In a revealing interview with MusicRadar, former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley shared the harrowing details of a near-death experience during a 1976 concert in Lakeland, Florida, which later inspired one of the band's classic songs.
Frehley, who was a founding member of KISS from 1973 to 1982 and returned from 1996 to 2002, described how a severe electric shock nearly claimed his life during a performance. While standing atop four Marshall cabinets on a staircase, he was electrocuted due to a faulty ground connection that had electrified the stair rail.
"I should have been dead that night," Frehley recalled. "The fact that I got electrocuted and didn't fall forward was a godsend. There must have been angels pushing me back."
The weight of his Les Paul guitar should have pulled him forward, potentially causing fatal injuries, but mysteriously, he fell backward instead. The road crew quickly pulled him to safety. Despite losing feeling in his hands for several minutes, Frehley remarkably finished the show with only partial sensation in his fingers.
This near-fatal incident became the inspiration for the song "Shock Me," which appeared on KISS's 1977 album "Love Gun" and marked Frehley's debut as lead vocalist for the band.
The interview also revealed other dangerous moments from Frehley's time with KISS, including incidents with his famous rocket-firing guitar. He once nearly hit bandmate Gene Simmons with a rocket, and in another incident, a prematurely igniting smoke bomb burned his leg when it melted through his asbestos-containing costume.
Reflecting on his career, Frehley emphasized the spontaneous nature of his performances and songwriting: "All the stuff I've done was not contrived or remotely premeditated. It was always spontaneous. That's just how I am."