If this appeared strangely coincidental, then stranger still was the similarity of each of their personalities to those of the original four in Kiss: Ashley Brookes was 'Paul Stanley' from head to toe - the curly black hair, the rock star attitude with vocals to match, and feet hardly touching the ground whilst playing guitar. The 'Gene Simmons' was similarly larger than life Gary Banton, with an eye for the women, a shrewd business sense, the ability to fire breath, the stalking walk and the note perfect growling of 'Gene Simmons'.. Richard Sawyer completed the line up as 'Peter Criss' with the trademark Pearl drum kit, the same 'will and determination' that landed Peter Criss the job in Kiss, and the ability to recreate his jazz drumming style with ease and precision.
After much consideration the 'Love Gun 1977' costumes were chosen for their eye catching appearance and their association with the band at the height of its success. The set list was also selected to represent the best of 'Alive' and 'Alive II' plus to include such 'never played live' gems as 'All American Man' and 'Strangeways'.
Their debut was on October 30th 1991 as Crystals Nightclub, Loughborough, and was documented by 'Kerrang!' magazine who dedicated three full pages of colour pictures and a full review by Ray Zell. This unprecedented coverage for a first concert paved the way for what was shortly to follow - a support slot to Tigertailz at the York Barbican (8/2/92). Having been personally requested to play by Kiss fan/Tigertailz vocalist Kim Hooker they also received a big thank you during the billtoppers set: a tribute indeed to this tribute band.
Shows followed at the Marquee, London (11/3/92) - featured both in 'Kerrang!' and 'Raw' magazines and Dudley JBs (11/4/92). These shows set them up nicely for their first Kiss Convention appearance at the Astoria Theatre, London (21/5/92) where they played to 1,500 rabid Kiss fans. Not only was this a prestigious event for them to play, but they also met Kiss themselves, were interviewed for twenty minutes by MTV for a Headbangers Ball Kiss Special and were requested by Kiss' support band Danger Danger to pose for photos with them! This heightened profile secured a string of shows later in the year, and a recreation of Kiss' London landmark photo shoot landed them in 'Kerrang!' again in February 1993.
Interest began to filter through from mainland Europe resulting in four shows in Austria including a Polygram Kiss video release party and a major biker festival in multi-acre farmland in Steiermark (17/7/93). After more home shows they made their second Kiss convention appearance at The Rocking Chair in Vevey, Switzerland (6/11/93). This proved to be a very successful show and paved the way for future European Kiss Convention appearances. 1994 continued with a return to the Marquee (17/3/94) followed by their Scandinavian debut at the Magasinet in Gotherburg, Sweden (26/2/94) before a packed 600+ crowd with a further 100+ having to listen from outside!
Perhaps a very significant moment in the bands career to this point was the London Kiss Convention at the Astoria II (3/9/94) where the 'Catman' himself - Peter Criss, joined them onstage to play 'Strutter', 'Deuce' and 'Firehouse'. Again reviewed by 'Kerrang!', Dave Reynolds intimated that the Dressed To Kill drummers performance far excelled that of Mr. Criss!
Late 1994/early 1995 was busy with gigs around the UK, but Europe wasn't far away! A return visit to Switzerland and a first time in Germany mid-June gave the amasses crowds at Conventions in Lausanne and Munich two of Dressed To Kills best shows to date. The special guest in Lausanne was none other than original Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley who expressed his admiration for the attention to detail of the tribute.
April 20th 1996 saw their third successful British Kiss Convention appearance in front of 400+ Kiss fans, this time at the Wolverhampton Wulfren Hall. After a successful tour of Japan in June 1996, they further confirmed their 'hot' status by headlining the 'Munsters Of Rock' festival at the London Astoria II (2/8/96). Gary also made a guest appearance, in full Gene regalia, at the 'Heavy Xmas' show in Vienna (15/12/96) on a bill alongside Motorhead and Dio. His performance was so authentic that three thousand Viennese rockers and the local press were convinced that it really was Gene Simmons!!At about the same time the band went on to record the track 'C'mon And Love Me' for the Kiss tribute album 'Kissin' Time'.
After a well earned break during 1997 Dressed To Kill were back on the road in 1998 playing the Polygram Europe 'Psycho Circus' release party in Vienna and making another guest appearance in September with cult Austrian band Sex Tiger at their 'Fifteenth Anniversary' show. Dressed To Kill also headlined their own very special Halloween extravaganza in London on October 31st 1998, the same night that KISS themselves began their Psycho Circus 3D World Tour.
In 1999 Dressed To Kill played further shows including a triumphant return to Dudley JB's on 29th August for the 1999 UK KISS Convention. Yet again, they proved to everyone exactly why they are the best KISS Tribute in Europe if not the World!
2003, A year of changes for the band. Long time guitarist Dave Patterson is replaced by ex Parasite guitarist Danny James. He had previously been established with signed acts Wraith and Fahrenheit UK, and had toured extensively throughout Europe and into Russia and Turkey.A little known fact is that he sessioned with and was hand picked to audition for Def Leppard when Steve Clarke died.
His attention to every detail of Ace Frehley's onstage character made him the obvious replacement, and he debuted with the band on 27 Jan 2003 at the Limelight in Crewe, where six months to the day Dressed To Kill would raise the roof to a packed Expo with probably one of their best shows, playing songs such as 'Kissin Time', 'Dark Light', and 'I'. Songs that KISS had never played live themselves.
So, what's next? Well, Dressed To Kill are currently negotiating more work with Sanctuary Records (UK) on a promotional basis and playing at future KISS album and video launches, press calls, etc. Also in the pipeline are further shows throughout Europe (including festivals), return visits to Austria and Japan, a tour of Sweden and Norway and possible even first tours of Spain, South America, South Africa, and Australia..
