Ace and Keef were held up to shake hands

Hard to handshake: Ace Frehley

The editor behind some of the world’s biggest rock books has recalled how former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley and Rolling Stone counterpart Keith Richards needed to be held up by assistants to meet each other.

Jeremie Ruby-Strauss of Gallery Books oversaw Frehley’s autobiography No Regrets, after having worked on Marilyn Manson’s The Long Hard Road Out of Hell and iconic Motley Crue title The Dirt.

He tells Slushpile: “I’ll never forget our initial meeting. Ace told a story of wanting to meet Keith Richards, but neither of them could physically stand up.

“So they were both propped up by assistants so they could shake hands briefly, before each slumped over.”

Ruby-Strauss is collaborating with Ratt frontman Stephen Pearcy on his book, which the editor promises will be full of sex and drugs anecdotes.

“I was a big Ratt fan, so I have a soft spot for the band,” he says. “But what also really interested me was the idea of documenting the pre-AIDS Sunset Strip – the last great era of American debauchery, from the unique perspective of a guy at the very top of that social scene.

“There will be a ton of sex, mind-boggling amounts of drugs, and of course a whole lot of Ratt. There’s also stuff about him breaking both less as a kit and whatnot – but are you seriously not more intrigued by the sex and drugs?

“Steven is working with Sam Benjamin, who does a good job of making male sexuality more interesting and complicated than people expect.”

While some readers feel the quality of rock biographies is declining as more and more titles join the bandwagon, Ruby-Strauss believes there will always be a market for life stories.

“Nothing ever runs out of steam,” he insists. “People declare a thing dead, then experience the drama of it coming back to their complete surprise, when it never left at all.”

Meanwhile, Sebastian Bach claims his own book will make The Dirt “look clean” by comparison – if he decides to write it.

The singer tells the Macomb Daily: “It seems like such an overwhelming project, so don’t hold your breath. It has to blow me away before I release it. I look at Duff McKagan’s book, Dee Snider’s book; they wrote them themselves and they’re amazing. So I might try, but if it doesn’t put goosebumps on my arm I won’t put it out.”