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Gene Simmons has wished fellow KISS cofounder Ace Frehley a happy birthday and again invited him to perform with Kiss during its 'End of the Road' farewell tour.
"Happy birthday, Ace. And many more," the bassist wrote via Twitter. "The invitations still stand. Jump up onstage with us for encores. The fans would love it."
Simmons, frontman Paul Stanley and longtime Kiss manager Doc McGhee have repeatedly invited Frehley and original Kiss drummer Peter Criss to rejoin the band on a part-time or special guest basis on its farewell tour.
Frehley, who has remained active as a solo artist, has flatly declined the summons, stating that he would not perform with Kiss as anything less than a full member of the band. Criss, who retired in 2017, has been loath to comment publicly on Kiss's requests.
For Kiss fans holding out hope for a reunion, there are reasons for both optimism and pessimism.
On the one hand, Criss and Frehley, in general, do not appear to be on good terms with Simmons and Stanley. Despite Criss retirement, Stanley has continued to bash him publicly when given an opening.
In his 2019 book, Backstage Pass, Stanley wrote that Criss had no life and was "consumed by some kind of reality that his wife tells him. He's always been negative and always maintained an us-against-them mentality.
Frehley has had ups and downs with Simmons and Stanley in recent years. He's worked with both on his recent solo albums and even toured alongside Simmons in 2018. But his relationship with his former bandmates seemed to deteriorate after Kiss announced the 'End of the Road' tour.
In early-2019, Frehley publicly accused Simmons of groping his wife, Rachel Gordon, and said he talked her out of suing Simmons for the incident. Shortly thereafter, Gordon related a wild story claiming that Kiss tried to have Frehley murdered in the '70s because they wanted him out of the band.
Despite that episode, Frehley reached out to his former bandmates during the pandemic to smooth things over and make sure they were doing okay during the shutdowns.
Both Frehley and Criss declined to participate in Kiss's A&E biography, Kisstory, over disagreements about payment and editing rights. However, the two are set to reunite in about a month at 'Creatures Fest' in Nashville, Tennessee.
Criss is said to be coming out of retirement to perform with Frehley during the May 27 show, a move that could be interpreted as a first step towards a return to an arena stage.