KISS keen to play AFL grand final after Crowded House reportedly pulls out
By Nell Geraets
Glam metal band KISS has said they are ready and able to rock out at the AFL grand final half-time entertainment show if the league decides to consider them.
The US band – which consists of founding members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, as well as Tommy Thayer (guitar) and Eric Singer (drums) – expressed interest in taking on the MCG after Crowded House reportedly pulled out on Monday, just 54 days before the show. The AFL had never announced Crowded House would perform.
Paul Stanley on stage with KISS, the band he co-founded in 1973.Credit: Supplied
KISS’ Australian tour promoter, Andrew McManus, said he called the band as soon as rumours of their Melbourne appearance began swirling.
“I wanted to make sure they were 1) into it and 2) available to come to Australia four to five days earlier. The answer to both was yes,” McManus said. “The public is crazy about the idea of KISS. The amount of people that have called me – the KISS Army, the fans – since the rumours started, it just makes sense.”
However, the AFL is yet to make contact, McManus said.
“The pre-match entertainment for the 2023 AFL grand final will be announced in September,” a league spokesman said when asked about a potential KISS appearance.
Known for hits such as I Was Made for Loving You and Rock and Roll All Nite and their distinct stage make-up and costumes, the Rock N Roll Hall of Famers have released 44 albums throughout their career, 30 of which have reached gold status. They are scheduled to perform their farewell Australian show at Sydney’s Accor Stadium on October 7 – just a week after the grand final.
If the league decides to offer the band the opportunity to perform, McManus said they would need to change flights to ensure they are in Melbourne in time for the rehearsals.
“There would be a bit of work to be done,” he said. “KISS is rock ’n’ roll theatre. When we move, we move with 60 trucks ... If we were to do it, we would want to do it as a spectacle and leave everyone gobsmacked. Paul [Stanley] is already thinking about how he’d arrive at the stage. They’re pretty excited by it.”
A grand final appearance would be KISS’ final Melbourne show, as they complete their Final Curtain global tour. The Sydney leg of the tour was inspired by a national petition, which KISS fans created to encourage the glam rockers to return Down Under one last time.
However, McManus said the band would be happy to make an exception for Melbourne – a place they consider their “heartland”.
“It would be an absolute mind-blowing show,” McManus said. “Paul Stanley [could be] flying from the Grand Stand, zip-lining to the middle of the stage and doing I Was Made for Lovin’ You and then into Rock and Roll All Day [changed from the original lyric, “night”, to account for the afternoon show]. All the pyros going off and flames and explosions. Absolute spectacle.”
Last year’s grand final famously featured Robbie Williams, who delivered a flashy performance in a hot-pink suit. McManus said the AFL “raised the bar” with the UK rocker and that KISS would be the perfect follow-up to keep the momentum rolling.
“Robbie Williams is a KISS fan, so the synergy is there,” he said. “The opportunity is there for the AFL, and I’m more than happy now that I know that the band is available and excited by the prospect of having the conversation.”
Robbie Williams wowed the audience at last year’s AFL grand final half-time show.Credit: Scott Barbour
KISS’ first tour in Melbourne was in 1980, when they played at Waverley Park – a venue originally built for VFL games and now Hawthorn’s training ground.
Throughout their almost 50-year career, they performed in the 1999 Super Bowl pre-game show, the 2002 Winter Olympics closing ceremony and made multiple special appearances in the adult animation Family Guy. The legendary rockers will bid fans farewell in their final-ever performance at Madison Square Garden in New York City on December 2.
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