Born Paul Frehley on April 27, 1951, in the Bronx, New York, Frehley began playing guitar when he received an electric six-string for his 14th birthday in 1965. Already a big fan of the Rolling Stones, he was blown away when he caught a multi-band live show in N.Y.C. in early 1967, featuring both the Who and Cream, among others, which solidified his desire to pursue rock guitar more seriously (and put a promising art career on the back burner). Frehley began playing in local bands soon after, adding both Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix to his influences -- and around this time, adopted the nickname "Ace." Although none of the bands he played with had taken off, he answered an ad in a local paper for a new hard rock, theatrically based group in early 1973.
A few weeks after his initial tryout, Frehley was hired as the lead guitarist for the new quartet, joining bassist/singer Gene Simmons, rhythm guitarist/singer Paul Stanley, and drummer Peter Criss to form the band Kiss. By year's end, the greasepaint- and costume-wearing band was signed to Casablanca Records, and by 1978, had become one of the world's top hard rock bands. A string of platinum albums and sold-out tours lasted from 1975 until 1979, until the trappings of fame threatened to break up the band. Frehley's best friend in the band, Criss, left Kiss in 1980, as the group unsuccessfully experimented with non-metal styles. Ace Frehley's use of alcohol and drugs increased due to his ever-increasing unhappiness in the band, and, by 1982, he'd exited Kiss.
Within a year or two after his split from Kiss, Ace began putting his own solo band together, Frehley's Comet. The band played local N.Y.C. clubs, but failed to issue a record until 1987's self-titled debut for Megaforce Records. Instead of following the heavy metal direction of his exceptional 1978 solo album, Frehley's Comet tried to keep pace with the current pop-metal movement (Mötley Crüe, etc.), issuing two other albums (and a live EP) by 1989. Around this time, Frehley put his old art talents to use once again through computer graphics, with a few of his images even being featured in an art exhibit. Despite mudslinging in the press between Simmons/Stanley and Frehley in the early '90s, all four original Kiss members made up in time to reunite for a 1995 taping of MTV Unplugged. The taping was such a success that it led to a full-blown reunion of the original lineup, resulting in the massively successful 1996-1997 Alive Worldwide Tour.
Frehley continued as a member of Kiss until the end of their Farewell Tour (lasting longer than fellow original member Peter Criss, who dropped out in 2001). Live appearances, including gigs at the massive Rocklahoma festival, kept Ace busy until 2009, when he released the album Anomaly on his own label, Bronx Born Records. In 2011 he published No Regrets, a detailed and frank memoir that recounted, among other things, his aforementioned struggles with alcohol and cocaine addiction. In 2013 he celebrated seven years of sobriety and spent much of that year appearing at horror, sci-fi, and pop culture conventions.
The following April, after a long wait, Kiss was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, before August brought the release of Space Invader, a solo album that took a heavier approach than Anomaly. Released in 2016, Origins, Vol. 1 was an all-covers album featuring songs from Ace's favorite bands, up to and including Kiss, with new versions of "Parasite" and "Cold Gin" sitting next to songs from Thin Lizzy and Cream. The following year, Frehley joined Kiss bassist/vocalist Simmons on-stage at a Hurricane Harvey benefit for the Children Matter organization in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the former bandmates had performed together in over 16 years. In 2018 Frehley issued his eighth solo long payer, Spaceman, which featured a power pop cover of Eddie Money's "I Wanna Go Back" and the rowdy single "Rockin' with the Boys," the latter of which was written during Kiss' '70s heyday.
In the fall of 2018, Frehley revealed that he was changing his entire solo backing band from guitarist Richie Scarlet, bassist Chris Wyse and drummer Scot Coogan to Gene Simmons‘ solo band members consisting of Philip Shouse on guitar/vocals, Ryan Cook on guitar/vocals, Jeremy Asbrock on guitar/vocals, and Christopher Williams on drums.
He then released a second covers album, Origins, Vol. 2, in September 2020.
Biography by Greg Prato
Website: http://www.acefrehley.com
Ace Frehley (1978)
Frehley's Comet (1987)
Second Sighting (1988)
Trouble Walkin' (1989)
Anomaly (2009)
Space Invader (2014)
Origins Vol. 1 (2016)
Spaceman (2018)
Origins Vol. 2 (2020)
10,000 Volts (2024)
Fox On the Run
Ace Frehley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cause you don't look the same
The way you did before
O.K., you think you got a pretty face
But the rest of you is out of place
You looked alright before
Fox on the run
Take a run and hide yourself away
Fox on the run
F-foxy
Fox on the run and hide away
You, you talk about just every band
But the names you drop are second hand
I've heard it all before
I, don't wanna know your name
Because you don't look the same
The way you did before
Fox on the run
Ace Frehley’s “Fox On the Run” is a song about a girl who he used to know, but now she’s changed. He doesn't even want to know her name anymore because she doesn't look the way she used to. He thinks she has a pretty face but everything else about her is “out of place”. She likes to talk about every band, but the names she drops are all second-hand, which shows that she is not knowledgeable about the music industry. Ace is saying that he doesn’t want anything to do with her now that she’s changed, and he’s not interested in her at all.
Line by Line Meaning
I, don't wanna know your name
I am not interested in learning your name
Cause you don't look the same
Your appearance has changed since I last saw you
The way you did before
You do not resemble the person you were previously
O.K., you think you got a pretty face
You may believe you have an attractive face
But the rest of you is out of place
However, your other features do not seem to fit with your face
You looked alright before
You were acceptable in your previous appearance
Fox on the run
The subject is on the move, trying to avoid capture
You scream and everybody comes a-running
Your vocalization has garnered attention and people are converging on your location
Take a run and hide yourself away
The subject should attempt to flee and conceal themselves from others
Fox on the run
The subject is still attempting to avoid being caught
F-foxy
An expression of admiration for the subject's cunning and sly behavior
Fox on the run and hide away
The subject remains in motion, seeking to evade pursuers and remain concealed
You, you talk about just every band
You discuss a variety of musical groups
But the names you drop are second hand
However, the music you claim to be familiar with is not from firsthand experience
I've heard it all before
I am familiar with the subject matter you are discussing
I, don't wanna know your name
I am still not interested in learning your name
Because you don't look the same
Once again, your appearance has undergone changes since our previous encounter
The way you did before
Your previous appearance is in stark contrast with your current appearance
Fox on the run
The subject continues to be in a state of evading capture
Lyrics © Royalty Network, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BRIAN FRANCIS CONNOLLY, STEPHEN NORMAN PRIEST, MICHAEL THOMAS TUCKER, ANDREW SCOTT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind