Gene Simmons has confirmed a KISS farewell tour is on the way

UPDATE 20/09/18: KISS have formally announced their farewell tour.

18 years after KISS’ first farewell tour, bassist Gene Simmons has confirmed that the end of the band is on the way, admitting that the group “can’t keep doing this forever.”

A couple of months ago, we noted how a US trademark application had been made under KISS’ name for the phrase ‘The End Of The Road,’ indicating that Gene Simmons’ previous comments about the band breaking up may have been right on the money.

Now, speaking to Chicago’s Sun Times, Gene Simmons has admitted that the group’s farewell tour might be coming sooner than you think.

“There will be [a farewell tour] at some point,” Simmons admitted. “We can’t keep doing this forever. We are the hardest-working band in show business. If [Mick] Jagger stepped into my Dragon Boots he couldn’t last a half hour.”

Gene Simmons went on to note that the group “doesn’t want to stay on stage a day longer than when we feel valid. … Remember we introduced ourselves as ‘When you wanted the best you got the best, the hottest band in the world.’ Not we ‘used to be’ the best.”

Blabbermouth have also noted that despite Simmons’ penchant for trademarking almost everything, he reportedly had no involvement in the application to trademark ‘The End Of The Road.’ “I had nothing to do with that,” he said at the time. “I really don’t know who stuck it on there, and I don’t know if it’s a fan or somebody in the band. I would tell you the truth. I literally don’t know anything about it.”

However, it soon came to light that it was actually Paul Stanley who had made the application. “It’s not the first trademark that’s been filed. I thought it was a terrific name, and I was surprised nobody had used it before,” Stanley explained. “I wanted to make sure that when we used it, and there will be a time that we do, I imagine – I wanted to be sure that we own it and it’s ours.”

“When it’s my time, I want to go out in style, and I want to go out guns blazing. So, when I came up with this idea, I thought let’s make sure we tie this up.”

Some folks might remember how back in 2000, KISS began what was supposed to be their final tour before they would break up, with the tour serving as a way to “put KISS out of its misery”. Following 142 shows over the course of 13 months, the band played their last show in Canberra in March of 2001, before announcing in 2002 that they weren’t actually retiring.

In the meantime though, there’s bound to be a mini KISS reunion of sorts when Ace Frehley supports Gene Simmons on his upcoming Aussie tour this August.

As to whether or not we’ll be seeing a (legitimate) farewell tour from KISS remains to be seen, but at this stage, it seems as though we’re getting closer and closer to one of rock’s most theatrical bands calling it quits for good.