Frehley's Comet

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For this band's 1987 self-titled album, see Frehley's Comet (album).
Frehley's Comet
Also known asAce Frehley
OriginNew York City, New York, United States
Genres
Years active1984–1988 (Reunions: 2017, 2018)
LabelsMegaforce, Atlantic
Associated actsKiss
Past membersAce Frehley
John Regan
Anton Fig
Richie Scarlet
Arthur Stead
Tod Howarth
Billy Ward
Jamie Oldaker

Frehley's Comet was an American rock band formed and led by ex-Kiss lead guitarist Ace Frehley.[4] The group released two studio albums and one live EP before Frehley left the band to release his 1989 solo album, Trouble Walkin'.

The band name was a pun of a pun; Bill Haley & His Comets was a 1950s Rock-n-Roll band that derived its name as a pun of the typical mispronunciation of Halley's Comet (properly pronounced as "Hal-lee", rhymes with "valley", but commonly mispronounced as "Hay-lee"), a comet which orbits the Sun near Earth about every 75 years. It also helped people pronounce Frehley's name properly to connect it to the common mispronunciation of Halley as "Hay-lee", as in "Fray-lee" vs. the common mispronunciation as "Free-lee".

History[]

Before forming a band for his post-KISS career, Frehley had previously done a solo album in 1978 which was the most successful of the Kiss solo albums, and laid the groundwork for his solo career. Frehley left Kiss in 1982, but retained a one-quarter share in Kiss and could not release any solo projects until 1985 without losing that share. During this time Ace put together a band for his solo work, the original line-up consisted of Richie Scarlet on guitar, John Regan on bass, and Anton Fig on drums.[4] This band, together with keyboardists Arthur Stead and later Frehley's friend from the Bronx, Rob Sabino, played live and demoed 20 songs in various sessions with producers Eddie Kramer, Tony Bongiovi, Chris Kimsey and Vini Poncia.[5]

However, before they made their initial record, Scarlet was replaced by Tod Howarth who played guitar and keyboards.[4] Frehley's Comet was supposed to simply be the title of Frehley's next solo album, but Frehley decided to use that as the name of the band rather than release the record as a solo artist.[4] For the second album, Second Sighting, Fig was replaced on drums by veteran Eric Clapton Band member Jamie Oldaker.[4] Two studio albums and one live album were released under the "Frehley's Comet" moniker. (The live album, Live+1 featured four songs performed live in concert and one original studio song.)

In 1989, for Trouble Walkin', his third studio release, Frehley dropped the Frehley's Comet name and put out a pure "Ace Frehley" solo album.[4] Tod Howarth was replaced by a returning Richie Scarlet, and Jamie Oldaker by ex-Riot drummer Sandy Slavin (although Anton Fig and ex-Kiss Drummer Peter Criss did perform some of the percussion work on the album.)[4] The album featured numerous guest vocalists including Criss and Sebastian Bach.[4] The band continued until 1995, with Richie Scarlet remaining throughout, and John Regan departing in 1992.[4]

Frehley put his solo career on hold to rejoin Kiss in 1996. He has since resumed his solo career with Richie Scarlet back in his touring band. The band played reunion shows throughout 2017 and 2018 with Frehley, Tod Howarth, John Regan, and Anton Fig together.

Personnel[]

Members[]

  • Ace Frehley – lead guitar, lead vocals (1984-1988)
  • John Regan – bass guitar, drums, backing vocals (1984-1988)
  • Anton Fig – drums, percussion (1984-1987)
  • Tod Howarth – rhythm guitar, keyboards, piano, lead vocals (1986-1988)
  • Richie Scarlet – rhythm guitar, vocals (1984-1985)
  • Arthur Stead – keyboards (1984-1985)
  • Rob Sabino - keyboards[6] (1985-1986)
  • Billy Ward – drums, percussion (1987-1988)
  • Jamie Oldaker – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1988) (died 2020)

Timeline[]

Line-ups[]

1984 1984–1985 1985-1986 1986
  • Ace Frehley – lead guitar, lead vocals
  • Anton Fig – drums, percussion
  • John Regan – bass guitar, drums, backing vocals
  • Richie Scarlet – rhythm guitar, vocals
  • Ace Frehley – lead guitar, lead vocals
  • Anton Fig – drums, percussion
  • John Regan – bass guitar, drums, backing vocals
  • Richie Scarlet – rhythm guitar, vocals
  • Arthur Stead – keyboards
  • Ace Frehley – lead guitar, lead vocals
  • Anton Fig – drums, percussion
  • John Regan – bass guitar, drums, backing vocals
  • Richie Scarlet – rhythm guitar, vocals
  • Rob Sabino – keyboards
  • Ace Frehley – guitars, lead vocals
  • Anton Fig – drums, percussion
  • John Regan – bass guitar, drums, backing vocals
1986–1987, 2017, 2018 1987–1988 1988
  • Ace Frehley – lead guitar, lead vocals
  • Anton Fig – drums, percussion
  • John Regan – bass guitar, drums, backing vocals
  • Tod Howarth – rhythm guitar, lead vocals, keyboards
  • Ace Frehley – lead guitar, lead vocals
  • John Regan – bass guitar, drums, backing vocals
  • Tod Howarth – rhythm guitar, lead vocals, keyboards
  • Billy Ward – drums, percussion
  • Ace Frehley – lead guitar, lead vocals
  • John Regan – bass guitar, drums, backing vocals
  • Tod Howarth – rhythm guitar, lead vocals, keyboards
  • Jamie Oldaker – drums, percussion, backing vocals

Discography[]

Studio albums[]

Date of Release Title Billboard
July 7, 1987 Frehley's Comet 40
May 24, 1988 Second Sighting 81

[7]

[8]

Live albums/EPs[]

Date of Release Title Billboard
February 1988 Live+1 84

[8]

Demos[]

  • Sterling Sound tape June 12, 1984 - Back Into My Arms Again (Stead/Frehley), I Got the Touch (Stead/Frehley), I'm An Animal (Stead/Kimsey/Regan), I Will Survive (Stead/Frehley), Breakout (Carr/Scarlet/Frehley), We Got Your Rock (Kupersmith/Frehley). Produced by Eddie Kramer.
  • Demo 2, 1984/85 - Audio/Video, Give It to Me Anyway, Dolls. Produced by Eddie Kramer (unconfirmed)
  • Summer 1985 demo - Stranger in a Strange Land (Frehley), Back on the Streets (Vincent/Friedman[9]), I Heard an Angel (Scarlet), Rock or Be Rocked (Bob Halligan Jr.), Baby It's You (Mack David, Barney Williams, Burt Bacharach - The Beatles cover)
  • Power Station studio demo 1985 - Dolls (Frehley), Into the Night (Ballard), Words Are Not Enough (Jim Keneally/Frehley), The Hurt is On (Frehley/Sabino), The Boys are Back in Town (Thin Lizzy cover). Produced by Tony Bongiovi.
  • Vini Poncia demo 1985/86? - Remember Me (Frehley/Cathcart), Wired-Up (Jeff Paris (musician)), The Girl Can't Dance (Danny Tate/Taylor Rhodes). Produced by Vini Poncia.[10]

Filmography[]

  • Live+4 (1988) (VHS) [11]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ McPadden, Mike. "The Hair Metal 100: Ranking the '80s Greatest Glam Bands, Part 3". VH1 News. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  2. ^ Popoff, Martin (2014). The big book of hair metal : the illustrated oral history of heavy metal's debauched decade. Minneapolis, MN. p. 150. ISBN 978-1-62788-375-7. OCLC 891379313.
  3. ^ "Frehley's Comet - Ace Frehley | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i Colin Larkin, ed. (1995). The Guinness Who’s Who of Heavy Metal (Second ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 140. ISBN 0-85112-656-1.
  5. ^ "Kiss Related Recordings; Ace Frehley / Frehley's Comet ; 1984 - 1985 demo's". Kiss-related-recordings.nl. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Raising Hairs on the Arms of Chic and David Bowie Keyboardist Rob Sabino". Sharkeystreehouse.com. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Frehley's Comet - Ace Frehley | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b "Frehley's Comet | Album Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  9. ^ "KISSMONSTER - Song Stories - Back On The Streets". Kissmonster.com. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  10. ^ Asplund, Tony. "Bokrecension: Partners In Crime Vol. II". Rockbladet.se. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Amazon Live & 4". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2009-09-25.

External links[]

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