| Tour by Kiss | |
 Official tour advertisement for Philipshalle, Düsseldorf, September 12, 1980 | |
| Associated album | Unmasked |
|---|---|
| Start date | July 25, 1980 |
| End date | December 3, 1980 |
| No. of shows | 42 |
| Kiss concert chronology | |
The Unmasked Tour was a concert tour by the American hard rock band Kiss. It was the first tour not to feature original drummer Peter Criss, and the touring debut of his replacement Eric Carr. [1]
The Unmasked Tour was the first time that Kiss only played in Europe, Australia, [2] and New Zealand, with only one show played in the United States, at the Palladium Theatre in New York. [3] "Cold Gin" returned to the set for the first time since the Rock & Roll Over Tour, and featured Ace Frehley on lead vocals, rather than Simmons who had sung the song on all previous tours on which it was performed. "You're All That I Want" was performed briefly, but was quickly dropped. "Strutter", which had not been performed live since the Destroyer Tour, returned to the set as well. Iron Maiden were the opening act for the European leg of the tour. [4] [5] English heavy rock band Girl supported Kiss at Stafford, Bingley Hall. During an autograph session from the band while on tour in West Germany, more than 2,000 fans in Frankfurt ended up causing severe traffic jams. The West Germany concerts would bring in a total of 100,000 fans. [6] The stage show and costumes, with the exception of Carr and Stanley, were holdovers from the Dynasty Tour.
This was the last tour that Ace Frehley performed with Kiss until the 1996 reunion tour. [7]
In the tour program for the band's final tour, Stanley reflected on the tour:
Playing Australia in 1980 was amazing. We were big beyond any comprehension. When we were first told that we were huge in Australia I really didn't have any idea what that meant until we went there. When people were saying you're as big as The Beatles were that's kind of hard to comprehend until you get off a plane and there's thousands of people at an airport and there's thousands of people camping outside your hotel and we couldn't leave the hotels. "Shandi" had already been a hit there. We were the front headline of the papers for virtually three or four weeks. It reached the point where I was asking that we not have any more parties because literally every night the promoter threw a party for us. [8]
Roman Kozak, a reviewer from the magazine Billboard gave the performance a positive review. He opened his review, noting of the lineup changes with the introduction of the new drummer Eric Carr. Regarding the show, he acknowledged the performance as the typical Kiss show, but noted that the band were performing on a smaller stage than usual, with the performance being basically the same, with the inclusion of loud musical energy, special effects and lighting. He cited the change in the band's sound being more "melodic" and "pop-side", but still gave the fans the hard rock and heavy metal they wanted, taking note that the song "Talk to Me" was well-received by the audience. [9]
Encore
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 19, 1980 | Oslo | Norway | Ekeberghallen | Extended time needed to find replacement for Peter Criss |
| May 21, 1980 | Copenhagen | Denmark | Brøndbyhallen | |
| May 23, 1980 | Stockholm | Sweden | Eriksdalshallen | |
| May 24, 1980 | Gothenburg | Scandinavium | ||
| May 27, 1980 | Munich | West Germany | Olympiahalle | |
| May 28, 1980 | Zwolle | Netherlands | IJsselhallen | |
| May 30, 1980 | Rotterdam | Ahoy Rotterdam | ||
| May 31, 1980 | Brussels | Belgium | Forest National | |
| June 3, 1980 | Saarbrücken | West Germany | Saarlandhalle | |
| June 4, 1980 | Paris | France | Pavillon de Paris | |
| June 5, 1980 | Lyon | Palais des Sports de Gerland | ||
| June 7, 1980 | Avignon | Parc des Expositions de Châteaublanc | ||
| June 8, 1980 | Fréjus | Arènes de Fréjus | ||
| June 10, 1980 | Barcelona | Spain | Palau dels Esports de Barcelona | |
| June 11, 1980 | Madrid | Pabellón de la Ciudad Deportiva del Real Madrid | ||
| June 14, 1980 | Zürich | Switzerland | Hallenstadion | |
| June 15, 1980 | Sindelfingen | West Germany | Messehalle | |
| June 16, 1980 | Frankfurt | Festhalle Frankfurt | ||
| June 18, 1980 | Eppelheim | Rhein-Neckar-Halle | ||
| June 20, 1980 | Köln | Köln Sporthalle | ||
| June 21, 1980 | Dortmund | Westfalenhalle | ||
| June 22, 1980 | Bremen | Stadthalle Bremen | ||
| June 23, 1980 | Hamburg | Ernst-Merck-Halle | ||
| June 25, 1980 | Brighton | United Kingdom | Brighton Centre | |
| June 27, 1980 | London | Wembley Arena | ||
| June 28, 1980 | ||||
| July 1, 1980 | Stafford | Bingley Hall | ||
| July 3, 1980 | Edinburgh | Royal Highland Showground | ||
| August 9, 1980 | Mexico City | Mexico | Unknown Venue | Promoter couldn't obtain the necessary permits |
| August 10, 1980 | ||||
| August 11, 1980 | ||||
| August 12, 1980 | Guadalajara | |||
| August 14, 1980 | Monterrey | |||
| August 24, 1980 | Cascais | Portugal | Pavilhão de Cascais | — |
| August 25, 1980 | ||||
| August 30, 1980 | Perugia | Italy | Stadio Renato Curi | |
| August 31, 1980 | Bologna | Stadio Renato Dall'Ara | ||
| September 26, 1980 | Lille | France | Lille Grand Palais | Low ticket sales |
| October 16, 1980 | Paris | Hippodrome de Pantin | — | |
| October 20, 1980 | Tokyo | Japan | Nippon Budokan | |
| October 21, 1980 | ||||
| October 24, 1980 | ||||
| October 27, 1980 | Kyoto | — | ||
| October 28, 1980 | Nagoya | |||
| October 29, 1980 | Osaka | |||
| October 30, 1980 |
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 which featured fire-breathing, blood-spitting, smoking guitars, shooting rockets, levitating drum kits and pyrotechnics. The band went through several lineup changes, with Stanley and Simmons remaining the only consistent members. The final lineup consisted of them, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer.
Killers is the second compilation album by American hard rock group Kiss. It was released only outside the US, but quickly became available as an import. Of the album's twelve songs, four were new compositions recorded specifically for it: "I'm a Legend Tonight," "Down on Your Knees," "Nowhere to Run" and "Partners in Crime." These new songs were recorded at the behest of Phonogram, in response to the commercial failure of 1981's Music from "The Elder".
Unmasked is the eighth studio album by American hard rock band Kiss, released on May 20, 1980, by Casablanca Records. It was their first not to feature original drummer and founding member Peter Criss. Despite having no involvement in its production, Criss features in the album's artwork and the video for "Shandi", and also receives credit.
"Shandi" is a hit single by American hard rock band Kiss. Released on their 1980 album, Unmasked, the song was popular in Australia, where it reached number five on the Australian charts. The song would prove to be a hit in other countries as well, making the top ten in three other countries. "Shandi" peaked at number 47 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart.
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