Vinnie Vincent - Kiss

Kiss

After befriending Gene Simmons, Vincent was brought in as the replacement for guitarist Ace Frehley. Vincent's personality meshed well with Simmons and Paul Stanley. However, Vincent's refusal to sign the employment contract strained the relationship. Due partly to disputes over what his role in the band was and his pay would be (some reports indicated that Vincent had asked for, and was flatly denied, a percentage of the band's gross profits), and despite the exhortations of both Simmons and Stanley, all through his tenure with the band Vincent refused to sign any contract making his employment official. This ultimately lead to Vincent leaving the band after the North American leg of the "Lick It Up" tour.

At a March show in Quebec, as the band prepared to close out their set, Vincent broke into an impromptu solo, leaving the other band members standing onstage with nothing to do. After the "Lick It Up" tour ended in March 1984, Vincent was terminated from the band, and replaced by Mark St. John (birth name Mark Norton). Despite parting on bad terms, Vincent was later utilized by Kiss as a songwriter on the 1992 album Revenge, contributing to the songs "Unholy", "Heart Of Chrome" and "I Just Wanna". Vincent again fell out of favor with Simmons and Stanley, as they claimed that Vincent again began "making all kinds of crazy demands and pulling the same kind of crazy stuff all over again".