Speaking to Talking Wax, Kiss’s Gene Simmons mentioned why guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss left the band.
Frehley left the band in 1982, and Criss left in 1980.
Here’s what Simmons said:
“Ace, in particular, wanted to leave the band, and then Peter also wanted to leave the band in a kind of, ‘I’m not getting my share, nobody appreciates me,’ that kind of thing.
“And Paul [Stanley, vocals/guitar] tried to talk Ace out of it, he actually flew up to Connecticut to convince him.
“‘Look, stay in the band, have your solo career, we don’t want anything from that. You can have your cake and eat it too.’ I remember on the way out, Ace told me, ‘You’ll see, I’m going to sell 10 million albums!'”