Fans will once again be able to buy tickets to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, but the group with perhaps the most fan-based induction in the institution's history will not perform. KISS gave a statement on its website saying it wouldn't play at the ceremony, but it wasn't meant as a slight to the Hall, which some have complained was unfair in its long holdout without including the band. KISS has undergone several lineup shuffles, and the band said it would be unfair to label any one lineup the most relevant. To avoid stepping on any toes, no version of the band will perform.
Most of the controversy revolved around whether original guitarist Ace Frehley and original drummer Peter Criss would be invited to perform with Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, who have always been with the group. Many fans consider the original lineup to be its best, or most sacred. Simmons and Stanley didn't want to steal credit from longtime bandmates Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer, as well as other variations of the group.
"Our intention was to celebrate the entire history of KISS and give credit to all members, including longtime present members Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer, and additionally Bruce Kulick and Eric Carr all who have made this band what it is, regardless of the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame's point of view," read the statement from KISS. "Although KISS has moved forward far longer without them, Ace and Peter are at the very foundation of what we have built and this would all be impossible had they not been a part of it in the beginning."
That doesn't mean things are friendly between Simmons, Stanley and their former cohorts however. Frehley has claimed Simmons rejected the idea of the original group reuniting for the show, and Criss warned fans not to buy the event's expensive tickets if they hoped to see the original group reunited. Neither of the former founding members have declared whether they'll be in attendance.
