Didn’t get to see Kiss play live? Another opportunity will be yours soon (Picture: Britta Pedersen/EPA/Shutterstock)
Kiss is back and better than ever – so much better, in fact, they require a brand new arena ‘built specifically’ for their latest show.
After retiring their live performances in December with an iconic goodbye at New York’s Madison Square Garden, the Grammy-nominated rock band surprised fans by announcing they are returning to the stage – sort of.
With the help of hologram technology, the group – made up of Tommy Thayer, 63, Eric Singer, 66, Paul Stanley, 72 and Gene Simmons, 74 – revealed they are getting ready to debut digital versions of themselves in their heyday, with a show inspired by Abba’s own holographic performance.
However, there appears to be a rock block in their plans: a venue.
With the upcoming act taking on relatively new territory, the band reportedly requires a space ‘built specially’ for the concert. Thayer revealed that Kiss has not yet decided on the venue’s location.
Appearing at the Keep Memory Alive annual Power of Love gala in Las Vegas earlier this month, the guitarist told fans: ‘A show like this needs a theatre which is built specifically for the show, so we have to decide where it’s going to be. And there’s considerations about New York, Singapore, Dubai, London of course, but Las Vegas as well is a strong contender.
Will Kiss base their show in Sin City, London, New York, Singapore or Dubai? No one knows (Picture: KISS / Instagram)
‘And I’m a big fan of Las Vegas. This is where I live. So I can see something like that possibly happening here, but we’ll just have to wait and see.’’And I’m a big fan of Las Vegas. This is where I live. So I can see something like that possibly happening here, but we’ll just have to wait and see.’
Simmons also discussed the band’s latest career move in January. While attending a Q+A at the Electric Lady Studios in New York, he told one fan, ‘There’s so much being planned, even beyond my comprehension. But they’re spending, oh, about $200 million (£157.3m) to take it to the next level.’
The Sun has reported the band has received multiple offers from Las Vegas casinos and is understood to be very close to making a deal.
The hologram avatars look so real you’ll have to do a double take
Due to the nature of the show, the band is understood to be collaborating with Pophouse Entertainment Group, the production company that manages ABBA’s London hologram concert.
Rolling Stone reported the band sold their music catalogue, trademark and face paint designs for a rumoured $300m (£235.8m) pending regulatory approval to the Bjorn Ulvaeus-founded company. It is understood that in addition to their hologram show, a Netflix biopic is in the works.
Pophouse has also acquired Cyndi Lauper’s music catalogue.
Abba – made up of Benny Andersson, 77, Agnetha Fältskog, 74, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, 78, and Ulvaeus, 79 – debuted their hologram show, Abba Voyage, in 2022.
Get ready to rock in a way you’ve never experienced before – unless you attended Abba Voyage (Picture: Daniel Dal Zennaro/EPA/Shutterstock)
The 90-minute show, which takes place at the purpose-built Abba Arena in London, generated more than a million ticket sales and is estimated to have invested more than £322m in the British economy.
Metro.co.uk’s review of Abba Voyage stated it was a ‘pop spectacle’ that ‘delivers a serotonin boost like you wouldn’t believe’.
News of Kiss’s latest venture was first announced at the band’s final live show on December 3 last year. A few weeks later, a teaser trailer was released on their YouTube channel, revealing the holographic tour will begin in 2027.
A 24-second video titled ’50 years is a long time, and what the future holds is in the making’ included snippets of fans and the band discussing Kiss’s impact and concluded with the band stating: ‘We can live on eternally.’
The group previously revealed they decided to cease live performances and quit while they could still deliver their physically demanding show.