Kiss has officially announced the first leg of their “End of the Road World Tour”, which they say will be their last ever. The band’s current lineup features original members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons as well as Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer. After a 45-year career, the band’s initial retirement announcement was made on an episode of NBC’s America’s Got Talent after performing their hit “Detroit Rock City” to open the show’s season finale.
The first leg of Kiss’s “End of the Road World Tour” will span from January 31st through July 16th, 2019 across two continents, with stops in North America, the U.K., Europe, and Russia. The original announcement stated that their final shows will be part of a multi-year “End of the Road” world tour, so stay tuned for more announcements. Pre-sale tickets will open up tomorrow at 10 a.m. local time, with a general on-sale this Friday, November 2nd. Head to the band’s website for more information.
Kiss expressed in a press statement:
All that we have built and all that we have conquered over the past four decades could never have happened without the millions of people worldwide who’ve filled clubs, arenas and stadiums over those years. This will be the ultimate celebration for those who’ve seen us and a last chance for those who haven’t. KISS Army, we’re saying goodbye on our final tour with our biggest show yet and we’ll go out the same way we came in… Unapologetic and Unstoppable.
Don’t forget, though, that this is actually the second time that Kiss has called it quits. The band had their first “farewell tour” in 2000 and 2001. As Rolling Stone previously pointed out, bassist Gene Simmons said in 2000, “There just aren’t any more mountains to climb. We want to go out in style with the people that put us here, the fans.” While band members returned to the road a mere two years later under the Kiss moniker, that was the final tour that featured all four original members.
In 2002, guitarist Paul Stanley said: “People change their minds, and in this case that goes along with being a living, thinking person. What one says one day with total commitment may at another time turn out not to be so. Am I doing this for the money or the fans? Both, and let’s not forget I’m doing this for me.”
The four original members, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley, appeared together in 2014 for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, though they did not perform together.
However, Stanley seems to think a real reunion is not out of the question. As Consequence of Sound reminds us, Stanley recently said, “This will be a celebration of KISS and not any individual lineup or any individual members. I wouldn’t rule anything out.”
For more information on the upcoming “End of the Road World Tour”, head to Kiss’s official website.
Kiss End of the Road Tour Announcement Video
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