Last Friday was Comic Relief here in the UK, a great charity that helps worthwhile projects in both Africa and the UK. Myself and my team at work decided to make an effort this year dressing as IT Geeks led by... Gene Simmons! It was a 6AM start for me to get the make-up & outfit sorted along with a very strange journey to work with a lot of confused/scared pedestrians. It was well worth it though, Gene and his geeks prowled the office collecting money, selling cakes, shaving heads & waxing legs and made a massive £850 ($1300)! A brilliant effort from a brilliant team, apart from freaking most of them out by being in character all day I’m pretty sure they enjoyed working for Gene...

Paul, Editor kissinuk.com

LETTERS

Check out these great KISS tattoos spotted during KISS' Australian MONSTER Tour.


_{Photos by Keith Leroux for KISSONLINE.}

John Varvatos is showing some real fashion sense, by dressing up as a mysterious masked man.

John sent me these photos. And I suppose I will have to send him some of me…hopefully, not with farm animals…


And, here's how John tells it:

"Halloween, 2012. It was a 1930s themed party. I won a prize most irrelevant. That said, I had all the chicks hanging all over me. And behind the makeup. I was Gene. It was a great night."

By Fallon Hudson
Photo by Lee Constable

THEY descended like gods from above.

Surrounded by a cloudy orange hue, KISS landed in Mackay at Virgin Australia Stadium.

Their nostalgic supernova outfits glistened in the lights as they stood on a metal platform with guitars and drumsticks in hand.

On Saturday night American rock legends KISS left thousands of audience members in awe of their showmanship and theatrical pyrotechnic performance.

The highly anticipated concert proved that Mackay is more than capable and worthy of hosting a concert of international calibre.

While on stage lead singer Paul Stanley told the audience they had played all over Australia during their Monster Tour.

"We have played the big cities and we were asked why on earth would you play Mackay?

"I said Mackay is going to show you that size doesn't matter."

The crowd erupted in whistles and applause as KISS began to Shout it Out Loud.

Sir,

This is a photo of myself (on the right) with Qahar Behzad, a young Afghan artist. I met him while I am in Afghanistan assisting with the training of police officers. Such a talented young man capable of many styles of painting.

I commissioned a work of art that I knew Qahar could do, but hadn't done before. After providing a photo of what I wanted and discussing what style of painting for him to do, it turned into a KISStory lesson with more photos and music played!

Pictured here is what your classic boots look through this artist's eyes and I am quite impressed! It might be possible that I have planted a KISS seed that could develop into another branch of the KISS Army!

Sincerely,

Randy Duke

Here's KISS rockin' Virgin Stadium in Mackay, Australia last night.

Pictures by Daryl Wright.

CLICK HERE to view the Courier Mail's KISS Concert Photo Gallery

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

By Justin Edwards

The best & most kickass horror t-shirt company around, Fright-Rags, is paying tribute to some horror & rock icons with their new Limited Edition t-shirts. Inspired by KISS’ platinum selling album Destroyer, KILL has Freddy, Chucky, Jason, & Leatherface striking a killer pose thank to Jason Edmiston’s equally killer art!

Story by Pam frost
Photo by Lee Constable

MACKAY residents and businesses are getting into the KISS spirit as the town prepares for this weekend's concert.

Ticket sales were on track to break the record for the biggest concert held in Mackay, MECC manager Mark Fawcett said.

A couple of hundred tickets are still available but Mr Fawcett is urging people not to leave their ticket purchases to the last minute to avoid long line-ups at the gate.

"We'd like it to be easier for people to get into the stadium on the night," he said. "If we have to sell tickets as well as get people in, it really gets congested."

Residents and businesses are making the most out of the concert that will rock Mackay.

Caneland Central's JB Hi Fi has embraced the KISS spirit with a display of posters, KISS CDs and even some old vinyl records, which sold out.

Myrtle Beach has dinosaurs, pirates and jungles on its many mini-golf courses, but only Las Vegas has KISS® By Monster Mini Golf®, a playable tribute to America's favorite costumed rock n' roll band. The standalone fun center includes 18-holes of indoor glow-in-the-dark mini golf, with a pervasive KISS theme that includes giant guitars, an animated replica of the band, and even a 12-foot high Gene Simmons head that you putt into! You can take souvenir photos in KISS concert regalia, and the facility also features arcade games, a large Gallery/Museum devoted to, you guessed it, KISS, a KISS gift shop, KISS-themed event/private party rooms, and the "Hotter Than Hell" Wedding Chapel for ultimate fan nuptials! Open 10AM-Midnight daily.

Here's the Sydney KISS Army at Allphones Arena.


_{Photos by Soni Giles and Keith Leroux for KISSONLINE.}

Here's KISS and the Brisbane KISS Army in the packed Brisbane Entertainment Centre last night.


_{Photo by Dean Snowden for KISSONLINE.}

_{Photos by Keith Leroux for KISSONLINE.}

Excerpted from a review by Adam Lewis

CLICK HERE to view KISS Sydney Photo Gallery

ADAM LEWIS ventures to Sydney’s Olympic Park to discover what happens when you put two of the world’s most decadent rock ‘n’ roll bands in a room together. Photos by DEXTER CORNELIUS.

A six-year-old Gene Simmons picks at nuggets outside the Olympic Park McDonalds. A procession of balding Paul Stanleys in polo shirts trudge from the train to the arena, several metres ahead of an attractive female Eric Singer. Inside the stadium nature has called, and a middle-aged Tommy Thayer awkwardly deconstructs his elaborate spaceman costume in the middle of the bathroom.

KISS are almost as famous for their fans as they are for their music, a fact that becomes exceedingly obvious before the Lidcombe-Olympic Park train even reaches the station. Entire families are decked out in the band’s signature makeup, and KISS shirts are everywhere. If they aren’t the most popular band in the world, a couple of hours among their fans certainly makes them feel like the biggest.

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

Check out Gene Simmons in The Competition -The Biggest Celebrities Competition in the Universe.

Get ready for The Biggest Artists Competition in the Universe - a parody that gives "Voice" to the false "Idols" who "Think They Can Dance." After watching a bunch of no-name contestants on singing and dancing shows, the biggest celebrities in the universe now want to take a shot alongside the "regular" people. So big that it's not even reality television anymore, it's surreality television. Warning: the show isn't for those with weak hearts who can't handle laughing for 22 straight minutes.

Excerpted from review by Michael Dwyer
Photos: Wayne Taylor

KISS's sound was impressive and their stunts slick; the blood spitting, fire breathing, rocket launching and hydraulic platform pieces as cleanly executed as Tommy Thayer's precision guitar work. Stanley's flying-fox spin to the back of the hall during Love Gun was thematically mystifying but positively balletic in execution.

With Detroit Rock City, Shout It Out Loud and Rock and Roll All Nite stuffed down their tights and a brave smattering of newer material equally tautly served, they managed to honour the rock'n'roll soldiers in their daft circus act.