Paul Stanley of KISS Shares Tour Update After Serious Case of the Flu: 'I Was Wondering If It Was My Time'
The KISS bandleader answered questions in a pre-show Q&A on Saturday in Indianapolis
Paul Stanley is on the mend after canceling three of KISS' last eight shows on the band's End of the Road farewell tour.
"Toronto And Ottawa… I’ve done everything possible to get onstage and be a part of the incredible 2 1/2 hour celebration we planned but this flu has made it impossible. I along with Gene, Tommy and Eric couldn’t be more disappointed and send our deepest apologies," Stanley posted on KISS' Facebook page on Wednesday.
The KISS bandleader, 71, opened up about his recent illness and his return to the stage during a pre-show soundcheck Q&A on Saturday in Indianapolis.
Dressed in an all black ensemble, Stanley took the stage at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse — in-between performing songs with KISS' founding member Gene Simmons and current bandmates Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer — to answer questions and discuss his recent illness, which prompted him and the band to cancel three recent shows in Ottawa, Ontario on Nov. 21, Toronto on Nov. 22 and Knoxville, Tennessee on Nov. 24.
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“I’ve done shows with cracked ribs, I’ve done shows with a 102 [degree] fever,” Stanley said in a fan-recorded video on YouTube, before saying that the flu had him seriously questioning his health: "I was wondering if it was my time."
But Stanley reassured the crowd that he was feeling better.
“I’m here and it’s awesome," he said.
Since the End of the Road World Tour's launch in January 2019, KISS has played concerts across North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia.
KISS is set to wrap the tour with two dates at New York City's Madison Square Garden on Dec. 1 and 2.
According to a press release, the band chose N.Y.C. for its "final shows ever" in honor of their roots, as they first joined together as a group in the city in the 1970s.
"KISS was born in New York City. On 23rd Street. Half a century ago," the band shared in a press statement. "It will be a privilege and an honor to finish touring at Madison Square Garden, 10 blocks and 50 years from where we first started."
The End of the Road tour, however, might not be the end of live performances for KISS. Band members have expressed they may still be open to one-off concerts, festivals or a Las Vegas residency.
In a July 2022 interview with Chaoszine, singer and bassist Simmons, 74, shared that the band was enjoying touring so much — then on the second European leg of the tour — that they wanted to add "another 100 cities."
When asked when he thinks they will retire, Simmons said he wasn't sure.
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"We've never retired before. This is our first time. It's like painting a painting or writing a book. When somebody says, 'When is it gonna be finished?' You're in the middle of it; you don't know," he said.
He said that the band was "happy" to keep going.
"The crew is happy. Everybody's happy," he said at the time. "So we've decided to add another 100 cities before we stop. I don't know how long that's gonna take."
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