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)
Immortal Pleasures
Ace Frehley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's no more need for fighting
And I've had pleasures
Not known by mortal man
I've seen every place
There's no more need for searching
I've got my guitar
So catch me if you can
Immortal pleasures
Immortal plans
An immortal life
Fulfilled my demands
I saw olympus
Not blinded by the light
Majestic kingdoms
Delight at my command
I pushed my limits
Protected by the powers
I was a king
But returned to be a man
Immortal pleasures
Immortal plans
An immortal life
Fulfilled my demands
Immortal women, oh yeah!
Immortal love
Immortal pleasures
From powers up above
The tree of life has many branches
We're all connected, blinded by love
The gods enjoy our many choices
If we choose wisely then we have won
I reached the top
There's no more need tor climbing
I was a boy
With my immortal dream
Immortal pleasures
Immortal plans
An immortal life
Fulfilled my demands
Immortal women, oh yeah!
Immortal love
Immortal pleasures
From powers up above
Immortal pleasures
Immortal plans
An immortal life
Fulfilled my demands
In Ace Frehley's song Immortal Pleasures, he sings about having experienced everything there is to experience and having achieved a level of satisfaction that can only come from a life lived to the fullest. He claims to have had pleasures that are unknown to mortal men and to have visited every place, searching no more. He is content with his guitar, knowing that he has reached the top and now anyone who tries to catch him will have a difficult task ahead of them.
Ace is also describing his life as having been an immortal one, filled with pleasures, plans, love and women. He has achieved everything that he set out to achieve and beyond, having seen Olympus and majestic kingdoms, protected by powers and returns to a mortal life, content with his achievements. The gods enjoy the choices of humans, and if one chooses wisely, they can have an immortal life filled with pleasure and love.
Line by Line Meaning
I've seen it all
I have experienced everything there is to see or encounter in life
There's no more need for fighting
There's nothing left to fight or strive for since I have seen and done it all
And I've had pleasures
I have found and experienced pleasures and thrills in life that are beyond the limits of ordinary human experiences
Not known by mortal man
These pleasures and joys are beyond the understanding and reach of ordinary human beings
I've seen every place
I have traveled and visited all possible places or locations where human beings have ever been
There's no more need for searching
Since I have seen and been to every corner of the world, there's no need for me to search for anything else
I've got my guitar
My guitar is my source of joy and fulfillment, and it is all I need now that I have experienced everything else
So catch me if you can
If anyone wants to find me or catch up with me, they have to search for me and my guitar
Immortal pleasures
The pleasures and experiences that are beyond the grasp of ordinary humans because they are not limited by mortality
Immortal plans
Plans and visions that have no end because they are not limited by time or death
An immortal life
A life that transcends the boundaries of ordinary human life, because it is not limited by death or decay
Fulfilled my demands
All of my desires and wants are now fulfilled and satisfied because of my immortal experiences and pleasures
I saw olympus
I have seen the highest peaks of Olympus, the place of the gods in Greek mythology
Not blinded by the light
Unlike most mortals, I am not overwhelmed or blinded by the radiance and glory of these divine places
Majestic kingdoms
Realms of kings and queens, ruled by immortals or gods, which are beyond the reach of ordinary human beings
Delight at my command
I have the power to command and evoke delight, pleasure and happiness from these immortal kingdoms
I pushed my limits
I have challenged and extended the boundaries of what is possible for a mortal being, by accessing and experiencing the realm of immortals
Protected by the powers
Having tasted immortality and gained the favor of immortals, I am now protected from harm, misfortune or decay
I was a king
I was like a king, possessing the authority, power and confidence of one, because of my access to the realm of immortals
But returned to be a man
Despite all of these experiences and privileges, I am still a mortal human being and have returned to my life as such
Immortal women, oh yeah!
Women who are also immortal and possess the same qualities and characteristics of immortals that I have experienced
Immortal love
A love that transcends time, death and boundaries, because it is not bound by mortality or limits of the human experience
From powers up above
These immortal pleasures and experiences come from the realm of the gods or divine powers that are above human life and understanding
The tree of life has many branches
There are many different experiences and paths that life can take, with some leading to immortality and others to mortality
We're all connected, blinded by love
Despite our differences and limitations, all humans are connected by the same desire and need for love, which can sometimes be overwhelming or blinding
The gods enjoy our many choices
The gods, who are immortal and beyond human life, are entertained and pleased by the many choices and paths that mortal humans take in life
If we choose wisely then we have won
If we make smart and wise choices in life, we can experience the happiness and fulfillment that immortals enjoy
I reached the top
I have achieved the highest level or standard of human experience
There's no more need tor climbing
There's no longer a need to strive for anything since I have achieved the pinnacle of human experience
I was a boy
I was once young and naive, but I have now grown and matured through my experiences
With my immortal dream
My dream of experiencing and reaching the realm of immortals has now been fulfilled
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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