Many incredible bands were formed in the 1970s, in a wave heavily influenced by Led Zeppelin. Queen was one of them, but they also added their own flavor to their music, creating a distinctive sound through the chemistry between Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Kiss, a very different band, particularly when it came to their image, was also inspired by the British band and rose to fame around the same time as Queen. Over the decades, guitarist Brian May has given his opinion on many bands from that era, including KISS.
What is Brian May’s opinion on Kiss
“I like KISS a lot. Queen were often compared to KISS at the time. We were sort of counterparts. They were the American version and we were the English version. I think we went into it with slightly different ideas. KISS came more from a presentation view to begin with and moved more toward the musical. I think we probably started in the musical and worked more toward the presentation. I have a great regard for KISS ’cause it’s all-out. They just had their vision, they had their dream, and they damn well went for it,” Brian May said in an interview for the book “KISS: Behind The Mask again“.
Both bands got their record deals quite close to each, with Queen having released their debut album in 1973 and Kiss in 1974. The band’s co-founder, guitarist and singer Paul Stanley, once revealed that May already told him that his favorite song by the band was “Crazy Crazy Nights”, from the “Crazy Nights”, released in 1987.
He said:
“It’s a simple, celebratory song. One of my issues with an album like ‘Carnival of Souls’ was the idea that we needed to do an album that was kinda morose and down: I was thinking ‘What do we have to be morose or down about? We’re wealthy, we’re happy, we’re healthy…we’re in Kiss!’ So, Crazy Nights is a celebration, a song about standing up for who you are, and understanding that you’re not alone, that there are many like you.”
“We played a TV show a number of years ago with Queen and Brian (May) came over and said ‘Are you going to play Crazy Crazy Nights? Because that’s my favourite song.’ That was very funny to hear from him. It’s a good song, a proud song. There’s a difference between trying to be anthemic and pandering, and I don’t think Kiss ever try to ingratiate ourselves,” Paul told Classic Rock in 2015.
Brian and Stanley had the chance to see each other many times over the years, most recently in 2024, when they attended the ABBA Voyage show in London on the same day. On his social media, Paul posted a photo of the two and said: “What A Terrific Surprise! I ran into Brian May at the @abbavoyage show in London. We had lots to catch up on. Brian is brilliant on so many levels and a true gentleman. The ABBA show is fantastic and the people there had the time of their lives!”
Bruce Kulick said that Brian May told him he liked his guitar solo on “Crazy Nights”
The former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick, who was a member of the band during their unmasked phase, from 1984 to 1996, once recalled when Brian May told him he liked his guitar solo in “Crazy Crazy Nights”. “A quick side to ‘Crazy Nights’ was… I love Brian May, Queen came a little later for me, but oh my God, what a (band). Brian is such a gentleman, it was such a pleasure anytime I’ve ever met that man, I love him.”
“The only thing he knew from Kiss was ‘Crazy Nights’, I can understand that, he’s not living… In a way, you are living in a bubble, you’re part of something as huge as Queen, which is total Rock royalty, not just from the title. But he knew my solo in ‘Crazy Nights’, you know, he knew it was me and that’s a thrill. So yes, ‘Crazy Nights’ wasn’t as big in America, it was big, but in the UK, certainly (was more),” Bruce Kulick said in an interview with VRP Rocks (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). In the book “KISS: Behind The Mask again”, Gene Simmons mentions Queen, explaining in his opinion, what’s the main difference between them and Kiss.
He said:
“That’s probably the main difference between Queen and KISS. Queen was always about ‘We,’ ‘We Will Rock You.’ And we were always about ‘I.’ We’ve always thought one voice spoke louder, a personal point of view was much more important. One-notion-can-change-the-world kind of a thing. So, the pieces (of I Wanna Rock and Roll All Nite) were basically stuck together,” he said.
In an interview with Planet Rock in 2022, Gene praised “We Will Rock You”. “The right kind of music and the right kind of songs are the songs you play at funerals. (Also) couples have their songs, it means more than a song. You get married to songs, you pledge your allegiance to a country with a song. You march off to war with a song. So I don’t know what we would do without music. The right song in football stadiums, Dr. Brian May is a friend of mine, when you hear ‘We Will Rock You’ in a stadium full of people I don’t know how to describe it. It’s less a song and more a ‘We Are One’,” Gene Simmons said (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).
He and Brian May have been good friends for decades and the Queen guitarist even attended one of Gene’s birthday parties in the 90s. When Brian faced a few health scares in the past years, he posted a message calling him a national treasure. “Happy to hear Brian May has recovered. A force in music and science. (…) “I just heard about this on the radio. Get well soon, Brian. Keep yourself alive! (…) I was so worried about him. He’s a national treasure.”
Eric Singer said the proudest moment of his career was when he played with May
If other Kiss members like Gene Simmons, Bruce Kulick and Paul Stanley had the chance to meet Brian May over the years, the drummer Eric Singer actually was part of his solo band. When asked by Music Radar which was the proudest moment of his career, that’s the period he picked. “I would say playing with Brian May. Because other than Jimi Hendrix, Brian May is my favorite guitar player and Queen is my favorite band.”
“They were like The Beatles on steroids. They all wrote, they all sang, they were all great musicians, and they have a unique sound. Brian May’s guitar playing is so individual and having a voice on your instrument is very difficult. They were such a talented group and they had this unique chemistry. So getting to play with Brian and playing Queen songs, that’s pretty cool,” he said in 2019.
Before replacing Eric Carr in Kiss, Eric Singer played with many other bands and artists, including Badlands, Gary Moore, and Black Sabbath. He first joined the American band in 1991, leaving in 1996 when the original lineup reunited and Peter Criss returned. In the meantime, he was part of Brian May’s band during the 1998 “Another World” tour.