The one gig Kiss will play in Australia next week
Australian Kiss fans have been left disappointed after the rock band cancelled its Australian tour, which was set to start next week. But one show has not been scratched.
Best of Melbourne
Don't miss out on the headlines from Best of Melbourne. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Kiss will still arrive in Australia next for one show of their cancelled farewell tour — playing a private show to eight people.
The rock band, minus Paul Stanley, will play in Port Lincoln as part of a corporate deal with AirBNB.
The band’s Australian publicist confirmed the concert, for which just eight tickets were sold, will still go ahead.
Stanley is remaining at home, after being diagnosed with a throat infection which meant he was unable to fly or perform.
“Shark Rock City” will see Kiss, as a trio, play on a glass-bottom boat while the eight fans can watch the concert in the water underneath in a gig designed to “entice sharks, who love the low-frequency sounds of rock and roll.”
Kiss’ last minute cancellation has left many fans upset and desperately trying to get refunds for hotels and airfares.
Stanley, 67, is now on complete vocal rest and medication for at least two weeks, possibly longer.
“Words cannot begin to convey our massive disappointment in having to cancel our End Of The Road tour of your incredible country,” Stanley said. “Our connection to you is unparalleled and decades deep.
“We waited as long as we could and held out hope to the last minute that my situation would clear up and we would be able to march forward. Doctor’s orders ultimately have taken precedence and finally we now find ourselves with no choice but to surrender. With heavy hearts, KISS.”
Their End of the Road tour was due to start next Tuesday in Adelaide and saw the band playing arenas across the country including three dates at Rod Laver Arena and the Supercars in Newcastle.
Promoters One World Entertainment and TEG Live said: “We are devastated with the cancellation of the Australian tour. We’ve been in constant contact with the band in the past few days hoping for a positive outcome. We know how much fans were looking forward to the tour. We send our best wishes to Paul for a speedy recovery.”
Some fans had paid $5000 for meet and greet VIP packages with the band.
While promoters will try and reschedule the Australian dates, the band are already extensively committed to dates for their farewell tour up until October 2020. The tour ends in New York in July 2021.
Their schedule is so tight last week the band cancelled a show in Auckland, which had to be axed to fit in with rescheduled Australian dates.
Local fans will be hoping the band can fit in a return to Australia, which has been one of their most loyal markets since their first tour here in 1980.
In the interim, fans can get ticket refunds at point of purchase.
Tickets purchased by credit or debit card will be refunded in full (including ticket insurance premium, if relevant) and patrons do not need to take any action. Patrons should allow up to 10 working days for the refund to appear in their account.
MORE NEWS:
THE ONE THING MISSING FROM US’S AUSSIE TOUR
MAKEUP FOR MEN: DUO’S BOLD NEW VENTURE
GARDNER’S CLASSY RESPONSE TO ‘FAILURE’ TROLL
Patrons who purchased tickets in an Agency using cash or EFTPOS will be contacted via phone in the next 15 days to arrange for a full refund. Alternatively, you can contact Ticketek here.
For Supercars Newcastle 500 tickets the concert portion will be refunded, being $65 for Gold tickets and $115 for One Last KISS tickets. All refunds will go back to the credit card it was purchased on by the 6 December.