Rockstar Alice Cooper has paid tribute to “pioneer” Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley following his death at the age of 74.
Paul Daniel “Ace” Frehley, who co-founded the American rock band in 1973, died “peacefully surrounded by family in Morristown, New Jersey, on Thursday following a recent fall”, a statement from his agent shared to US media outlets said.
Tributes have poured in for the guitarist including from Cooper, 77, who described Frehley as “an absolute guitar hero”.
In a post shared on Instagram, Cooper said: “The worst part of being in rock ‘n’ roll at this point is the fact that some of our fraternity have just reached that age where… they leave the planet.
“Some of the guys that started 30, 40, 50 years ago are starting to go, and of course Ace Frehley from Kiss, one of the pioneers – one of the great guitar players out there … Ace was an absolute Guitar hero to so many people.
“I did more tours with him than anybody else, as far as opening for us, for quite a long time, so we became quite good friends.
“He always brought it every night. He did it every night. And it’s just hard to see somebody like that go.
“We know that right now that the Kiss fans are certainly in mourning and certainly his family and certainly everybody that knew him. Ace was an ACE.”
Kiss, whose classic line-up included Frehley, singer Paul Stanley, bassist Gene Simmons and drummer Peter Criss, are known for wearing white and black face paint, platform boots, black wigs and extravagant costumes.
Frehley often played a guitar that emitted smoke on stage, and went by the stage persona of “Spaceman”.
The group, who were behind hit songs such as I Was Made For Lovin’ You, Beth, Rock And Roll All Nite and Shout It Out Loud, paid tribute to the guitarist in a post shared on Friday.
The caption read: “We are devastated by the passing of Ace Frehley. He was an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history.
“He is and will always be a part of Kiss’s legacy. Our thoughts are with Jeanette, Monique and all those who loved him, including our fans around the world.”
Kiss were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
