Mötley Crüe guitarist and six-string virtuoso John 5 is an avid fan of KISS and perhaps the world’s biggest collector of KISS memorabilia. With a collection sporting some 5,000 pieces, he’s created his own private KISS Museum at an undisclosed location.
On a recent episode of Talk Is Jericho, John 5 talked about his collection and showed Chris Jericho many outstanding and rare KISS pieces. What’s his favorite piece of KISS memorabilia?
“I think my favorite piece is Gene’s first outfit,” John 5 said pointing to the piece which can be seen in the video below. “And he told me about that. Did you ever see that (Phil) Donahue interview with Gene? 1974, very early, he’s got the skull here (points to chest), and then the skull is now on the back and he opened it up (on the chest). I emailed him and said, ‘Gene, why did you put the skull on the back?’ He said it’s such heavy leather that he couldn’t breathe. So they cut this and put the skull on the back.”
John 5 continued: “He said that was his very first outfit, and he would ride on the subway with it holding it. It was made with such amazing craftsmanship. Maria Contessa made these outfits. You’ll feel the stuff, it’s unbelievable. 52 years old that thing is.”
Watch the full interview with John 5 from his KISS Museum below.
