Newsbites: Stanley has no love for Frehley or Criss

Here to stay: Stanley, centre, with the current Kiss lineup

Kiss frontman Paul Stanley has reiterated his objections to the return of original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss in strong terms. He says: “I was never really friends with them. The band was never about friendship – it was about commitment to a cause. I loved them for what we created. I certainly don’t love them today. They became impossible and intolerable, on more than one occasion necessitating their removal. I last spoke to ace probably three years ago. Peter I haven’t spoken to in probably about a decade.” [Bang Showbiz]

The Cult narrowly averted serious injury when their tour bus struck a guard rail near Zagreb in Croatia. The band have posted a picture of the vehicle’s damage and say: “Shaken up and twisted up, a few torn muscles, but everyone is okay.”

The lyrics to Marillion track Kayleigh have been engraved into paving stones in the market square of Scottish borders town Galashiels. Former frontman Fish, who wrote the words, will unveil the work on July 17. He says: “Who would have thought that, all those years ago when I was dancing with my girlfriend, she wearing stilettos on the snow, that the moment would be caught forever in time all those years later – along with so many memories of those early first gigs in the town. Sincerely touched.”

Iconic album artist Storm Thorgerson will display a series of his fine art prints at gallery@oxo, London, between July 12 and 29.

Scorpions guitarist Matthias Jabs recently said the band had abandoned plans to entirely wind down – but now he’s reverted to his previous position. The German outfit originally aimed to split up following a final world tour, but Jabs said they’d changed their minds and would continue in some way. The guitarist now says: “You think you can go on for ever but realistically you cannot. At some popint it will show we are not youngest any more and we want to avoid this. It will be a very sad moment – we are experienced as a band but we have no experience with stopping a career. It will be a first, and a very tough moment.” [WVOX.com]

Halestorm frontwoman Lzzy Hale believes it’s essential to retain her femininity as a rock musician. She says: “It was always important to me to be a fucking woman on stage, not a girl trying to be a man. I make most of my own outfits, swipe them from video shoots or acquire them from strange shops around the world. The best part of being a woman is the power that comes with being able to play with the boys – but in stilettos.” [RockSource360.com]

A YouTube video showing Chicago guitarist Alex Chadwick playing 100 famous guitar riffs in one take has crossed the million-views mark in a month. Chadwick performs a series of well-known clips in chronological order, staring with Chet Atkins’ Mr Sandman and ending with St Vincent’s Cruel, with stops in between including Johnny B Goode, Wipeout, Paranoid, Layla, Smoke on the Water, Walk This Way, Bohemian Rhapsody, Runnin’ with the Devil, Back in Black, Sweet Child o’Mine, Enter Sandman, Smells Like Teen Spirit and I Believe in a Thing Called Love.