Gene Simmons: Kiss and Make-up - The Autobiography of Gene Simmons (Century)

THEY WANTED to dress like comic-book superheroes and write football-terrace anthems like Slade. Out of such dumb genius, vast fortunes are made. Kiss were also one of the first – if not the first – bands to recognise their own brand value and exploit it to the full – from lunchboxes to wrestlers, dolls to caskets. This may not have endeared them to the critics, but it certainly made their bank managers happy.