KISS concert halted as Gene Simmons falls ill on stage
KISS singer Gene Simmons gave fans - and bandmates - a fright when dehydration got the better of him live on stage, and the group were forced to bring their entire concert to a halt.
In a video from the event, KISS’ Paul Stanley can be seen addressing the crowd, telling them that “we’re gonna have to stop to take care of him. Because we love him, right?”
He goes on to call for a cheer for Simmons, with the 73-year-old catching his breath on a chair on stage - the same chair that he remained in for the rest of the show, after a five minute break to assure he was well enough to continue.
And while fans were concerned for the singer, he later took to social media to assure them that he was “fine” and looking forward to the band’s next stadium performance.
“I’m fine. Yesterday at Manaus Stadium in Brazil, [I] experienced weakness because of dehydration,” he explained. “We stopped for about five minutes, I drank some water, and then all was well. Nothing serious.”
“Brazil is hotter than hell!!” one fan responded, “so glad you're okay and I can't wait to see you in São Paulo! Take care, god of thunder!!”
“Even the God of Thunder needs hydration,” another agreed. “Good to hear you're doing well.”
And as news broke around the world of what had gone down in Brazil, Simmons returned with another round of assurances, writing that it was “not a big deal” while again thanking everyone for their well wishes.
“Last night we played Amazon jungle Stadium/Brazil. Humidity and temperature were sky high. I was dehydrated and was forced to sit for a song,” he said. “We got back on stage in 5 minutes & finished the show.”
It was enough for his fans, who were quick to share their delight that their star was okay, as well as voicing their excitement for upcoming shows - with a good portion of requests for the singer to take care of himself, and avoid a repeat performance.
“Happy to hear you're doing better,” one wrote. “Even more happy it wasn’t anything serious.Ya'll take care.”
“Frankly, I don’t know [how] you do it every night. You’re amazing!” another declared.
Meanwhile, some could see the humour in it all now that their fears had been put to rest, with one joking “and who says playing music couldn't be dangerous”.
Images: Twitter