Kiss’s stage performances in the ’70s were packed with gimmicks, making it hard for fans to step away for a “bathroom break.”
One of their most iconic acts was Gene Simmons’s fire breathing, a trademark the band maintained even during their non-makeup era.
In a recent interview on Steve-O’s Wild Ride!, Paul Stanley shared the story behind Simmons’s fire-breathing stunt. The idea came from their manager, Bill Aucoin.
Stanley recalled, “We went up to Bill’s office, our manager’s office. And we’re not much more than kids, and we walk into Bill’s office, and there’s a guy there that we don’t know.
And Bill goes, ‘This is Amaze-o the Magician,’ or something. And we’re like, ‘OK.’”
Stanley continued, “The guy blows this big fireball out of his mouth and scorches the ceiling, and Bill says, ‘Who wants to do it?’
I go, ‘Not me!’ God bless Gene, he goes, ‘I’ll do it.’ And that was the start of the fire breathing.”
Fans have often speculated about the substance Simmons used to create his impressive fireballs.
Stanley humorously revealed the secret: “He was using lamp oil, kerosene, all kinds of things that are good for you.
I mean, you don’t have to swallow it, because just by the fact that you have absorbing tissue, it’s going into your body.
You don’t have to take a swig of it; it’s going. So luckily, Gene never grew a third head… or even a second head.”
Simmons had his share of fire-breathing mishaps over the years, particularly early in Kiss’s career when his hair would occasionally catch fire. Fortunately, he always escaped serious injury.
