“There’s No Way To Give That Up”: Paul Stanley Opens up on His Struggles Coming to Terms With KISS’ Retirement

Since helping form the band during the 1970s, Paul Stanley watched as KISS took over the world. Looking back on the band, KISS sold over 100 million albums, and besides touring the world, entertaining fans, and capitalizing on the band’s success, KISS ended up in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Absolutely thrilled about what the band accomplished on and off the stage, Paul Stanley recently shared how “disoriented” he felt when taking the stage for the last time. 

Now that the lights are off and KISS is no longer touring, members like Stanley have a great deal of time on their hands. The band still works on their highly-anticipated return with digital versions of themselves, but when speaking on the Rock of Nations With Dave Kinchen & Shane McEachern podcast, the singer admitted, “There’s no way to give that up and not feel a sense of, if not lost, kind of disoriented.” He continued, “It was time [for Kiss to stop touring], and intellectually it made sense, but that doesn’t mean that emotionally, it doesn’t play a part in it. So, yeah, being home, as I am right now, is normal. What’s not normal is I’m not going back out.”

[RELATED: Bruce Kulick Confused Why KISS Didn’t Celebrate Band’s Rich History During Final Concert at Madison Square Garden]

A New Era Of KISS Kicking Off In 2027

Again, Stanley insisted there is still a great deal of work ahead of KISS. “Kiss remains. We’re so involved in what’s going on now and the future and this phenomenal, mind-boggling Kiss avatar show. But, yeah, to not be up there — I see video from 10 months ago, 11 months ago, and it almost seems like a lifetime ago, because I’ve kind of come to grips with not doing that again. … Star Child is forever — but me up there, that’s done.”

Coming to terms with the end of KISS, Stanley concluded, “I think that we’ve all earned the right, and always have the right, to decide what we do and for how long. An audience has a right to stop coming. But the rest is up to the individual.” 

Somewhat enjoying the time off, KISS will return to the stage as digital versions of the band. First revealed back in December 2023, Gene Simmons and the rest of the band praised the technology behind the avatars and promised to showcase a new era of KISS in 2027. 

(Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation)