won Video of the Year at the Noisecreep Creepies Awards. Aside from his time with HIM, the Finnish singer-songwriter has also collaborated with acts like The 69 Eyes , Andy McCoy , MGT and Apocalyptica among others

VV - Ville Valo Concert Schedule

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HIM's VILLE VALO Announces 'Neon Noir' Solo Album, 2023 North American Tour

HIM mastermind Ville Valo will release a new single, "Loveletting" , on April 8 under the VV banner. "Loveletting" is taken from VV 's forthcoming debut album, "Neon Noir" .

Ville explains: "As fun as the funeral rites for HIM were, it took me more than a few moons to lick my wounds in the shadow of the Heartagram and come up with an excuse to strum and hum again. Eventually, I decided to put a leash on my beloved black dog and we started howling together instead of barking at each other. That's how 'Loveletting' was born."

"Loveletting" will be made available across all digital platforms from midnight (local time) tonight. An official video clip will follow tomorrow at 11 a.m. EDT.

"Neon Noir" is scheduled for release in early 2023. Belonging to the same forlorn world of woe and whimsy once conceived and governed by Valo in HIM , VV arrives with additional nuanced notes of a fine aged Cabernet.

Valo adds: "Artistically speaking, the main difference between HIM and VV is the extra line in the Heartagram, but what an exquisite line it is! It's the MAMAS AND THE PAPAS dressed up as METALLICA on their way to a Halloween bash at the Studio 54, and now who wouldn't want to witness that?"

Further details around "Neon Noir" will be released in due course. In the meantime, fans are invited to any number of VV 's headline tour dates taking place next year across Europe and North America. Naturally starting in Helsinki, Finland, the 2023 extensive run reaches the U.K. in March before heading to America come April.

A special BLABBERMOUTH.NET presale will begin on Tuesday, April 12 at 10:00 a.m. local time and end on Thursday, April 14 at 10:00 p.m. local time. When prompted, type in the presale code "BLABBERMOUTH" to access tickets before the general public. General on-sale will be Friday, April 15 at 10 a.m. local time.

North American 2023 tour dates:

Apr. 01 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts ( buy tickets ) Apr. 02 - Boston, MA - Big Night Live ( buy tickets ) Apr. 04 - Pittsburgh, PA - Roxian Theatre ( buy tickets ) Apr. 05 - Cleveland, OH - House of Blues ( buy tickets ) Apr. 06 - Detroit, MI - St Andrews Hall ( buy tickets ) Apr. 08 - Cincinnati, OH - Bogarts ( buy tickets ) Apr. 09 - Chicago, IL - House of Blues ( buy tickets ) Apr. 11 - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater ( buy tickets ) Apr. 13 - Denver, CO - Summit ( buy tickets ) Apr. 14 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot ( buy tickets ) Apr. 16 - Sacramento, CA - Ace of Spades ( buy tickets ) Apr. 17 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore ( buy tickets ) Apr. 18 - Los Angeles, CA - The Belasco ( buy tickets ) Apr. 21 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues ( buy tickets ) Apr. 22 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues ( buy tickets ) Apr. 23 - Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren ( buy tickets ) Apr. 25 - Dallas, TX - House Of Blues ( buy tickets ) Apr. 26 - San Antonio, TX - Aztec Theater ( buy tickets ) Apr. 27 - Houston, TX - House of Blues ( buy tickets ) Apr. 28 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues ( buy tickets ) Apr. 30 - Orlando, FL - House of Blues ( buy tickets ) May 01 - Ft Lauderdale, FL - Revolution ( buy tickets ) May 03 - Atlanta, GA - Buckhead Theatre ( buy tickets ) May 04 - Nashville, TN - Brooklyn Bowl ( buy tickets ) May 05 - Charlotte, NC - Underground ( buy tickets ) May 07 - Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore ( buy tickets ) May 08 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza ( buy tickets )

"Loveletting" will mark Ville 's first new music in over two years, following the arrival of the three-track "Gothica Fennica Vol. 1" EP, also released under the VV banner, in March 2020.

"Gothica Fennica Vol. 1" bore a strong musical resemblance to HIM and featured the tracks "Salute The Sanguine" , "Run Away From The Sun" and "Saturnine Saturnalia" .

HIM completed a farewell tour in 2017, closing the final chapter on the band's 26-year career. At the time, Ville explained to Kerrang! magazine why the band decided to call it a day. "We were tired of the same shit," he said. "When you've done it for a long time, at some point it doesn't taste good anymore. We started working on some stuff, it didn't sound good enough, and we didn't get the teenage buzz you're supposed get."

He also discussed the future of his artistic and musical endeavors.

"I'll be figuring out the emotions I'll be going through after the HIM period is done," he said. "That's how I experience life. I experience it through music, I'll pick up the guitar and start writing and I'm sure some of the emotions that come out of this wild ride will come through. My life is not done yet. The HIM part is done, as it is now, the chapter is closed, but the book is still unfinished…"

Formed in 1991 by Valo , guitarist Mikko "Linde" Lindström and bassist Mikko "Migé" Paananen , HIM offered the world a new take on the metal genre, which became known as "love metal" (also the title of their fourth album).

HIM in 2015 parted ways with its longtime drummer, Mika Kristian Karppinen (a.k.a. Gas Lipstick ),and replaced him with Jukka "Kosmo" Kröger (formerly of HERRA YLPPÖ & IHMISET ).

Three years ago, Valo teamed up with guitar legend Esa Pulliainen to record an album based on songs by the late, legendary Finnish singer Rauli "Badding" Somerjoki . The self-titled album by VILLE VALO & AGENTS was released in February 2019 and was followed by a short tour.

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The rock band HIM hails from Helsinki, Finland and was formed in 1991. Their music traverses several genres, including gothic rock and metal.

Originally known by its full name His Infernal Majesty (HIM), the group includes Ville Valo, guitarist Mikko "Linde" Lindström, and bassist Mikko "Migé" Paananen. They recorded and released their first EP “666 Ways to Love: Prologue” in 1996 along with follow-up album “Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666” released on 7 November 1997 by Hiili Hiilesmaa. The triple sixes were a theme for the first album, which lasted 66:06 minutes long and contained 66 tracks. The cover single of “Wicked Game” by Chris Isaack gained notable success in Europe.

HIM became popular in the States with their sophomore album “Razorblade Romance” in 2002 especially with the single “Join Me In Death” (or to avoid misinterpretations of suicide, it was known for short as “Join Me”). The band’s name however was changed to “HER” as “HIM” was already copyrighted by another band. “Razorblade Romance” was a favorite in Germany as well, reaching No. 1 in the charts.

HIM added another member, keyboard player Emerson Burton to the group for their third album “Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights” which was released 27 August 2001. Again, their music was recognized on the charts in Finland and Germany. The album “Love Metal” which came out in Europe in 2003 was the first album to feature their signature logo called a heartagram: a heart with a pentagram. The logo symbolizes the binary balance of light and dark, love and hate, and life and death.

The album “Dark Light” released in 2005 became the highest grossing album in the U.S. and the only Finnish band to be certified gold in the States. The video for the single “Killing Loneliness” has a cameo by tattoo artist Kat Von D. HIM cites The Doors, The Stooges and Black Sabbath as musical influences.

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HIM are certainly titans of the emo rock genre, but their recognisability spans far beyond that scene, thanks in no small part to their striking name - it stands for His Infernal Majesty - as well as their signature ‘heartagram’ logo, which has made it as far afield as the video for ‘DARE’ by Gorillaz. They’ve been together for more than twenty years, and after a disagreement saw them leave Sire/Warner in 2011, the strength and size of their cult fanbase was enough to earn them a deal with another major almost immediately, signing with a subsidiary of Sony. Their first release on that imprint, Tears on Tape, met with some of the strongest reviews of their career last year, and saw them touring extensively, too; they played a long run of dates across the UK last October. The setlists spanned their entire career, with the Finns opting to dedicate pretty much equal prominence to each record rather than lean too heavily on Tears on Tape, although there was room for them to mix it up, too; bizarrely, they covered Chris Isaak’s ‘Wicked Game’. Earlier this month, an incendiary set at Sonisphere proved that they’re only picking up steam; they’ll continue to play European festivals throughout the summer.

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Perhaps it is the dark winters and somber nature of the Scandinavians yet historically they have always been interested in metal and gloom rock. Finnish outfit HIM are one of the most successful bands to emerge from that part of the world with platinum selling albums across Europe. They have been touring relentlessly around the globe since the release of their debut album in 1997 and this huge dedication really pays off in their live show.

It is a huge operation now with carefully planned lighting displays and dark stage decorations to add to the overall somber overtone of the music. The songs still remain very much as the central driving force with a great mixture from the new record 'Tears on Tape' along with older material that the fans show their obvious adoration for. The band comments on the great energy demonstrated tonight as the fans jump, chant and mosh to the very final tone of 'The Funeral of Hearts'. The group dedicates the encore track 'When Love and Death Embrace' to the energetic audience.

I don't know how to describe all this spectrum of feelings I felt yesterday at Him's concert (Moscow Stadium) .. They were.. they are still so deep.

I was just mesmerized by their performance devouring every single sound (more! more! more!)

I want to thank the universe for giving us such a band, such a music. I hope it's not the end. It breaks the heart to think so.

And I'm listening to their recordings and drawing Ville. I need it, to give a way to my feelings.. I love Him deeply. Thank you!! Keep doing what you do and be inspired

It was amazing!! Great atmosphere, the staff at the place were organised and really helpful! It all went smooth and the concert... Just incredible! Of course if you came there to enjoy the music and see the one of the greatest singer, I was disappointed with the people around as most of them just stand there with their beers and phones, which was bizarre. If you're coming for a concert maybe at least look at the stage?

Anyway HIM I'll miss you guy!!

It was opening night in Phoenix of the tour. They had lots of sound problems. Vile I’m pretty sure couldn’t hear anything. He mumbled through most of the songs. Some Parts he didn’t even try to sing. We left before the concert was over. I hate to say it but it was boring. He lacks any real stage pressance. The guitarist, bassists, and drummer rocked.

I haven't discovered H.I.M until after the Scream works album. I always wanted to see H.I.M and I had to go to their farewell tour. This was my first and last time seeing them. I can only hope 1 person out of the band goes sole.

Oh my gosh amazing. Just go. Last chance to dance and it was awesome. Love the smaller venue shows because it's like you're right there with them. Plus, got to see the Linde guitar faces he makes. Made my year.

I love this band so much. Im beyond happy that I got to see them one last time. I wish the very best for each member as they start another chapter in there lives. I will always love this band. HIM fan forever.

HIM is my childhood. My biggest regret is not seeing them live when I had the chance. I've everything crossed they reform for one last hurrah! Doesn't matter the continent I'm there this one last time.

Denver Co. 10/29/17. The band was tight Ville was also singing good. First 2 songs. Then the mic.problems there was no sound. It was inexcusable the sound guy should be fired.

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Ville Valo Tickets

Ville valo concert tickets.

Get Ville Valo tickets now to see an amazing performance live by a great entertainer. Pop-Rock music has an emphasis on recording craft and songwriting and not as much emphasis on attitude. Beginning in the 1950s as an alternative to rock and roll, early iterations of pop-rock were influenced by doo-wop and rock-and-roll arrangements and styles. Many traditionalists prefer rock and roll to the more slick, commercial production of pop-rock. 

Some refer to the music as power pop with a similar sound and lyrical content. Pop-rock music has been very commercially successful using elements of rock music. Many describe it as an upbeat variety of rock music. The term pop comes from the early twentieth century referring to popular music. In the 1950s, it began to be referred to as a specific genre typically aimed at youth and young adults. It is frequently characterized as a softer alternative to rock and roll. Get your Ville Valo tickets today!

How much are Ville Valo tickets?

The average price of a Ville Valo concert ticket is around $97 per ticket. If you’re looking for cheap Ville Valo tickets, you’ll find better prices for cheap tickets in the upper levels furthest from the stage. Discount tickets that are farthest from the stage will typically be under $49. If you are looking for premium seating or VIP tickets, you can expect to pay over $150 per ticket in most cases.

When do Ville Valo tickets go on sale?

Typically, Ville Valo concert tour tickets go on sale 4-6 months prior to the performance and sometimes even a year in advance. Once the tour dates and concert schedule is announced, you can check our event calendar to find your perfect date and venue. Ville Valo concert tickets will typically be available within 24-48 hours of a tour announcement. There is never a need for a presale code. Why wait for the public on sale when you can secure your seats today.

Ville Valo 2024 Tour Dates

Ville Valo tour dates vary from year to year. In most cases, tours tend to be 6-12 months but can extend over multiple years especially if it is a final tour. Ville Valo concert schedule will typically have 25-50 tour dates.

There also can be a performance at music festivals across the country including Coachella , Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo Music Festival. Bonnaroo is held in Manchester, Tennessee. Coachella is held at Empire Polo Fields in Indio, California and Lollapalooza in the United States is held at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois. It's easy to find seats to Ville Valo tour when you shop with us. Shopping with TicketSmarter even makes it easier to get into the venue. Our mobile transfer Ville Valo tour tickets let you skip past the box office line and head right for your seats.

Songs from the Ville Valo Tour Setlist

Ville Valo's setlist while performing in London , ENG at “Royal Albert Hall” included the following songs:

• Zener Solitaire
• Right Here in My Arms
• Run Away From the Sun
• Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly
• Salute the Sanguine
• The Kiss of Dawn
• Loveletting
• Buried Alive by Love
• Heartful of Ghosts
• Join Me in Death
• The Foreverlost
• The Funeral of Hearts
• Echolocate Your Love
• Poison Girl
• Saturnine Saturnalia
• Gone With the Sin
• In Trenodia
• Killing Loneliness
• Baby Lacrimarium
• When Love and Death Embrace

Source: Setlist.fm

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Ville Valo Concert Setlists & Tour Dates

Vv / neon noir tour 2024 tour, ville valo at royal albert hall, london, england.

• Zener Solitaire
• Right Here in My Arms
• Run Away From the Sun
• Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly
• Salute the Sanguine
• The Kiss of Dawn
• Loveletting
• Buried Alive by Love
• Heartful of Ghosts
• Join Me in Death
• The Foreverlost
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Ville Valo at Poppodium 013, Tilburg, Netherlands

• The Funeral of Hearts

Ville Valo at Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, Belgium

Ville valo at schlachthof, wiesbaden, germany, ville valo at haus auensee, leipzig, germany.

• Echolocate Your Love

Ville Valo at Aladin, Bremen, Germany

• Gone With the Sin
• In Trenodia

Ville Valo at Amager Bio, Copenhagen, Denmark

• Poison Girl
• Killing Loneliness

Ville Valo at Berns, Stockholm, Sweden

Ville valo at rockefeller music hall, oslo, norway, ville valo at pustervik, gothenburg, sweden.

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Most played songs

• Echolocate Your Love ( 146 )
• Right Here in My Arms ( 146 )
• Buried Alive by Love ( 145 )
• Neon Noir ( 145 )
• Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly ( 145 )

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Nobody has covered a song of Ville Valo yet. Have you seen someone covering Ville Valo? Add or edit the setlist and help improving our statistics!

Artists covered

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936 people have seen Ville Valo live.

steveoramone partynauseous poek666 Dronesound Loveyourself Gematria MorganGD Nogli cosmiceres SamOut leylaluvz OliveOne ThorstenK chigs86 LondonInT3rror SwissShimmies technobisto qbone smyxrs donnamk anavk BevShaw rjh351 fionachaolc havgan89 miniqued george27cKy Capnpadfoot SlowDecades HelsinkiValo sunbound camillespectrae Sharon_I PsychoBram wintersun dilona tragicsupergirl sereavd SandraWolvekamp Nuithari Redblaster ballvallo deyoeri Georg mgstr-mundi-xum schnellowicz Jenni91lpu lichttraeger DawiLDanger gratefulbears

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“I am in the Gene Simmons business. I am the biggest fan of Gene Simmons”: Happy 75th birthday to Gene Simmons, Kiss bassist and unrepentant asshole

Self-confessed “asshole”, politically incorrect philanderer, money-obsessed businessman, rock superstar – god bless Gene Simmons

When Kiss bassist and co-vocalist Gene Simmons released his second solo album in 2004, he had no qualms about titling it Asshole. As Classic Rock found out when we spoke to the God Of Thunder around the album’s release, it was a description he was more than happy with.

Gene Simmons is the biggest asshole in the world. Not only does he freely admit it, he’s also inordinately proud of the accolade. It’s easy to see why Simmons became one of the most successful rock stars ever. With Kiss, he made some of the most popular rock music of the past three decades. We know this because Gene wheels out the statistics in every interview he does – including this one. A strange by-product of his stardom is that he has become far more attractive to the opposite sex than his modest looks would usually warrant. But then Simmons has charisma and money (and hence power), and of course he flaunts both at every available opportunity.

When it comes to interviewing the Kiss bassist/vocalist, you rarely know what you’ll get from him or what he’ll be like. I’ve spoken to him on a few occasions, and it all seems to be down to pot luck. The first time was in 1984. The magazine I worked for then wanted him to review the now-classic rockumentary movie (This Is) Spinal Tap for them. Simmons did so with incredible bad grace, commenting huffily that the film was “too close to home” in many respects.

But then almost a decade later, in San Francisco, he was friendliness personified – even showing an unexpected capacity for self-ridicule: during a discussion about bootleg records, he explained that he preferred audience recordings to those from the soundboard/mixing desk “because they have more atmosphere. You hear the kid next to the person who taped it saying stuff like: ‘Wow, didn’t Gene Simmons get fat?!’”

If we were at all cynical, then Simmons’s camaraderie might have been due to the predicament Kiss were in at the time. Keen to make a clean break from what he termed the “pop crap” that they had been releasing (“Kiss dozed off in the eighties,” concurred guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley ), the group were at a crisis point in their glittering career.

Today, with Kiss having firmly re-established their place among the most profitable touring acts on the planet, any such charm offensive is unnecessary. During my 45 minutes with him at London’s plush St Martin’s Lane Hotel, Simmons comes across as conceited, opinionated, smug, boorish, opportunistic and, yes, more than just a little bit misogynistic. He is eminently quotable, but there’s something sleazy about the man. He’s amicable enough – to another male. But Simmons appears to take enormous delight in interrupting the interview to verbally lambast a female member of his entourage who has inadvertently incurred his wrath.

Gene Simmons once again has a firm agenda. And he takes some distracting from it. He’s in the UK on a flying visit to promote Asshole , his second solo album. Although not without its embarrassing moments ( Beautiful , Now That You’re Gone and especially 1,000 Dreams ), it’s a respectable enough rock album that benefits from being more focused than 1978’s mostly risible Gene Simmons effort.

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Like its predecessor – which contained a mere handful of worthwhile tracks ( Radioactive , Burning Up With Fever and Man Of 1,000 Faces ) and an all-star cast that included Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen, Cher, Donna Summer, Bob Seger and Steely Dan/Doobie Brothers guitarist Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter – Asshole owes a significant debt to the ‘outsiders’ who contributed to it. Black Tongue was co-written with the late Frank Zappa , and Waiting For The Morning Light’ with Bob Dylan. Ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers and current Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro plays on a “cutting edge” version of The Prodigy’s Firestarter , and ex-Poison guitarist Richie Kotzen plays a bit part, as do former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick and current Kiss drummer Eric Singer.

As ever with Simmons and Kiss, there are a number of rumours that need to be addressed. The first is that the leaking of the title Asshole was a publicity stunt, and that the record is actually called something else.

“The album is definitely called Asshole , and I’ll tell you why,” Simmons begins. “It’s because people have called me an asshole for many years now. They say: ‘Gene Simmons has got so many girls and so many dollars, that guy’s a real asshole’.Translated in cockney: ‘I want to be Gene Simmons’. It either means that, or a term of affection for your friend, as in: ‘Come over here and meet Bob, he’s a real asshole’. It’s a word that’s always fascinated me.”

If your album is indeed to be called Asshole , monitors of the Trades Descriptions Act cannot possibly object.

Absolutely. I am an asshole. You know what an asshole is? It’s someone who tells the truth. You will always get further in life with lies, and by telling people exactly what they want to hear, but I’ve always been brutally honest. The reason it’s such a great title is that even The Pope has an asshole.

In fact I’m gonna be throwing asshole parties. Kiss is going back out on tour – we’re engaged on an endless tour. We did sixty shows with Aerosmith, which could’ve been [2003’s] number-one tour had we played a hundred, and we’ll be going to Australia, Japan and America from May to October. On every night that Kiss doesn’t play a concert I’ll be throwing an asshole party. And since I am the biggest asshole in the world I will be the one that determines who can or cannot attend. If you do get in, you will

officially be an asshole – I will give you a certificate to prove it. If you’re walking down the street and somebody says: ‘What are you, some kind of asshole?’, you can reply that yes indeed, that’s exactly what you are.

And yet you didn’t write the song Asshole yourself.

No. I bought it from a Norwegian group called Shirley’s Temple. I rearranged it, Pro-Tooled it, added some extra stuff, but took no writing credit. I didn’t feel that would’ve been fair.

What was it like to sit down with Bob Dylan and write Waiting For The Morning Light ?

Nine years ago I called up Bob and said: ‘Hi, it’s Gene – the guy that sticks his tongue out’. He replied [in an accurate Dylan drawl]: ‘Hi. How you doing, Mister Kiss?’. He came over to my house, we sat and traded some guitar licks. He tends to play unusual chords. I expected I’d come up with the melody and that Bob would write the lyric, but the opposite happened. We had something inside a half hour. But I’d been trying to get him to write the words ever since.

You can’t hurry Bob Dylan.

He kept saying: ‘No, Mister Kiss, you do it’. And I’d like to thank him for pushing me, otherwise the song would still be incomplete. Apparently the song has the thumbs-up from the BBC. And it’s gratifying at this late date for anyone to give a crack about what I do.

A guy like me should have nothing to complain about. In England, Kiss and Gene Simmons never matched the heights we reached around the world. Everywhere else we walk on water. Kiss is America’s number-one gold-record award-winning group of all time. Only The Beatles and The Rolling Stones have more gold records. In England we do okay – just okay. We’ve had a few hits, but by and large Kiss is known as the big band from the other side of the Atlantic. That’s interesting, because we’re such Anglophiles.

I’ve yet to hear your version of The Prodigy’s Firestarter but I must admit the phrase ‘Whitney dressed up as Britney’ springs to mind.

That doesn’t apply. And I don’t care if it’s what you think. Kiss is supposed to be a meat-and-potatoes band of bass, guitar and drums, and yet when we go against the grain with a dance song [ I Was Made For Loving You in 1979] it becomes our biggest hit; the same with a ballad that has no guitars [1976’s Beth ].

The whole Whitney and Britney thing [pauses]… it’s about the fact that rules are made to be broken. My observation is that if you do so, you actually get bigger. For instance, Blur were a synth band until Song 2 made me go and buy their album. They went against the grain of who they were, and they exploded. My taste is actually very eclectic. I love all kinds of artists, from Patsy Cline to The Beatles, from Motown to Hoobastank.

Why did you choose that particular Prodigy song?

It was suggested by my partner at Sanctuary [Records], Merck [Mercuriadis], and I always liked the original. Even Smack My Bitch Up . I didn’t get their whole cockney thing, to me it sounded like Japanese. No matter how many words you use to describe Gene Simmons doing Firestarter , you’ll like it or you won’t. Dave Navarro’s all over it, and we even toyed with having Justin of The Darkness on there but we ran out of time.

Dweezil Zappa, Frank’s son, plays guitar on Black Tongue , the song you wrote with his late father.

The Zappa family – Gail [his widow], Ahmet [son], Moon [Unit, daughter] and Dweezil – sang the choruses with me, and we used a recording of Frank’s voice and some lead guitar licks from the original piece of music. I also played bass and sang lead – writing the lyric in the studio.

The timing of a song that has a chorus of ‘Weapons of mass destruction’ is rather apt.

It was written and recorded before America went off to Iraq. After President Bush began to use the term over and over again it became a cliché. I always thought the words had that vulgar display of power. Lyrically I’ve always been fascinated by a big, shadowy, all-powerful figure, whether it’s Beelzebub or the Devil.

Simmons and Stanley are the metal equivalent of Lennon and McCartney. Discuss.

[In Spinal Tap cockney voice] I never thought we were metal, so it’s a short discussion. We’ve always had too many choruses and harmonies, and we never sang about elves and dragons. We were always more influenced by bands like Slade.

In the first days of $immons Records, you bought the copyright to the US dollar symbol. Do you still own it?

The money bag? Oh yeah. It’s the logo for the label, my clothing line and my book-publishing company.

You’ve spoken quite disparagingly about finding fresh talent for the newly revamped $immons Records. Is that still the case?

[Nodding wearily] There’s horrible stuff out there. I am signing one act, a multi-instrumentalist named Bag. He’s a one-man band from Canada. Writes, sings and produces all his own stuff. But it’s a horrible time. People are detuning their guitars just because they think they have to. HIM are very interesting, and I’m crazy about their name. The kid [singer Ville Valo] looks good, too. I also like Jet. But bands like that are becoming fewer and further between. Bands are afraid of being tough and retaining their melody. My suggestion is that they pull out some old Led Zeppelin or Who records and listen to the guv’nors.

Next year you plan to release a 100-song boxed set of unreleased solo material.

That’s true. It’s been twenty-six years between solo records, and I write so much material. Every time we do a Kiss record, I write and fully demo twenty to thirty songs, using perhaps four or five of them. Sweet & Dirty Love [the opening track on Asshole ] was written in 1978. I don’t throw anything away. Some stand the test of time, some don’t.

Speaking of which, when you appeared on MTV’s Cribs your house looked less like a home and more like a supermarket full of Kiss merchandise. Wasn’t that rather silly?

No. I love what I do. I’m very proud of Kiss, and it shocks me that other bands don’t collect themselves. I’m in the Gene Simmons business, and I am the biggest fan of Gene Simmons. I work very hard, even though I don’t look at it as a job, and I collect everything I’m involved in. Does that make me self-centred? You’re goddamn right. Who else am I gonna be the biggest fan of but myself? My house is a museum, and when you walk in you see everything from condoms to caskets [coffins]. At the start people used to say it was stupid, now they just go: ‘Wow’. I believe they also used to say the Earth was flat?

Your magazine, Gene Simmons Tongue , has been placed on ‘indefinite hold’. Can you explain what’s going on there?

Oh, it will be back. But right now if you go to www.genesimmons.com you’ll see I’m developing real estate in China; we have a fifty five-storey building, a one-square-mile shopping mall that’s underground and a twenty-mile-long beach resort. There’s so much going on. I’m buying a DVD manufacturing plant in Korea, and starting a film company called Sanctuary Pictures Television – no relation [to the record label] – and a television company that goes on the air at the end of the summer. There’s also my book-publishing company and $immons Records. …Tongue was an awfully good magazine, and we did five issues, but there just isn’t enough time.

When Kiss first toured Germany you had to modify the shape of the band’s logo so that the final two letters didn’t look like you were affiliated to the German SS. As a Jew yourself, surely that’s something you should’ve spotted before?

No. [Semi-sarcastically] It was clearly a lightning bolt. My mother was in a concentration camp, so I’d be the last one in the world to push that imagery. It was never intended.

You say you’ve slept with 4,600 women.

That’s not true. I didn’t sleep with all of them. Sleeping had very little the fuck to do with anything.

Okay, you claim to have had sex with that number. What does Shannon Tweed, your long-time partner…

[Interrupts] I don’t want a partner. That word implies that somebody is fifty per cent yours.

Well she’s also the mother of your children, Sophie and Nicholas. What does she think of such blatancy?

The thing about Shannon Tweed, who I’ve been very happily unmarried to for twenty years, is that she doesn’t play the female bullshit game. The female of the species only makes one or two eggs, while, as you know, the male manufactures billions of sperm. She doesn’t have the mind-set of: ‘He’s a catch, I’m gonna get my claws into him’. There are no male equivalents of the descriptions of how to get a female: ‘She’s a catch, I’m gonna catch her’. Men don’t do that. But for a female the goal is to capture a male, domesticate him and own him. Shannon doesn’t play that game, because very early on I told her – and the world – what type of a guy I am; animals piss on the ground to stake their territory. I’ve also stayed true to who I am. The rest of the world can go fuck itself for all I care. The only person I am answerable to is the one that gave me life itself: my mother.

Could you live with the situation if it were the other way around? Shannon’s a good-looking lady, how would you feel if she did the same with men?

The answer is yes, and I’ll tell you why. It’s not a case of whether I could live with it, but that I’d have to. You’re right, she’s a gorgeous thing. And regardless of whether or not you’re married and think you’re in a monogamous relationship or not, people will always go out and do whatever they hell they want anyway. You’re either faced with torturing yourself, torturing the other person, or lying. You may as well just live life and realise that some things are beyond your control, just let it go – these things really don’t matter.

Here in London, relationships seem to be based on where you’re going, who you’ve been with and what time you’re coming home. Let’s say you’re on a tropical island, like in the movie Swept Away . A couple – a bum and a high-class woman – find themselves away from civilisation, and all the laws of society go out the window. It’s all about survival. He’s horny, she’s horny, so they fuck. And everybody’s alive for another day.

So to you there’s no such thing as a love cheat?

No. The male of the species who has multiple partners is doing exactly what the blueprint is telling him to do. The only trouble with women is that they believe all the millions of sperm that the men produce are exclusively for them. And they’re wrong.

Whatever happened to the so-called ‘Kissettes’, the group of young American girls who used to follow the band around Europe?

As a matter of fact I saw one of them recently. She now has her own public relations company and has turned into a beautiful woman.

The Kissettes were originally four girls who were outside the hall when Eric Carr first joined Kiss [in 1980] with a petition. They were trying to prevent us from playing with Eric because Peter Criss was no longer in the band. But when they saw the new line-up they followed us to every show. The point is that fans do these things from their hearts, but they’re really not qualified to know the root of the problem.

Talking of which, Eric Singer has again become Kiss’s drummer, but Peter Criss insists that he received no formal notice of his contract not being renewed. As an original member, wasn’t Criss owed at least a phone call?

You’re assuming all sorts of things with that question. The God’s honest truth is that Peter’s press release is full of lies. We still love Peter, and during our sixty shows with Aerosmith he played pretty good. He played the drums well enough, but weakly. His stamina was gone, he was having B12 shots and had to submerge his arm in ice water at least every alternate day. In front of everybody he kept saying: ‘That’s it, it’s my last tour. I can’t physically take it any more’. We waited for the longest time for him to make his mind up – the lawyers even have records of the telephone calls – but no matter how many times we called we never heard back.

Twenty years ago I started saying in interviews: Peter Criss and Ace Frehley were drug addicts, but that Paul and I loved them and wanted them to stop using the stuff. The fans were absolutely furious. We were so un-rock’n’roll, we were sons of bitches. But it was called tough love. These people were losers, but it was like your father being a drunken bum – your mother would’ve been right to say it in front of the children. If somebody cries wolf once, twice or even three times, well… don’t always

blame the messenger.

So the contents of Peter’s recent press release were completely without foundation?

[Nodding] What a shame that he had to send it out. I hope that he never touches drink or drugs again. I only wish Peter happiness, and if he feels any better for making Paul and I sound like the bad guys in all of this then fine, I’m the one that made Peter so weak he couldn’t play any more. I fully accept the blame.

One of the apocryphal Kiss rumours is that Peter Criss was never a good percussionist, and that live you used drum tracks all along. True or false?

Completely false. We never used drum tapes, so help me God on the life of my son. As I said earlier, the tendency in life is to say what people want to hear. But remember, I’m an asshole so I’m telling you the truth.

Another much-loved former Kiss member, guitarist Ace Frehley, is following you into the movies by appearing in Remedy , a ‘darkly comic film noir’.

Yes, I saw that. And God bless him. I wish him all the happiness in the world, like the fans.

Any advice for Ace?

Stop drinking and getting high. The rest is easy.

I meant acting advice.

Well if he does that then the rest will follow. Stop it, Ace, and stand like a man. He has to stand up and say, I am a drug addict – and say it for the rest of his life.

According to reports coming from New York that’s exactly what he’s doing.

Yes. But in order to start on the road back he needs to acknowledge not ‘I was a drug addict’, but ‘I will be a drug addict every day until I’m a hundred’. If you don’t hear yourself say it you’ll never be cured.

You have a ‘new’ Ace Frehley in the band, Tommy Thayer, who looks exactly like the old Ace. Will you one day also decide to trade yourself in for a newer Simmons model?

As the days go by it’s quite possible. All the rules I’ve ever made for myself have been based on life as I know it. Lennon may have said it best – life is actually what happens to you while you’re busy making plans. When you were eight years old and finding out about sex: ‘You want me to put what where?! Oh, that’s disgusting, and I’ll never do it’. It’s only later on that it doesn’t get so disgusting any more.

So it a realistic possibility that you’ll phase yourself out of Kiss?

Why not? Just because it hasn’t happened yet, that doesn’t mean that it won’t ever.

On the subject of Kiss’s highly lucrative ‘farewell’ tour [which began in 2000] , did you feel you were shortchanging people who’d paid to see a bit of history?

Do you envisage Kiss ever calling it a day?

One-word answers, huh?

Well the answer to the second one has to be yes. At some point I’m gonna die. But do I think it will happen while I still have some dignity left? No. Or when I quit will I still look good? No. You’re gonna have to drag me kicking and screaming off that stage, because I love it too much. We definitely plan to outstay our welcome.

Even some of your fellow musicians have got in on the act of bitching about Kiss. Hanoi Rocks frontman Michael Monroe recently said: “Gene Simmons is the most conceited, fat, chauvinist pig I’ve ever encountered…”

[Interrupting] True.

But there’s more: “He probably has a ‘small-weenie complex’ based on his obvious need to constantly brag about how many groupie idiots he has ‘conquered’.”

It’s quite true. I’m hung like a second-grader. By the way who is Michael Monroe? Is he any relation to Marilyn? As a matter of fact, for a short time we were actually thinking of taking Hanoi Rocks out with us on the forthcoming tour. It’s a fun band.

But not any more?

No. I don’t care about people saying things like that – I’ve been in a band with Ace and Peter. Part of doing press is to say crazy things. Where would we be without Ace Frehley, Axl Rose and Courtney Love? You have to be completely insane to do this. If the world were just full of people like Gene Simmons, all anybody would ever do is brag about how much pussy they get.

Speaking about the farewell Kiss tour, Ginger of The Wildhearts recently said: “The levels that Kiss will plummet to disgrace themselves are still being mined. Kiss do not possess souls, instead they have tiny bank managers that control the host from within. Kiss are a disgrace”.

[Quizzically] The Wildhearts. I have some of their records, and I like them. They’re that band of drunks, aren’t they?

You could say that. But do you have any reaction to Ginger’s comment?

Of course, what he says is completely true. The only postscript that I could add to that is that Gene Simmons has a hundred million dollars, and Ginger doesn’t.

Originally published in Classic Rock issue 68

Dave Ling was a co-founder of Classic Rock magazine. His words have appeared in a variety of music publications, including RAW, Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Prog, Rock Candy, Fireworks and Sounds. Dave’s life was shaped in 1974 through the purchase of a copy of Sweet’s album ‘Sweet Fanny Adams’, along with early gig experiences from Status Quo, Rush, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Yes and Queen. As a lifelong season ticket holder of Crystal Palace FC, he is completely incapable of uttering the word ‘Br***ton’.

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