On 1. April, 1974, Peter Criss passed out and fell off the back of his drum riser after the end of “Black Diamond” while performing at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio, during the tour for Kiss’ debut album. Earlier, his drum riser had become stuck near the ceiling, leaving him suspended in the residual fumes from the show’s effects. As a result, he was asphyxiated and lost consciousness. As he fell, he was caught by JR Smalling, who carried him backstage. However, the Rory Gallagher band reportedly refused to allow Smalling to bring Peter into their dressing room to recover so he had to take him outside. An ambulance was then called to the venue and transported Criss to nearby Vincent Charity Hospital.
Recalling the incident years later, club owner Henry LoConti Sr. said, “It was a night I’ll never forget. All of a sudden, the drums stopped. I look up, and I see this hand dangling off the edge of the platform. The other guys just kept playing.”
– Plain Dealer, 2/26/06
Peter Criss:
We were opening for Rory Gallagher in the Midwest, and Casablanca sent a few execs out to check out our show. They were in the audience with Neil and Joyce, and after we left the stage the crowd was going wild, screaming for an encore. But we didn’t come out. Neil sent Joyce back to see what was going on and she got backstage and saw that the back doors of the venue were open and I was on the ground, with J.R. standing over me, trying to revive me. There was a low ceiling in the club, and when they levitated me during “Black Diamond,” I started breathing in all the smoke from the flash pots that had risen to the ceiling and I passed out and fell backward ten feet. Lucky for me, J.R. was there to catch me.
– “Makeup to Breakup: My Life in and out of Kiss” by Peter Criss.
Jeff Suhs and Curt Gooch:
The show got off to a bad start when KISS was introduced as being from New York, and the crowd responded with a loud chorus of boos. The band won the crowd over and eventually came back for two encores, only to have Peter pass out from lack of oxygen and fall off the back of the drum riser near the end of “Black Diamond.” He was caught by JR Smalling, who carried him back to the dressing room. The Rory Gallagher band refused to allow Smalling to bring Peter into the dressing room to recover. An ambulance was dispatched to the venue to transport Criss to nearby Charity Hospital.
Neil Bogart wrote a letter to a local Cleveland rag refuting a bad review of this show.
Although the Rory Gallagher performance was broadcast on radio station WMMS as part of their “Nights Out At The Agora” series, contrary to local legend, KISS’ performance was not.
– “Kiss Alive Forever” by Jeff Suhs and Curt Gooch.
JOYCE BOGART-TRABULUS: The group was playing the Midwest opening for Rory Gallagher, an artist they should not have been playing with but as I said we could not get them on tours. The club was enormous. It must have held three thousand kids and Neil had invited every DJ, promotion man, and distributor in the Midwest. It was the major promotion night of the tour. The group was intro’d as “From New York, KISS.” The crowd booed (they don’t like New York there), but by the second song the joint was rocking. They loved this group and all the Casablanca people were beaming at the reaction. They ended the set and the crowd thundered their need for an encore. A few minutes went by and nothing happened. Neil and I were getting nervous… a few more minutes the crowd is on the verge of taking the place apart as Neil screams to me over the din, “Where the hell is your group?” I fight my way through the beer-swilling, rowdy crowd to the backstage area and find the back doors open to the cold outside and Peter on the ground with the road manager trying to revive him. The ceiling in the club was very low. When the drum riser rose during “Black Diamond,” all the smoke from the flash pots went to the top of the room causing Peter to fall in a dead faint backward ten feet down only to end up in the arms of a very alert and very strong road manager.
J.R. SMALLING: The ceiling was so low that the drum riser couldn’t elevate to its full height. The ventilation was terrible and the flash pots went off at the end so the place is thick with smoke. The drum riser goes up and Peter’s head is literally in this blue haze of chemical smoke.
JOYCE BOGART-TRABULUS: When the drum riser rose during “Black Diamond,” all the smoke from the flash pots went to the top of the room, causing Peter to pass out and fall in a dead faint backwards ten feet down only to end up in the arms of a very alert and very strong road manager.
J.R. SMALLING: I saw it coming and caught him just in time.
JOYCE BOGART-TRABULUS: Eventually they went out and played an encore. That’s commitment [laughs].
– “Nothin’ to Lose: The making of Kiss (1972-1975)” by Ken Sharp, Gene Simmons, and Paul Stanley.
Related Kiss posts:
Kiss plays at the Casablanca Records launch party
Peter Criss adds colored eyes to his makeup for the first time
Gene Simmons spitting blood live for the first time
Peter Criss plays his last show with Kiss
Peter Criss sings “Beth” live for the first time
Kiss play their first-ever sold out headlining concert in an arena
On 1. April, 1974, Peter Criss passed out and fell off the back of his drum riser after the end of “Black Diamond” while performing at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio, during the tour for Kiss’ debut album. Earlier, his drum riser had become stuck near the ceiling, leaving him suspended in the residual fumes from the show’s effects. As a result, he was asphyxiated and lost consciousness. As he fell, he was caught by JR Smalling, who carried him backstage. However, the Rory Gallagher band reportedly refused to allow Smalling to bring Peter into their dressing room to recover so he had to take him outside. An ambulance was then called to the venue and transported Criss to nearby Vincent Charity Hospital.
Recalling the incident years later, club owner Henry LoConti Sr. said, “It was a night I’ll never forget. All of a sudden, the drums stopped. I look up, and I see this hand dangling off the edge of the platform. The other guys just kept playing.”
– Plain Dealer, 2/26/06
Peter Criss:
We were opening for Rory Gallagher in the Midwest, and Casablanca sent a few execs out to check out our show. They were in the audience with Neil and Joyce, and after we left the stage the crowd was going wild, screaming for an encore. But we didn’t come out. Neil sent Joyce back to see what was going on and she got backstage and saw that the back doors of the venue were open and I was on the ground, with J.R. standing over me, trying to revive me. There was a low ceiling in the club, and when they levitated me during “Black Diamond,” I started breathing in all the smoke from the flash pots that had risen to the ceiling and I passed out and fell backward ten feet. Lucky for me, J.R. was there to catch me.
– “Makeup to Breakup: My Life in and out of Kiss” by Peter Criss.
Jeff Suhs and Curt Gooch:
The show got off to a bad start when KISS was introduced as being from New York, and the crowd responded with a loud chorus of boos. The band won the crowd over and eventually came back for two encores, only to have Peter pass out from lack of oxygen and fall off the back of the drum riser near the end of “Black Diamond.” He was caught by JR Smalling, who carried him back to the dressing room. The Rory Gallagher band refused to allow Smalling to bring Peter into the dressing room to recover. An ambulance was dispatched to the venue to transport Criss to nearby Charity Hospital.
Neil Bogart wrote a letter to a local Cleveland rag refuting a bad review of this show.
Although the Rory Gallagher performance was broadcast on radio station WMMS as part of their “Nights Out At The Agora” series, contrary to local legend, KISS’ performance was not.
– “Kiss Alive Forever” by Jeff Suhs and Curt Gooch.
JOYCE BOGART-TRABULUS: The group was playing the Midwest opening for Rory Gallagher, an artist they should not have been playing with but as I said we could not get them on tours. The club was enormous. It must have held three thousand kids and Neil had invited every DJ, promotion man, and distributor in the Midwest. It was the major promotion night of the tour. The group was intro’d as “From New York, KISS.” The crowd booed (they don’t like New York there), but by the second song the joint was rocking. They loved this group and all the Casablanca people were beaming at the reaction. They ended the set and the crowd thundered their need for an encore. A few minutes went by and nothing happened. Neil and I were getting nervous… a few more minutes the crowd is on the verge of taking the place apart as Neil screams to me over the din, “Where the hell is your group?” I fight my way through the beer-swilling, rowdy crowd to the backstage area and find the back doors open to the cold outside and Peter on the ground with the road manager trying to revive him. The ceiling in the club was very low. When the drum riser rose during “Black Diamond,” all the smoke from the flash pots went to the top of the room causing Peter to fall in a dead faint backward ten feet down only to end up in the arms of a very alert and very strong road manager.
J.R. SMALLING: The ceiling was so low that the drum riser couldn’t elevate to its full height. The ventilation was terrible and the flash pots went off at the end so the place is thick with smoke. The drum riser goes up and Peter’s head is literally in this blue haze of chemical smoke.
JOYCE BOGART-TRABULUS: When the drum riser rose during “Black Diamond,” all the smoke from the flash pots went to the top of the room, causing Peter to pass out and fall in a dead faint backwards ten feet down only to end up in the arms of a very alert and very strong road manager.
J.R. SMALLING: I saw it coming and caught him just in time.
JOYCE BOGART-TRABULUS: Eventually they went out and played an encore. That’s commitment [laughs].
– “Nothin’ to Lose: The making of Kiss (1972-1975)” by Ken Sharp, Gene Simmons, and Paul Stanley.
Related Kiss posts:
Kiss plays at the Casablanca Records launch party
Peter Criss adds colored eyes to his makeup for the first time
Gene Simmons spitting blood live for the first time
Peter Criss plays his last show with Kiss
Peter Criss sings “Beth” live for the first time
Kiss play their first-ever sold out headlining concert in an arena