On 15. June 1979, Gene Simmons was flying on stage for the first time, when Kiss played the Civic Center, Lakeland, FL, on the opening night of the “Return of Kiss” tour. The levitating act happened during the song “God of Thunder”, while Gene played his bass solo and spitting blood. On the “Dynasty” tour he levitated up to the lighting rig, while on the “Unmasked” tour he started his solo on a platform over to one side, then flew across the stage to a second platform on the other side.
Gene Simmons:
“To up the stakes even more, I got the bright idea of having a rig built to fly me up to the light system fifty-five feet above the ground. Every night, I would throw up the blood that had been hidden in my mouth during the previous blackout, stand there erect and proud, and wait for the audience to give me my due. I would demand it. And although at that point I felt powerful, the feeling would quickly dissipate as I was flying straight up through the air at six feet a second. I was scared stiff every night and I kept thinking to myself every time I flew up there in the dark, What an idiot I was to have gotten myself into this mess.”
– “Kiss and Make-up” by Gene Simmons.
Gene Simmons:
“They used to fly me up with piano wire, which was invisible from the audience, to the top of the light truss above the stage during ‘The God of Thunder.’ I’d sing it fifty feet above people’s heads, scared to death of course but trying not to look it. If death defying was a description of the effect, it certainly had that effect on my heart.”
– Metal Edge/Vol. 41 NO.1
See Gene Simmons flying for the first time at the 25.10 mark:
