Ace Frehley, lead guitarist and co-founder of KISS, has died aged 74, following injuries suffered during a fall in his recording studio last month. The Spaceman passed, according to a statement from his family, on Thursday in a New Jersey hospital.
“We are completely devastated and heartbroken,” Frehley’s family said. “In his last moments, we were fortunate enough to have been able to surround him with loving, caring, peaceful words, thoughts, prayers and intentions as he left this earth.
“We cherish all of his finest memories, his laughter, and celebrate his strengths and kindness that he bestowed upon others.
“The magnitude of his passing is of epic proportions and beyond comprehension. Reflecting on all of his incredible life achievements, Ace’s memory will continue to live on forever.”
Space Ace performed on the first nine KISS albums, and when the band released their solo albums on the same day in 1978, it was Ace Frehley’s that sold the best. His cover of Russ Ballard’s song, New York Groove, became a hit.
After leaving Kiss in 1982, Frehley formed his own band, Frehley’s Comet, and released two albums with the group. After leaving KISS in 1982, Frehley formed his own band, Frehley’s Comet, and released two albums with the group.
Replacing Frehley in Kiss proved to be a more difficult task than expected, with MetalTalk’s Chris Dale covered in two articles here and here. “It’s the Summer of 1982,” Chris wrote, “Ace Frehley has (secretly) quit KISS and the band is trying to (secretly) replace him by checking out what seems to have been every guitarist in the known world at the time.”
Ace Frehley rejoined Kiss when the original members reunited in 1996 for a hugely successful tour, and stayed until 2002.
In recent times, Ace Frehley looked happy on stage, bringing the heat to Stage 954 The Casino, Dania Beach, Florida in February 2025 on his 10,000 Volts tour.
Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons expressed their devastation as news broke. “He was an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history,” they said. “He is and will always be a part of Kiss’s legacy.”
Ace Frehley is survived by his wife, Jeanette, and daughter Monique.
