Artists like Gene Simmons

Paul Stanley is an American musician and songwriter. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and a founding member of the hard rock band Kiss, which was active from 1973 to 2023. He was the writer or co-writer of many of the band's most popular songs. Stanley established the Starchild character as his Kiss persona.

Kiss was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1973 by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. Known for their face paint and stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid-1970s with shock rock–style live performances that featured fire-breathing, blood-spitting, smoking guitars, shooting rockets, levitating drum kits and pyrotechnics. The band went through several lineup changes, starting with drummer Eric Carr replacing original drummer Peter Criss in 1980, with Stanley and Simmons remaining the only consistent members. The final lineup consisted of Stanley, Simmons, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer.

Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley was an American musician who was the original lead guitarist, and occasional vocalist, and a founding member of the rock band Kiss. He invented the persona of the Spaceman and originally played with the group from its inception in 1973 until his departure in 1982, before later rejoining in 1996 until his final departure in 2002.

Theodore Anthony Nugent is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He goes by several nicknames, including Uncle Ted, the Nuge, and Motor City Madman. Nugent initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional vocalist of the Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock and hard rock. After dissolving the band, he embarked on a successful solo career. His first three solo albums, Ted Nugent (1975), Free-for-All (1976) and Cat Scratch Fever (1977), as well as the live album Double Live Gonzo! (1978), were certified multi-platinum in the United States. His latest album, Detroit Muscle, was released in 2022. In 2023, he embarked on a farewell tour known as the "Adios Mofo Tour"; however, he has since continued to perform.

AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formative influence on the new wave of British heavy metal bands. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 and have sold over 200 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling artists of all time.

Whitesnake were an English rock band formed in London in 1978. The group originated as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed their own entity, Coverdale was the only constant member throughout their history.

The Birthday Massacre is a Canadian rock band formed in 1999 in London, Ontario and currently based in Toronto. The current lineup consists of lead vocalist Sara 'Chibi' Taylor, rhythm guitarist Michael Rainbow, lead guitarist Michael Falcore, keyboardist Owen Mackinder, drummer Philip Elliott, and bassist Brett Carruthers.

Night Ranger is an American hard rock band from San Francisco, California. The band formed in 1982 and experienced a surge of popularity during the 1980s with the release of several successful albums and hit singles. Guitarist Brad Gillis and drummer Kelly Keagy have been the band's only constant members, though bassist Jack Blades performed on all but one of their albums. Other current members of the band include guitarist Keri Kelli and keyboardist Eric Levy.

The Sweet are a British glam rock band who rose to prominence in the 1970s. Their best-known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bassist Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott and drummer Mick Tucker. As well as having success with singles in the UK and USA, Sweet have sold over 35 million albums worldwide.

Thin Lizzy were an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. The band initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist, and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell, and organist Eric Wrixon, although Wrixon left after a few months. Bell left at the end of 1973 and was briefly replaced by Gary Moore, who himself was replaced in mid-1974 by dual lead guitarists: Scott Gorham, who remained with the band until their break-up in 1983, and Brian Robertson, who remained with the band until 1978 when Moore re-joined. Moore left a second time and was replaced by Snowy White in 1980, who was himself replaced by John Sykes in 1982. The line-up was augmented by keyboardist Darren Wharton in 1980.

Poison is an American rock band formed in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania in 1983. The most successful incarnation of the band consists of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Bret Michaels, drummer Rikki Rockett, bassist Bobby Dall and lead guitarist C.C. DeVille. The band achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s and sold over 65 million records and DVDs worldwide. In 2012, VH1 ranked them at No. 1 on their list of the "Top 5 Hair Bands of the '80s".

Great White is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The band is named after both the shark with the same name, and guitarist Mark Kendall's former stage nickname. In August 2008, the band estimated they had sold around eight million records worldwide.

Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1963. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits, including six number ones, on the UK Singles Chart, and three number ones on the UK Albums Charts. The British Hit Singles & Albums names them the most successful British group of the 1970s based on sales of singles. They were the first act to have three singles enter the charts at number one; all six of the band's chart-toppers were written by Noddy Holder and Jim Lea. As of 2006, total UK sales stood at over 6,500,000. Their best-selling single, "Merry Xmas Everybody", has sold in excess of one million copies. According to the 1999 BBC documentary It's Slade, the band have sold more than 50 million records worldwide.

UFO were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM). The band's final line-up consisted of vocalist Phil Mogg, lead guitarist Vinnie Moore, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Neil Carter, bass guitarist Rob De Luca, and drummer Andy Parker. They had gone through several line-up changes, leaving Mogg as the only constant member, and had disbanded three times. The band's "classic" line-up comprised Mogg, Parker, bassist Pete Way, keyboardist Paul Raymond, and former Scorpions guitarist Michael Schenker. In May 2018, Mogg announced that he would retire from UFO after one last tour as a member of the band in 2019; however, their farewell tour was set to conclude in 2022 before it was cancelled, due to Mogg's health issues. Mogg confirmed UFO's third disbandment in April 2024.

William Haislip Squier is an American rock musician, singer, and songwriter who had a string of hits in the early 1980s. His best-known songs include "The Stroke", "Lonely Is the Night", "My Kinda Lover", "In the Dark", "Rock Me Tonite", "Everybody Wants You", "Emotions in Motion", "Love Is the Hero", and "Don't Say You Love Me". Squier's best-selling album, 1981's Don't Say No, is considered a landmark release of arena rock, bridging the gap between power pop and hard rock.

Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 1976. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage, Joe Elliott, Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen, and Vivian Campbell. They established themselves as part of the new wave of British heavy metal of the early 1980s.