Kiss debuts its half-century-old live album Alive! in the U.K. shortly before an anniversary edition arrives, and weeks after Ace Frehley’s death. L – R: Musicians Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, and Gene Simmons of American rock band Kiss attend the 38th Annual Grammy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, 28th February 1996. (Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images)
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Kiss fans have been lamenting the band’s breakup ever since the musicians called it quits in 2023 after half a century together. Sadly, longtime lovers of the rockers were given another reason to mourn, as original lead guitarist Ace Frehley passed away in October at the age of 74.
In the wake of that loss — and just before a special super deluxe edition drops — the Kiss classic album Alive! debuts on a chart in the United Kingdom, adding to the group’s list of bestsellers and proving that there is still a demand not just for music from Kiss, but for one of the most successful live recordings of all time.
Kiss Debuts Alive! in the U.K.
Alive! debuts on the Official Album Downloads chart, which ranks the bestselling full-lengths and EPs on platforms like Amazon and iTunes throughout the U.K. This week, Alive! opens at No. 88, finally appearing on the sales tally more than half a century after its initial release.
Kiss Scores a Fifth Bestseller as Alive! Debuts
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 02: Gene Simmons, Eric Singer, Paul Stanley and Tommy Thayer of KISS take final bow during the final show of KISS: End of the Road World Tour at Madison Square Garden on December 02, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation)
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Kiss collects its fifth placement on the Official Album Downloads chart as Alive! debuts. The new arrival comes in just two spaces ahead of where The Very Best Of launched, and it now stands as the outfit’s fourth-highest-peaking title.
The hard rockers have landed on the Official Album Downloads ranking with all of the following projects:
- Sonic Boom
- Monster
- Kissworld: The Best Of
- The Very Best Of
- Alive!
2025 Becomes a Special Year for Kiss with Multiple New Wins
UNITED STATES – JANUARY 01: Photo of Gene SIMMONS and Paul STANLEY and Peter CRISS and KISS and Ace FREHLEY; L-R: Ace Frehley, Peter Criss, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons – posed, studio, group shot (Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns)
Redferns
2025 now marks the first year in which Kiss has scored multiple debuts on the Official Album Downloads chart. The Very Best Of earned its first appearance on the tally in late October. The compilation surged in purchases all around the world after Frehley’s passing became public.
Kiss first hit the Official Album Downloads chart in 2009 with Sonic Boom and has occasionally earned new wins ever since.
Alive! Has Only Ever Reached Two Charts in the U.K.
Alive! has only ever reached two charts in the U.K. The full-length debuted at No. 49 — which would turn out to be its all-time peak — on the Official Albums ranking in the summer of 1976. Alive! then fell five spaces before disappearing entirely, and it has not appeared on that roster – or any in the nation – since.
Alive! Changed the Trajectory of Kiss’ Career
By the time Kiss released Alive!, its first live set, the group had already delivered three albums — a self-titled affair, as well as Hotter Than Hell and Dressed to Kill. While the band was picking up traction and developing a fan base, it was Alive! that helped the musicians make a name for themselves, and it is widely considered their breakout project.
Alive! was recorded at various concerts throughout 1975, and was regarded as a landmark release for both the band and the format. The set changed what was possible for live albums, as it turned Kiss into superstars, which nobody assumed possible with such a release.
The live version of “Rock and Roll All Nite” was shared as a single, and it quickly became the biggest Kiss track on the American charts at the time and helped increase the group’s popularity globally.
A Fiftieth Anniversary of Alive! is Set to Arrive in a Few Days
Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, Gene Simmons and Ace Frehley of KISS in London, 1976 (Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage)
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In just a few days, a fiftieth anniversary super deluxe edition of Alive! will begin shipping to fans who did not mind shelling out almost three hundred dollars for the project. The offering comes with everything from four CDs and a Blu-ray to a T-shirt, a 100-page book featuring liner notes and interviews with several of the band’s members, and plenty of other goodies that may help Alive! debut or surge on multiple other rosters all around the world later this month.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2025/12/04/kiss-charts-a-new-bestselling-album—and-more-success-may-be-on-the-way/
