Makeup Madness?

GENE SIMMONS: Saved Eddie from Make-up Hell

Gene Simmons believes KISS wouldn't have been a good fit for Eddie Van Halen -- even though, he says, Eddie begged to join after Ace Frehley quit in 1982. Simmons says Eddie told him, "I can't take [David Lee] Roth -- he's driving me nuts. We're not getting along. I've got this sound in my head that I want Van Halen to do, and Roth doesn't want to do it, and we're just getting to a point where he's believing his own hype." Simmons says he convinced him to stay, but not before recording demos of "Christine Sixteen," "Love for Sale" and "Tunnel of Love" with Eddie and his brother Alex. He concluded "it wasn't a natural fit."

Simmons helped Van Halen on early demos that led to them getting a record deal with Warner Brothers.

Simmons and the Rock n' Roll Allstars wrapped up their South American tour on Friday in Lima, Peru after the rest of the tour was scrapped due to problems with local promoters. Simmons and his wife, Shannon Tweed, met Peruvian President Humala and his wife. He says, "We were quite impressed with El Presidente. He has a certain 'presence.' He's charismatic!"