KISS farewell! Gene Simmons bracing himself to cry ‘like 9-year-old girl’ when his band finish touring for good

2 March 2023

Gene Simmons is bracing himself to cry “like a nine-year-old girl” when KISS finish their farewell tour.

Gene Simmons is bracing himself to cry ‘like a nine-year-old girl’ when KISS finish their farewell tour

The rock veteran, 73, has been with the group since its 1973 formation, and spoke about how he won’t be able to hold back his grief it is wrapping up after the group announced the dates for their farewell tour in North America, which will end with a two-night stand at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on December 1-2.

Gene told Howard Stern, 69, on Wednesday: “I kid around a lot, (saying), ‘Men don’t (cry.)’

“I’m sure I’ll cry like a nine-year-old girl whose foot’s being stepped on (when we finish)… look, some people have kind of snickered and said, ‘Oh this ‘End of the Road Tour’ has gone on for years,’ yeah, we lost two-and-a-half years to Covid.

“We would’ve been done already.

“So, yes, this is the end. When you come to see the show, it’s awesome. It’s the most high-tech show out there and yet it’s clearly a kick-a** rock ’n’ roll show. “It’s not Vegas. It’s not something that loses its b**** so to speak. It’s everything KISS just amped up and ramped up, so, look, we’re giving it everything we have.”

Gene and co-founder Paul Stanley, 71, are the oldest members of the glam-rock group, which also features lead guitarist Tommy Thayer, 62, and 64-year-old drummer Eric Singer.

The Grammy-nominated band will start their 19-date final leg of ‘The End of the Road Tour’ on October 29 at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, and before finishing up for good in New York.

They will also play California, Washington, Canada, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois and Maryland.

Its members are nicknamed Demon, Starchild, Spaceman, and Catman, and they released their 20th and final studio album ‘Monster’ in 2012.

The band has sold more than 100 million albums and they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.

It said in a statement: “KISS was born in New York City. On 23rd Street. Half a century ago. It will be a privilege and honour to finish touring at Madison Square Garden, 10 blocks and 50 years from where we first started.”

The group are also playing a final UK tour, which will kick off at Plymouth Argyle's Home Park Stadium on Saturday June 3, before heading to Birmingham, Newcastle, Manchester, Glasgow and London’s O2 arena.