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The countdown is well and truly on for KISS to arrive in Newcastle for the first time ever this October. The Newcastle Live office has been abuzz with some wacky and weird facts about one of the biggest rock bands of all time, here’s our Top 5…

1 – WITHOUT KISS, THERE WOULDN’T BE DAVE GROHL

On April 29 this year The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) hosted its 32nd annual Awards in LA. ASCAP bestowed its highest honor, the ASCAP Founders Award, on rock heroes KISS.  Grammy Award-winning musician, singer-songwriter and producer Dave Grohl presented the award and said that if it wasn’t for the group KISS, fronted by Gene Simmons & Paul Stanley, he may never have pursued his dream of rock stardom.

The singer can clearly remember his first KISS album, 1976’s Destroyer, and shared his experience with the audience.

‘With nuclear anticipation, I let the needle drop on that legendary intro to Detroit Rock City, perhaps the greatest introduction to any rock & roll album ever recorded,’ he recalled. ‘It filled my speakers and my imagination. Thirty-four minutes later and 27 seconds later, KISS had filled my soul. I was now a member of the infamous KISS Army.”

2 – THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS FRONT MAN WAS BORN DEAF

In his memoir, “Face The Music: A Life Exposed,” Paul Stanley revealed that he was born with only one ear. Due to a congenital deformity called microtia, Stanley was deaf on the right side, developing only a stump of cartilage, with no direct path to the inner workings of the ear.  Paul was bullied as a kid and only had reconstructive surgery as an adult.  Imagine being the kid who bullied Paul Stanley….don’t you feel stupid now? Paul does a lot of work with childrens’ charities and it’s something he is passionate about.

3 – GENE SIMMONS’ MOUTH COULD BURN YOU FROM 15FT AWAY

Gene Simmons is one of the world’s top fire breathers. The bassist’s fire-spitting is a KISS stunt, but Simmons is actually good at it. He’s reached 15ft. Not as good as the 2011 world record held by American Antonio Restivo of 26 ft 5 inches, but still pretty impressive. You have to wonder if the famous tongue helps or hurts in that department?

4 –  THE KISS OF APPROVAL ON PRODUCTS THAT WILL TAKE YOU FROM CRADLE TO GRAVE (LITERALLY)

For 40 years, KISS have remained one of the biggest bands in the world, but KISS is also a brand, with members of this iconic make-up clad crew giving their seal of approval on countless items including KISS Kondoms (tongue lubricated according to the wrapper), Wine, Rubix Cube with the bands faces, bike shorts and cheques. Our personal favourite – in 2001 they made 2500 limited-edition signed coffins which would set you back a cool $5k. Dimebag Darrell of Pantera was buried in a KISS Kasket in 2004.

5 – ARACHNOPHOBS STAY AWAY  – THE KISS SPIDER WILL SCARE YOUR SOCKS OFF!

KISS are renowned for putting on a spectacular stage show and the Spider Tour will be bigger than anything we have seen. The spider concept came from Paul Stanley. He did a basic sketch of a monster above the stage that tied in with the 2012 ‘Monster’ album. A 3D cad drawing was produced that was sent to a specialist rigging company in Las Vegas, who worked on how to build it, hang it and move it.

It is shipped in 16 x 48’ semi trailers. Total weight of the show is 43,500 kgs. There are 220 automated lights.  A grid is suspended by 96 motors. There are 38 computer controlled winches built in to the grid above the stage which enable the spider to move up and down like a big puppet.

The KISS spider show uses 900 pieces of Pyrotechnics, 20 Flame machines and 300kgs of dry ice. There is more than 30km of cable and at 6000 amps there is enough power to run a small town.  400,000 watts of sound, a 64’ x32’ video wall at the rear of the stage and over 60 touring staff and over 100 local staff to build the show. Now that is a stage show!

To celebrate KISS’ first ever show in Newcastle, we’re giving away an amazing limited edition merch pack which is just about as wacky as the band themselves! The prize pack is a KISS collector’s dream, and includes a Paul Stanley Destroyer Model Kit (still in original plastic!) and an Anime KISS bar runner (artwork pictured below). To enter the draw, check out the post our Facebook page – Good luck!

KISS will hit Newcastle Entertainment Centre on Monday 12 October. If you haven’t snapped up your tickets yet, now’s the time! Limited tickets are still left available via Ticketek.

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