Kiss to live on as virtual band after final gig

Kiss gave a glimpse into their future as a virtual band at their “final ever” concert after unveiling digital avatars created by the team behind ABBA Voyage.

The American rock icons debuted the technology during the encore of their retirement show at New York’s Madison Square Garden on 2 December, which was livestreamed worldwide on pay-per-view.

Their 8ft “superhero” avatars – Demon, Starchild, Catman and Spaceman – were designed by George Lucas’ San Francisco-based Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and financed by Pophouse Entertainment, which was co-founded by ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus.

“This is the sneak peek as the band crosses over from the physical world to the digital,” Grady Cofer, visual effects supervisor at ILM, tells Fast Company. “We want to give fans a sense of the many forms this band could take in the future.”

In a video posted in the wake of Saturday’s swansong, Kiss singer Paul Stanley said: “The band will never stop because we don’t own the band. The fans own the band, the world owns the band.”

“We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we’ve never dreamt of before”

“We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we’ve never dreamt of before,” added bassist Gene Simmons. “The technology is going to make Paul jump higher than he’s ever done before.”

While Thierry Coup, ex-chief creative officer at Universal Destinations & Experiences, has been hired as the virtual show’s creative director, Pophouse CEO Per Sundin says where it goes from here is yet to be finalised.

“We’re going to figure it out after the tour,” says Sundin. “Is it a Kiss concert in the future? Is it a rock opera? Is it a musical? A story, an adventure?”

The 50-year-old band’s longtime manager Doc McGhee hinted at the avatar plans in a career-spanning interview with IQ earlier this year.

“2024 will bring something new and something that the business has never seen before,” he said. “Everybody should really look forward to what is going to come. With the technology that we have, I think you’re going to see this manifest into something completely crazy – a mind-blowing experience.”

“If you are an artist, you can create your legacy in a way you never could before”

Kiss, who initially announced their retirement in 2000, began their 250-show End of the Road Tour in Vancouver, Canada in January 2019. The group will also live on through other ventures including a Las Vegas museum, cruises, and a forthcoming movie and cartoon.

The smash-hit ABBA Voyage virtual concert residency has created a new model for legendary artists since debuting to widespread acclaim in 2022, reportedly grossing more than $2 million (€1.6m) a week.

Held at the purpose-built 3,000-cap ‘ABBA Arena’ at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park under the direction of producers Svana Gisla and Ludvig Andersson and director Baillie Walsh, the £140m (€164m) show has brought the Swedish group back to the stage in avatar form, supported by a 10-piece live band.

According to Bloomberg, ABBA Voyage has achieved a 99% occupancy rate with an average ticket price of around £85 (€100) and discussions have taken place to expand the production to cities including Las Vegas, New York, Singapore and Sydney,

“If you are an artist, you can create your legacy in a way you never could before,” said Sundin. “This is such a success. We already have been talking to some artists that really want to do this.”

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