Original Kiss drummer Peter Criss recently reflected on the monumental 1996 reunion tour that brought the group’s foundational four members back together in full makeup.
During a conversation with Meltdown on Detroit’s WRIF radio station, the musician detailed the period leading up to the historic run, beginning with his and original guitarist Ace Frehley‘s surprise appearance at the August 1995 taping of the Kiss MTV Unplugged special.
At the time, both the former members and the active lineup of Kiss were experiencing significant career slumps.
“We were on a tour, on our own tour, Ace and I. It was called the ‘Bad Boys Tour‘. And so we were touring together. And it was hard times. We weren’t playing stadiums. We were playing, like, 500 seaters, and we were missing it — we were really missing the life. And they [the then-lineup of Kiss], too, weren’t doing great. They were playing these conventions — they were playing Kiss conventions — so they were also not in the position where they used to love to be in that position,” Peter explained (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
The drummer recalled the immediate chemistry and business potential that surfaced during the “MTV Unplugged” rehearsals.
“And so we got together and rehearsed. I looked at Gene‘s [Simmons, Kiss bassist/vocalist] eyes, and all I saw was ‘ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching’ rolling around in his eyeballs, when I did ‘Hard Luck Woman‘, and I went, ‘I got a vibe here.’ And I realized we still sounded amazing — we still sounded so good. The magic was still there,” he continued.
The reaction from the audience at the taping further solidified the demand for a full reunion.
“And I remember the funny thing is when we were [playing at the ‘MTV Unplugged‘ event], [fans] were booing [then-Kiss drummer] Eric [Singer] and [then-Kiss guitarist] Bruce [Kulick]. And Ace was, like, ‘Ah, shut up. They’re part of the family.’ And the fans, all of sudden, didn’t want them guys; they wanted the [original] band back.”
Shortly after the acoustic performance, the official call came to launch a massive global trek.
“And then two weeks later I was on tour with my band in Canada somewhere, and I got a call from [Kiss‘ longtime manager] Doc McGhee, and he said, ‘We wanna put the [original] band back. We wanna go back out on a reunion tour. I already know for a fact you already sold out two years, and it’s gonna be around the world twice. [You’ll travel in a] jet, all the perks, all the good stuff.’ And I said, ‘You’re kidding me.'”
Preparing for the grueling schedule required intense physical and musical retraining.
“So I had to work hard. I had to relearn all the Kiss stuff that I hadn’t played in 17 years. I would get up in the morning and go to the gym. We took it real serious, so I had to go to the gym every day to get in shape again, which I was in shape, but really get in shape,” he noted.
Peter continued: “I would go and have a drum coach. We’d work out for an hour. Then we’d go to rehearsal. And then I’d go home and watch old Kiss movies, like back-in-the-day stuff to relearn kind of the movements and the way we were on stage. So it was a lot of work, man. But it was worth it.”
The effort culminated in a massive press conference aboard the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier, marking their official return.
“And when we finally were getting ready to do it, we looked in the mirror the day we went on the [USS] Intrepid [aircraft carrier] to announce it [at a press conference], it was like time stood still. We looked the same. It looked like we were ageless. We still looked like [we were] in our twenties. And we just looked at one another and said, ‘This is gonna be so good.’ And we got on the Intrepid, and there was a million photographers from all over the world snapping pictures. And we just knew we were gonna be on the ride of our life.”
Peter Criss remained with the reunited group for another eight years, participating in the Psycho Circus album and subsequent tours before ultimately departing again in 2004, at which point Eric Singer permanently resumed drumming duties.
“And then it again got crazy, as it always does in bands — sometimes you can’t change the spots on a leopard, especially with certain members of the band — and so Ace and I kind of ducked out again and said, ‘I just don’t want a part of this anymore.’ But for those eight years with the ‘Psycho Circus‘ tour and the other stuff and all, it was good. It was good. It was [Kiss being] back in stadiums.”
Peter Criss originally left Kiss in 1980. Beyond his drumming contributions, he provided lead vocals on several of the band’s most recognizable tracks, including “Beth“, “Black Diamond“, and “Hard Luck Woman“. He last appeared publicly with all three other original members during their 2014 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, although the quartet did not perform. Late last year, he, Paul Stanley, and Gene Simmons received a Kennedy Center Honor at a December 07, 2025 ceremony.
In December, Peter Criss released a new solo album, self-titled Peter Criss. The record was co-produced by Barry Pointer and features guest musicians including bassists Billy Sheehan and Matthew Montgomery (Piggy D.), guitarists John 5 and Mike McLaughlin, and pianist Paul Shaffer, along with backing vocalists Dennis Collins, Sharon Collins, and Cat Manning.
