Gene Simmons Falls Ill Onstage at KISS Concert

By Stephen Andrew

Gene Simmons recently fell ill onstage at a KISS concert. PEOPLE reports that footage surfaced online this week, showing Simmons' fellow bandmate Paul Stanley stopping a performance in Manaus, Brazil due to the band's bassist not feeling well. "Hold on, hold on," Stanley is heard telling the audience in fan-filmed footage from the concert. "We're gonna have to stop."

"We know how much you love Gene, and he's obviously sick. We're gonna have to stop to take care of him, because we love him, right?" Stanley went on to "Let's give Gene a really loud, 'Gene!' One, two, three – Gene!" According to the outlet, it's reported that the show stopped for about five minutes. Eventually, Simmons returned to the stage and joined the rest of the band for "Say Yeah," a track off KISS' 2009 album Sonic Boom.

KISS was founded by Simmons on vocals/bass and Stanley on vocals/rhythm guitar in 1973, with Ace Frehley joining as lead guitar and Peter Criss playing drums. Frehley and Criss have exited and returned to the band throughout the years, but neither are currently in the band. KISS has written and recorded 20 studio albums — not counting the four solo albums each member recorded in 1978 — since their self-titled debut in 1974, with the most recent being 2012s Monster.

As of 2018, KISS had sold roughly 75 million albums worldwide, making them one of the highest-selling rock bands of all time. The band has also delivered more than three dozen tours since its inception. The End of the Road World Tour, which they have been on for a few years — due to having to take a break caused by the Covid-19 pandemic — marks KISS' 35th overall tour.

Back in 2019, Stanley spoke with AZ Central about the band's final tour and shared that he was very excited to kick it off. "It's like I'm getting ready to go to the biggest party ever," he told the outlet. "It's a celebration and a time for both the band and the fans to congregate and acknowledge what we created together. Stanley added, "If anybody needs a validation or justification for their love of the band, this tour is it. And we're so lucky to be able to, on our terms, decide that this will be the last tour." Based on the tour dates listed on their website, it appears that KISS has resumed the tour.

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