Animalize World Tour

Animalize World Tour

Tour by Kiss
Associated album	Animalize
Start date	September 30, 1984
End date	March 29, 1985
Legs	2
No. of shows	119
Kiss concert chronology
Lick It Up World Tour (1983–1984) Animalize World Tour (1984–1985) Asylum Tour (1985–1986)

The Animalize World Tour was a concert tour by American rock band Kiss in support of their twelfth studio album, Animalize .

Background

This was the first tour with Bruce Kulick on lead guitar, replacing Mark St. John who couldn't play due to his arthritic condition. ^[1] Originally Kulick was a temporary replacement, but after St. John's condition improved and he returned to the group, the other members decided Kulick was a better fit musically, resulting in Kulick being named an official member on December 2, 1984 after the band had played three shows with St. John. ^{[2] [3]}

According to Pete Bishop, a reporter from The Pittsburgh Press , the design of the stage featured a leopard-zebra appearance taken from the cover of the album Animalize. The lighted band logo was hung over the upstage portion with specials effects also featuring blasting caps and sparkler jets. There was also colored lights on trusses and beneath meshwork ramps. A truss would lift downwards to lift up the guitarists and lift them to a catwalk, descending down later on a smoke spewing platform. ^[4]

The Animalize period was the band's most successful of the decade with the crossover success of "Heaven's on Fire" onto CHR/Top 40 radio, a very well-attended concert trek, and with Animalize selling nearly 2 million copies by the end of the tour.^{[ citation needed ]} The live video Animalize Live Uncensored was recorded at Cobo Hall on December 8, 1984 during this tour, later airing on MTV. ^[5] On April 7, 2023, Kiss officially released the only known soundboard recording of a live show with Mark St. John, as part of their Off the Soundboard series. The concert was recorded on November 28, 1984 at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York. ^[6]

In the tour program for the band's final tour, Simmons reflected on the tour:

You can't help but have a good time at one of our shows when everybody is going nuts onstage. That kind of good time is infectious. You can't fake it. You can't fool the audience. The people will see right through you if you put on a fake smile or you're not putting out your best. The band are alive and well and playing better than we ever have. ^[7]

Reception

Linda Moleski, a reporter from Billboard, who had attended the performance in Uniondale began her review by noting that the theatrics had not been toned down, but had toned down in appearance. She praised the concert as a 'powerful metal fury', but said she was disappointed from the performance of "Heaven's on Fire" as it was delivered more weakly and harshly. She pointed out the strong connection with both the audience and the players, even praising the uncluttered stage. ^[8]

Jeff Bunch, a correspondent from The Spokesman-Review was not impressed from the band's performance in Spokane, stating that they were nothing more than a 'play-it-loud-and-say-it-crude' band and suggested that 'if the rumors that rock 'n roll died, it was true. He criticized that the band were strutting around on stage in a graphic matter while Stanley spent more time telling stories than singing - while noting the band having the audience on their feet throughout the whole performance. He concluded his review by stating that the band's success was relied on playing music loud and throwing in many theatrics as possible. He however, claimed that the opening act played to a better-than-average reception. ^[9]

Setlist

These are example setlists of what was performed during the tour on each leg, but may not represent the majority of the tour. ^[2]

Europe setlist "Detroit Rock City" "Cold Gin" "Strutter" "Fits Like a Glove" "Heaven's on Fire" "Under the Gun" "War Machine" "Young and Wasted" "I've Had Enough (Into the Fire)" "I Love It Loud" "I Still Love You" "Creatures of the Night" "Love Gun" "Rock and Roll All Nite" Encore "Lick It Up" "Black Diamond"

North America setlist "Detroit Rock City" "Cold Gin" "Creatures of the Night" "Fits Like a Glove" "Heaven's on Fire" "Under the Gun" "War Machine" "Young and Wasted" "I Love It Loud" "I Still Love You" "Love Gun" "Black Diamond" Encore "Lick It Up" "Rock and Roll All Nite"

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue	Opening Act(s)
Europe [2]
September 30, 1984	Brighton	England	Brighton Centre	Bon Jovi
October 1, 1984	Southampton		Gaumont Theatre
October 2, 1984	St Austell		Cornwall Coliseum
October 4, 1984	Manchester		Manchester Apollo
October 5, 1984	Glasgow	Scotland	Glasgow Apollo
October 6, 1984	Edinburgh		Edinburgh Playhouse
October 7, 1984	Newcastle upon Tyne	England	Newcastle City Hall
October 8, 1984
October 10, 1984	Leicester		De Montfort Hall
October 11, 1984	Ipswich		Gaumont Theater
October 12, 1984	Stafford		Bingley Hall
October 13, 1984	Leeds		Queen's Hall
October 14, 1984	London		Wembley Arena
October 15, 1984
October 18, 1984	Munich	West Germany	Circus Krone
October 17, 1984	Offenbach am Main		Stadthalle Offenbach
October 19, 1984	Neunkirchen am Brand		Hemmerleinhalle
October 21, 1984	Copenhagen	Denmark	Falkoner Center
October 22, 1984	Drammen	Norway	Drammenshallen	—
October 24, 1984	Lund	Sweden	Olympen
October 26, 1984	Stockholm		Johanneshovs Isstadion	Bon Jovi
October 27, 1984	Gothenburg		Scandinavium
October 29, 1984	Hanover	West Germany	Stadionsporthalle
October 30, 1984	Düsseldorf		Philipshalle
October 31, 1984	Ludwigshafen		Friedrich-Ebert-Halle
November 1, 1984	Lausanne	Switzerland	Palais de Beaulieu
November 3, 1984	Brussels	Belgium	Forest National
November 4, 1984	Zwolle	Netherlands	IJsselhallen
November 5, 1984	Paris	France	Zénith de Paris
North America [2] [10]
November 15, 1984	Bethlehem	United States	Stabler Arena	Queensrÿche
November 16, 1984	Glens Falls		Glens Falls Civic Center
November 17, 1984	Rochester		Rochester Community War Memorial
November 18, 1984	Buffalo		Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
November 20, 1984	Syracuse		Onondaga County War Memorial
November 23, 1984	Worcester		The Centrum
November 24, 1984	New Haven		New Haven Coliseum
November 25, 1984	Philadelphia		The Spectrum
November 26, 1984	Uniondale		Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
November 27, 1984	Baltimore		Baltimore Civic Center 1
November 28, 1984	Poughkeepsie		Mid-Hudson Civic Center 2
November 29, 1984	Binghamton		Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena 2
December 2, 1984	Indianapolis		Market Square Arena 3
December 4, 1984	St. Louis		Kiel Auditorium
December 5, 1984	Evansville		Roberts Municipal Stadium
December 6, 1984	Terre Haute		Hulman Center
December 7, 1984	Fort Wayne		Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
December 8, 1984	Detroit		Cobo Arena 4
December 11, 1984	Saginaw		Saginaw Civic Center
December 12, 1984	Columbus		Battelle Hall
December 13, 1984	Dayton		Hara Arena
December 14, 1984	Richfield		Richfield Coliseum
December 15, 1984	Louisville		Commonwealth Convention Center
December 17, 1984	Peoria		Peoria Civic Center
December 18, 1984	Cedar Rapids		Five Seasons Center
December 26, 1984	Kansas City		Kansas City Municipal Auditorium
December 27, 1984	Lincoln		Pershing Auditorium
December 29, 1984	Saint Paul		St. Paul Civic Center
December 30, 1984	Milwaukee		MECCA Arena
January 3, 1985	Greenville		Greenville Memorial Auditorium	Krokus
January 4, 1985	Johnson City		Freedom Hall Civic Center
January 5, 1985	Fayetteville		Cumberland County Memorial Arena
January 6, 1985	Charlotte		Charlotte Coliseum
January 8, 1985	Knoxville		Knoxville Civic Coliseum
January 9, 1985	Atlanta		The Omni Coliseum
January 10, 1985	Orlando		Orlando Sports Stadium
January 11, 1985	Fort Lauderdale		Sunrise Musical Theater
January 12, 1985
January 13, 1985	St. Petersburg		Bayfront Center
January 15, 1985	New Orleans		Kiefer UNO Lakefront Arena
January 16, 1985	Biloxi		Mississippi Coast Coliseum
January 17, 1985	Huntsville		Von Braun Civic Center
January 18, 1985	Birmingham		Boutwell Memorial Auditorium
January 19, 1985	Nashville		Nashville Municipal Auditorium
January 21, 1985	Pensacola		Pensacola Civic Center
January 22, 1985	Memphis		Mid-South Coliseum
January 24, 1985	Lubbock		Lubbock Municipal Coliseum	Queensrÿche
January 25, 1985	Abilene		Taylor County Expo Center
January 26, 1985	Austin		Frank Erwin Center
January 27, 1985	Corpus Christi		Corpus Christi Memorial Coliseum
January 29, 1985	Dallas		Reunion Arena
January 30, 1985	San Antonio		HemisFair Arena
January 31, 1985	Houston		Sam Houston Coliseum
February 1, 1985	Waco		Waco Convention Center
February 3, 1985	Odessa		Ector County Coliseum
February 4, 1985	Amarillo		Amarillo Civic Center
February 5, 1985	El Paso		El Paso County Coliseum
February 6, 1985	Phoenix		Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
February 7, 1985	Las Vegas		Aladdin Theatre
February 9, 1985	Oakland		Kaiser Convention Center
February 11, 1985	Salt Lake City		Salt Palace
February 13, 1985	Seattle		Seattle Center Arena
February 14, 1985	Portland		Portland Memorial Coliseum
February 17, 1985	Long Beach		Long Beach Arena
February 18, 1985
February 20, 1985	San Bernardino	Orange Pavilion
February 21, 1985	Bakersfield	Bakersfield Convention Center
February 22, 1985	San Diego	San Diego Sports Arena
February 24, 1985	Sacramento	Sacramento Memorial Auditorium
February 26, 1985	Spokane	Spokane Coliseum
February 27, 1985	Vancouver	Canada	Pacific Coliseum
March 1, 1985	Edmonton		Kinsmen Field House	Sentinel
March 2, 1985	Lethbridge		Sportplex	Queensrÿche
March 3, 1985	Calgary		Stampede Corral
March 7, 1985	Regina		Regina Agridome	Dokken
March 9, 1985	Winnipeg		Winnipeg Arena
March 10, 1985	Grand Forks	United States	Hyslop Sports Center
March 11, 1985	Bismarck		Bismarck Civic Center
March 13, 1985	Duluth		Duluth Arena
March 14, 1985	Green Bay		Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena
March 15, 1985	La Crosse		La Crosse Center
March 16, 1985	Dubuque		Five Flags Center
March 17, 1985	Des Moines		Iowa Veterans Memorial Auditorium
March 19, 1985	Madison		Dane County Expo Coliseum	W.A.S.P.
March 20, 1985	Marquette		Lakeview Arena
March 22, 1985	Lansing		Lansing Civic Center
March 23, 1985	South Bend		Athletic & Convocation Center
March 24, 1985	Cincinnati		Cincinnati Gardens
March 25, 1985	Toledo		Toledo Sports Arena
March 26, 1985	Pittsburgh		Pittsburgh Civic Arena
March 28, 1985	Springfield		Springfield Civic Center
March 29, 1985	East Rutherford		Brendan Byrne Arena

• ^Note 1 Bruce Kulick performed the first half of this show and Mark St. John performed the second half.
• ^Note 2 Mark St. John performed the entirety of these shows.
• ^Note 3 This was Bruce Kulick's first show as a permanent member of the group.
• ^Note 4 This show was professionally recorded and shown on MTV, then later released as Animalize Live Uncensored .

Box office score data

List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, references

Date (1984)	City	Venue	Attendance	Gross	Ref(s)
November 15	Bethlehem	Stabler Arena	4,472 / 6,000	$49,346	[11]
December 2	Indianapolis	Market Square Arena	10,393 / 10,500	$111,865	[12]
December 4	St. Louis	Kiel Auditorium	4,380 / 5,700	$54,533	[13]

Personnel

• Paul Stanley – vocals, rhythm guitar
• Gene Simmons – vocals, bass
• Eric Carr – drums, vocals
• Bruce Kulick – lead guitar, backing vocals (all but November 28 and 29 dates)
• Mark St. John – lead guitar, backing vocals (only November 27, 28, and 29 dates)

References

1. Giles, Jeff (April 27, 2017). "The Life and Death of Kiss Guitarist Mark St. John". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
2. Gooch, Curt; Suhs, Jeff (2002). Kiss Alive Forever: The Complete Touring History. New York: Billboard Books. ISBN   0-8230-8322-5.
3. Wilkening, Matthew (December 7, 2019). "35 Years Ago: Kiss' Bruce Kulick Era Begins With 'Animalize Live'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
4. Bishop, Pete (March 27, 1985). "Music still second fiddle at Kiss concert". Pittsburgh: The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
5. Durr, Matt (March 9, 2019). "KISS's most memorable Michigan moments". mlive. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
6. Wardlaw, Andrew. "Kiss to Release Rare 1984 Mark St. john Show as Next Live Album". Ultimateclassicrock.com. Andrew Wardlaw.
7. (2019). End of the Road World Tour Program, pg. 21.
8. Moleski, Linda (December 15, 1984). "Talent in Action". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 50. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 45. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved December 12, 2021.
9. Bunch, Jeff (February 27, 1985). "KISS concert is nothing more than play it loud, say it crude". Spokane: The Spokesman-Review. p. 12. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
10. North America show notices:
    • "What's Happening Out of Town?". The Bryan Times. November 23, 1984. p. 7. Retrieved December 12, 2021. Kiss Concert, Dec 7
    • "Arts - Activities: On Stage..." Warsaw, Indiana: Times-Union. February 23, 1985. Retrieved December 12, 2021. Saturday, March 23, KISS Concert, 8 p.m.
    • "Calendar of Events". Gadsden, Alabama: Gadsden Times. January 11, 1985. p. A9. Retrieved December 12, 2021. KISS to perform
11. "Amusement Business Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 48. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 1, 1984. p. 37. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved December 11, 2021.
12. "Amusement Business Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 50. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 15, 1984. p. 45. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved 11 December 2021.
13. "Amusement Business Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 51. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 22, 1984. p. 41. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved December 11, 2021.

Sources

• Gooch, Curt; Suhs, Jeff (2002). Kiss Alive Forever: The Complete Touring History. New York: Billboard Books. ISBN   0-8230-8322-5.