Kiss man Stanley slams parade organisers

Kiss mainman Paul Stanley says the band were “screwed over” by the organisers of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

They appeared at the annual cavalcade in New York last Thursday miming the track Rock And Roll All Nite on the back of a float. And although Stanley doesn’t go into much detail, he’s furious at event organisers about the performance.

He says on Twitter: “Bluntly, we were screwed over and misled by the exec in charge. We all deserved better.”

Bassist Gene Simmons toned down his stage antics for the family friendly event – a decision he says was intentional.

He tells the New York Post: “I was proud to be a part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. My tongue is God-given. As regards the parade, my intention was to be tongue in cheek. Mostly, I kept it in my cheek.

Macy’s issued a statement following Stanley’s tweet insisting there were “no restrictions placed on the Kiss appearance.” It continued: “Their performance was the highlight of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade’s live broadcast which captured the very best of this legendary group.”

The band recently wrapped up a mammoth North American tour with Def Leppard and will return to the UK to headline the Download festival next year.

Stanley said: “Download has become a tradition of stature that separates the pretenders from the contenders and the champs from the chimps. It will be an honour to take the turf and lave no doubt why we wear the crown.”

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Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.