KissAsylum.com has published an interview with legendary rock photographer Fin Costello, who reveals the truth about KISS Alive. An excerpt from the discussion appears below.

KA: One of your most famous pictures of all time, is the one that ended up being the album cover for KISS’ breakthrough-album, KISS Alive, from 1975. Unlike anything from their three first album covers, it captures the show, the music and their attitude perfectly. How did you end up working for KISS?

Costello: "I went to live in USA in 1973 with DEEP PURPLE, who I was an art director and photographer for, and a graphic designer I knew was working on an album cover for KISS, called Dressed To Kill. He was very unhappy with it, because the picture was funny but not right. He told me to come and see them play, because they were playing at the Beacon Theatre in New York. That day I had been working with the Brecker Brothers, which is a jazz thing. So I went up there, with my camera and everything. And it was like Dante’s Inferno. As I walked in, I realized I had never seen nothing like it in my life. And this was just the first song.

By this time, they were completely broke. They had no money. I stayed in New York that night, processed the film in an overnight lab, and rang their manager Bill Aucoin in the morning. I told him who I was, mentioned some of my work, like Deep Purple’s Made In Japan, and said that I’d like to him show the pictures I took at the show the night before. He said 'Sure' So I went up there, and their office was about half the size of this studio.

KA: Really? ‘Cause this is a very small studio.

Costello: "Yeah, but that was the KISS Empire. Joyce Biawitz (co-manager) and Bill Aucoin had desks standing against each other. Well, I showed them the photos, and I was smart enough to bring with me a projector from the graphic design place. I asked Aucoin where the projection room was, and he just laughed. Lovely man, by the way. He just laughed and said project them against the wall. I got about 4 pictures projected, and then he said: Don’t show me any more. Then he rang Gene (Simmons) and said: 'Come on down here, I want you to meet this guy.'

So the four of them came down to Aucoin’s office. Ace (Frehley) arrived late and didn’t know what he was there for. But Paul (Stanley) and Gene were very sharp, Gene in particular. The minute he saw how I’d captured the show, he said: 'Right, we’re doing a live album. It’s a last chance-thing. If it works, we’re in business. If it doesn’t work, we’re dead.' Then we went to Detroit and we shot the live album in rehearsal. It’s not a live photograph."

KA: And it wasn’t shot in Cobo Hall in Detroit, even though some of the album was recorded there?

Costello: "That’s right. It wasn’t Cobo Hall. It was shot in the Michigan Palace, which is a car park now, sadly. That was where Iggy, MC5 and all those guys got it together. It was a fabulous place, a very nice Victorian music hall.

Gene got really annoyed in the end. Everybody got very tired, so it became the same pose over and over again. We couldn’t think of a new pose. What we were doing was something Gene called The STATUS QUO-pose. They love Status Quo and that simple, straight-ahead poppy rock. And they did this classic pose, which they had incorporated into their show."

KA: Were the members of KISS familiar with your work?

Costello: "Gene and Peter (Criss) were. The cover is actually influenced by URIAH HEEP Live, a cover with a gatefold and a four page booklet of photographs. That was what they wanted – lot of pictures of the live show.

The interesting thing is, if you look at the back cover on Alive, on the seats right besides the two guys holding the banner, there are two young teenage guys with long hair. They’re on the right side of the picture as you look at it. One is Chad Smith from the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, the other one is his brother. I just found out a few years ago.

The feedback I get on that album is phenomenal. Not only because of the cover, but because it’s an iconic album. It turned American music around."

Go to this location for the complete interview.