“A band should have the backbone of a wild animal and what they do is take risks, they pee on the ground and say, ‘This is my territory.’

"A band has to be like a wild animal and define for itself and everybody else what it is. You can’t be a slave to somebody else. We consistently kept doing risky moves.

“That album was a risk, but it was necessary. At that point, Ace and Peter, god love them, had succumbed to alcohol and drugs in a deep way. We had done a movie, KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park, and during the movie they would disappear and we’d have to have actors sit in for them in make-up, just pathetic behaviour.

“We had a meeting and Ace said he wanted to leave and have a solo career. We told him to have a solo career but stay in the band, have your cake and eat it too. ‘No, I’m going to have my own solo career and show you that I can sell ten million records.’

"Ace is now going through his third bankruptcy and poor Peter followed him. Our manager convinced everybody to go off and do our own solo records ands release them all at the same time. That appealed to everybody’s competitive nature. It was risky but necessary to keep the band together for a little while longer.”