Frehley's Comet

Frehley's Comet
Company type	Band
Industry	Music
Founded	1984
Founder	Ace Frehley
Defunct	1988
Headquarters	New York, United States
Products	Studio albums, live EPs

Frehley's Comet was a hard rock ensemble from the United States, founded and fronted by former Kiss lead guitarist Ace Frehley. The band issued two studio albums along with a live EP prior to Frehley departing to focus on his 1989 solo release, Trouble Walkin'.

The group's name is a play on words inspired by Bill Haley & His Comets, which itself refers humorously to the common mispronunciation of Halley's Comet. It is important to note that Frehley's last name is pronounced "Freh-lee," rather than the frequently mistaken "Free-lee" or "Fray-lee."

History

Before establishing Frehley's Comet, Ace Frehley had achieved success with a 1978 solo album during his time with Kiss. Upon his exit from Kiss in 1982—while retaining a 25% ownership stake and facing restrictions on solo projects until 1985—he put together a band to support his solo ambitions. The initial roster featured Richie Scarlet on guitar, John Regan handling bass duties, Arthur Stead on keyboards, and former Kiss/Spider drummer Anton Fig. Their live debut took place on November 30, 1984, and they recorded demos of around twenty tracks with producers such as Eddie Kramer and Tony Bongiovi.

In May 1985, keyboardist Arthur Stead was replaced by Rob Sabino. A potential contract with the UK-based Bronze Records collapsed due to concerns over Frehley’s reliability. By November 1986, Frehley secured a six-album agreement with Megaforce Records. After touring with other acts, Regan rejoined the lineup, while Richie Scarlet was succeeded by ex-Cheap Trick guitarist Tod Howarth in December of that year.

Initially intended as the title for Frehley’s solo album, Frehley's Comet evolved into the band’s official name. Anton Fig did not participate in touring and was replaced by drummer Billy Ward. Prior to recording the second album, Second Sighting, Ward gave way to seasoned drummer Jamie Oldaker, who extensively toured with the group.

Frehley's Comet produced two studio albums and one live EP titled Live+1. Their last performance under this moniker occurred in August 1988 as an opening act for Iron Maiden. Before the end of that year, Howarth and Oldaker exited the band.

In 1989, Frehley released Trouble Walkin' as a strictly solo project, abandoning the Frehley's Comet brand. Richie Scarlet returned on guitar while Sandy Slavin took over drum duties from Oldaker; however, percussion contributions came from both Anton Fig and former Kiss drummer Peter Criss. The album also featured guest vocal appearances by Criss and Sebastian Bach. Following touring activities, the band dissolved after John Regan left in April 1990. Frehley did not perform live again until July 1992.

Frehley temporarily halted his solo career to rejoin Kiss in 1996 but later resumed it with Richie Scarlet rejoining his touring ensemble. After completing a 2018 Australian tour alongside Gene Simmons, Frehley replaced his entire solo backing band—including Scarlet—with Simmons's own group of musicians.

In 2014, Regan and Howarth reunited under the project Four By Fate. Additionally, Frehley's Comet reunited for one-off performances in 2017 and 2018 featuring Frehley, Howarth, Regan, and Fig.

Personnel

Members

Ace Frehley – lead and rhythm guitar, lead vocals (1984–1988; died 2025)
John Regan – bass guitar, drums, backing vocals (1984–1988; died 2023)
Anton Fig – drums, percussion (1984–1987)
Richie Scarlet – rhythm and lead guitar, vocals (1984–1985)
Arthur Stead – keyboards (1984–1985)
Rob Sabino – keyboards (1985–1986)
Tod Howarth – rhythm and lead guitar, keyboards, piano, lead vocals (1986–1988)
Billy Ward – drums, percussion (1987–1988)
Jamie Oldaker – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1988; died 2020)

Timeline

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Colors =

 id:lguitar   value:teal         legend:Lead_guitar,_vocals
 id:rguitar   value:brightgreen  legend:Rhythm_guitar,_vocals
 id:keyboards value:purple       legend:Keyboards
 id:bass      value:blue         legend:Bass_guitar,_backing_vocals
 id:drums     value:orange       legend:Drums,_percussion
 id:lines1    value:black        legend:Studio_albums

Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3 ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:1984 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1984

BarData =

 bar:Ace    text:Ace Frehley
 bar:Richie text:Richie Scarlet
 bar:Tod    text:Tod Howarth
 bar:Arthur text:Arthur Stead
 bar:Robert text:Robert Sabino
 bar:John   text:John Regan
 bar:Anton  text:Anton Fig
 bar:Billy  text:Billy Ward
 bar:Jamie  text:Jamie Oldaker

PlotData=

 width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)

 bar:Ace    from:start      till:end        color:lguitar
 bar:John   from:start      till:end        color:Bass
 bar:Arthur from:01/06/1984 till:01/01/1985 color:keyboards
 bar:Robert from:01/01/1985 till:01/01/1986 color:keyboards
 bar:Richie from:start      till:01/01/1986 color:rguitar
 bar:Tod    from:01/03/1986 till:end        color:rguitar
 bar:Tod    from:01/03/1986 till:end        color:keyboards width:3
 bar:Anton  from:start      till:01/08/1987 color:drums
 bar:Billy  from:01/08/1987 till:01/01/1988 color:drums
 bar:Jamie  from:01/01/1988 till:end        color:drums

LineData=

at:27/04/1987 color:lines1 layer:back
at:24/05/1988 color:lines1 layer:back

</timeline>

Line-ups

1984	1984–1985	1985–1986	1986
Ace Frehley – lead guitar, lead vocals Anton Fig – drums, percussion John Regan – bass guitar, drums, backing vocals Richie Scarlet – rhythm guitar, vocals	Ace Frehley – lead guitar, lead vocals Anton Fig – drums, percussion John Regan – bass guitar, drums, backing vocals Richie Scarlet – rhythm guitar, vocals Arthur Stead – keyboards	Ace Frehley – lead guitar, lead vocals Anton Fig – drums, percussion John Regan – bass guitar, drums, backing vocals Richie Scarlet – rhythm guitar, vocals Rob Sabino – keyboards	Ace Frehley – guitars, lead vocals Anton Fig – drums, percussion John Regan – bass guitar, drums, backing vocals
1986–1987, 2017, 2018	1987–1988	1988
Ace Frehley – lead guitar, lead vocals Anton Fig – drums, percussion John Regan – bass guitar, drums, backing vocals Tod Howarth – rhythm guitar, lead vocals, keyboards	Ace Frehley – lead guitar, lead vocals John Regan – bass guitar, drums, backing vocals Tod Howarth – rhythm guitar, lead vocals, keyboards Billy Ward – drums, percussion	Ace Frehley – lead guitar, lead vocals John Regan – bass guitar, drums, backing vocals Tod Howarth – rhythm guitar, lead vocals, keyboards Jamie Oldaker – drums, percussion, backing vocals

Discography

Studio albums

Release date	Title	Billboard
July 7, 1987	Frehley's Comet	43
May 24, 1988	Second Sighting	81

Live albums/EPs

Release date	Title	Billboard
February 1988	Live+1	84

Demos

Sterling Sound tape dated June 12, 1984 — contains tracks produced by Chris Kimsey.
Demo 2 (1984/85) and Summer 1985 demo include recordings produced by Eddie Kramer among others.
Power Station studio demo (1985) features covers and original compositions produced by Tony Bongiovi.
Vini Poncia demo (circa 1985/86) offers additional tracks produced by Vini Poncia.

Filmography

Live+4 (VHS release in 1988)

External links