Kiss vocalist and bassist was touched by AC/DC’s delicate financial situation and took them on a large American tour
THE Kiss his path crossed with that of several bands that would become big in the future. In addition to Gene Simmons being credited as the “discoverer” of Van Halennames like Rush, Iron Maiden, Bon Jovi, Rammstein and AC/DCamong several others, opened shows for the masked group when they were still looking for their respective places in the sun.
The case of the last name mentioned, in particular, is somewhat curious. Simmons claims to have met the group, formed in Australia, when its members were experiencing financial difficulties — largely due to their failure to establish a loyal audience in the United States despite several attempts. This happened in the mid-1970s, before the consecration with albums like Powerage (1978) and Highway to Hell (1979).
Seeing quality in his colleagues’ work, Gene brought them to open part of the tour he promoted Alive II (1977), Masked’s second live album. In an interview with Adam Carolla (via Ultimate Guitar), the vocalist and bassist recalled the first occasion he watched — and was impressed by — the band led by the guitarist brothers Angus and Malcolm Youngat the Troubadour, in Los Angeles.
After the show, Simmons took the group out for lunch at a restaurant called Ben Frank’s. There, he noticed something that surprised him: the talented Angus Youngwho moments before had mesmerized the audience with furious solos, was missing his front teeth.
“He looks at the waitress and says, ‘I’d like hot dogs and beans.’ And he adds: ‘without the bread’. I ask: ‘you mean… the hot dog bun?’. And I’ll never forget when the order arrived, immediately, in front of the other people, he picked up the hot dog, opened his mouth and started chewing on the side because there were no teeth in the front. It was unbelievable.”
Sensitized, the Kiss singer and bassist decided that he would help AC/DC from that moment on. The idea was to make the Australian band more popular in the United States — which worked.
“I told him right then and there, ‘You’re going to go on tour with us. The rest of the country doesn’t know who you are. You guys need to go on tour.’ We took them and every night they played their hearts out, as if it was the only chance of their lives. We had to come out and say, ‘OK, we can’t do our show just for the sake of it.’ We had to dedicate ourselves, because that band had come out and burned down the stage.”
Paul Stanley also loves AC/DC
Gene Simmons is not the only member of Kiss to publicly show respect for AC/DC. In a 2023 interview with Classic Rock (via Igor Miranda website), the guitarist and also vocalist Paul Stanley praised the group formed in Australia.
“AC/DC is the real deal and I knew it from the first time I saw them at the Whiskey a Go Go in Los Angeles in the mid-seventies. They were brave and the adrenaline level was crazy. The amount of energy Angus was expending on stage was incomprehensible.”
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Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
