KISS unofficial portraits photo book coming from Rufus Publications
02-02-2023
Rufus Publications has announced the second book in a new series of black-and-white titles called “Portraits”. The second book features KISS on their amazing rise during the Seventies.
“Portraits Of Kiss” takes us on an incredible, photographic journey from the band’s first proper tour in 1974 up until the “Unmasked” tour finishing in 1980. The book draws on a huge range of images from legendary photographers, including Fin Costello, Ross Halfin, Chris Walter, Michael Putland and Adrian Boot. Each image has been specially treated and prepared for the black and white printing process.
The book is 230mm square, casebound, 240 pages, printed on luxury 170gsm matt coated paper. The book comes with a fold-out poster and is presented in a black slipcase with a gold foil logo. The main edition comes in 666 numbered copies. In addition to this a much larger, ultra-limited leather and metal edition measuring 375mm square and presented in recycled leather and a hand welded aluminum metal slipcase is also being prepared in a run length of just 50 numbered copies. This will sell for £500 and comes with a copy of the standard edition plus a limited-edition Ross Halfin print. Kerrang!‘s founding editor and Sounds writer Geoff Barton has written the books accompanying text.
The new “Portraits” series will comprise beautiful 230mm square books, each presented in a slipcase, and will feature a range of artistes. Each title will be created using the work of a main photographer associated with the artiste, plus supplementary imagery to complement the main images. The books are printed and bound in the U.K. and presented in a luxury, foiled slipcase. The books are not signed but will be numbered and will come with an exclusive poster or print.
“Portraits” will grow into a series of limited-edition books released across the year and will be produced in a limited, worldwide run of 666 numbered unofficial books. They will sell from £55 plus shipping.
KISS‘s current lineup consists of original members Stanley and Simmons, alongside later band additions, guitarist Tommy Thayer (since 2002) and drummer Eric Singer (on and off since 1991).
Formed in 1973 by Stanley, Simmons, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, KISS staged its first “farewell” tour in 2000, the last to feature the group’s original lineup.
In a recent interview with Yahoo! entertainment music editor Lyndsey Parker, Stanley touched upon the fact that the “End Of The Road” tour was originally scheduled to conclude in July 2021. He said: “This tour, interestingly, seems to go on forever. That’s because we lost two years to COVID. People go, ‘Oh my God. This tour…’ Well, yeah, there’s two years that didn’t count. And it’s a big world. So, there’ve been some countries that I thought we were finished with, and the fans and the promoters wanted us to come back. So we have shows to do.
“The end is in sight — more so than some people know,” Stanley confirmed. “But we’ll have an announcement about that in the not-too-distant future.”
Asked if the KISS farewell tour will end with the band’s July 15 performance in Norway, which is the last listed tour date on the official KISS web site, Paul said, “It would only make sense for us to play the States, and I think it would make sense that we would end where we started,” strongly hinting that the final concert will take place in New York City.
As for whether he thinks it will be emotional for him to play the final KISS show, Paul said: “More so than I know. There’s gonna be some tears shed, for sure.
“You’ve gotta remember that Gene and I started this together when I was 17 and he was 20, 21. It’s 50 years later. We’ve lived pretty interesting lives, and we have families and children and huge sales in terms of albums and concerts. So it’s a big part of who we are; it’s a big part of our lives. So, that final show, yeah, that’s momentous. And it’s gonna hit harder than I think we know. And we know it’s gonna hit hard.”
Asked whether the last concert of KISS‘s “End Of The Road” tour will truly mark the band’s final performance or if there is a chance of one-off shows or a Las Vegas residency in the future, Stanley said: “I really can’t say. But it is the last of any kind of regular shows or touring.
“It’s just time,” he explained. “And in the same way, it’s time consuming. And physically, it’s grueling to do what we do. Hell, if I could go out on stage in my jeans and a t-shirt, give us another 10, 15 years easily. But what we do is a whole different sport. I mean, we’re athletes; we’re running around on stage with 30, 40, pounds of gear, and it’s not possible to do it that much longer. So we’re not like other bands.
“So, will we do more shows or one-offs? I really have no idea,” Paul admitted. “But this is a real clear mindset that the touring days and doing those kind of shows, that’s over.”
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