KISS Unmasking on MTV - 09/18/83

[@bobowman470]

I'm 71 yrs old, and I still want my MTV.

[@Lesbosac]

Im 30 Years old and I want my MTV

[@wynnie_margeaux]

I’m 21 years old, and I want your MTV too

[@aubreymata6084]

I am 17 and I want to join the group too

[@3dsmaxrocks699]

You just had to be there in the 70's to understand the craze that was known as KISS. Everybody in our school talked about them; played their music on portable cassette players in the hallways etc etc

[@martinl.lazarinejr.2781]

i well remember and i was in elementary school

[@leokimvideo]

It was a radical move by Kiss, and what we didn't understand at the time this was the second great era for Kiss. Once that makeup was removed the song writing on the no makeup albums was amazing. It's also the peak vocal period for Paul Stanley. Kiss's live shows in the mid to late 80's had the band performing with a new up tempo sound. Add to that the changing lead guitar until Bruce Kulick stabilized the position. Maybe Gene struggled the most without makeup, he sometimes looked lost stripped of his wings not playing the demon

[@88kwthomas]

The only reason the KISS name lasted was because they were paid a shitload upfront by polygram/mercury so it was either churn out album after album or be sued by the record company. Lucky for us some of the co-written material turned out awesome and the other 95% you can skip through

[@Kiss.mwah71]

Gene really did struggle with no makeup. Because Starchild was just Paul with makeup, Eric and Vinnie barely wore the makeup, but Gene Simmons and The Demon were two separate people. For almost all of the 80's Gene struggled to be the bad boy evil guy without makeup.

[@johnschindler7883]

Yeah, you could see it with Gene in the Lick it Up video. He looked a little out of place, but as time went by he eventually felt more comfortable, especially in Heaven's on Fire.

[@realretrorelapse]

I hear kiss fans trash this era a lot. I liked it. I liked this lineup. It worked for me.

[@Speed.Racer.5]

I remember thinking this was a weird choice this was at the time. The MTV age was in full swing and this was a band with a very visual image and they were taking that away.

[@michaelhoward9932]

I remember watching this on MTV , I'm 60 now, god this memory makes me feel old.

[@robertc7072]

Me to but deep down I knew it was going to be the beginning of the end for a great band. After this IMO they became just another glam hair metal band. I will always remember the 70's as them being at their best. The music had an "edge" to it back then which was lost when the 80's came around.

[@jdway3542]

Me too! Watched it live. I'm 61. (I also watched when MTV went live as well. Damn, I'm old too!! Wha happened???)

[@paulpalermo2109]

I also remember David Lee Roth was the interview before. Stoned out of his mind

[@michellerene951]

LOL same. I was 16 then. 😅

[@TommyFlanagan666]

I’m 56 but compared to these giants of rock and roll we’re still young pups. 😄 I can’t believe it’s now been 50 years. I bought my first KISS album when I was eight years old and from the opening riff of Nothin’ To Lose it was love at first listen. The influence these guys have had on the industry cannot be overstated.

[@brahsumatra]

When MTV was about Music.

[@Adi_Zlokob_86]

when kiss was about music too.

[@charlesreid9337]

right? When the standard wasn't "build something successful then bleed it dry ". TLC ( or Discovery? i forget ). was once a .gov funded education channel. The history channel used to LOVE history. MTV was about rock.. and pop and alternative.. then even rap .. Music... it seems the Finance MBA sociopaths eventually get hold of everything and reduce it to sleazy profit at all cost operations

[@Desstrik]

Had just started 8th grade.. AMAZING TIMES to be a young teen!

[@spaceace8613]

I just left the 8th grade and i still love kiss even tho im not from there time❤ 70s-80s classic rock will always be #1 especially kiss!🤘

[@whataboutrob442]

I just started 9th grade.

[@ecto1996]

I was in 1st grade. 😂

[@turntablesrockmyworld9315]

Hah! Me too! Grade 8!

[@chaosbringerpig]

Hell yeah! I just started 9th grade.

[@JulesUS8386]

The 60-70s was the best time to be a teen/young adult and catch the best music made! Love to KISS💋🤘🔥

[@doniotte681]

This is when MTV WAS Great back in the 80’s

[@Shikta-poobah67]

I don’t know about “great”, but they at least played music videos back then.

[@mannygrossman]

What's amazing about this is that this was like an earth shattering event when it happened. It was huge news and people were actually interested.

[@lisaemanuello5148]

i was 17years old when this first aired on MTV my mom let me stay up late to watch this ❤

[@GinaSigillito]

God what a memory. I was just a kid and this was such a huge moment. Good times.

[@remnantsofasoundblast]

Same here!

[@robintaylor485]

After a long day I love to come home and smoke a little weed in order Chinese food to be delivered and watch this kind of stuff for the evening before I go to bed it just gives me back to the child mentality

[@ahmedsmith6106]

My kind of night!

[@robertpusateri2345]

I'll always remember this

[@BNatoAk]

7 months ago you had a good evening 👊

[@FMP177]

HeLL Yeah!!!

[@metaphoria3]

Same its good for ya

[@gogoyubari366]

JJ Jackson is a legend. I used to listen to him all the time on the rsdio when i was a teenager.

[@BradleyGibson-dq7et]

I'm 59 and it was a blast growing up when I did,. Parents hated kiss so I plastered my room in posters.

[@billb.7346]

I’m 60 and agree 100%

[@sharynyoung5303]

POSTERS!!!!!!! TY..😁

[@shonuff4323]

I remember watching this live at 11 years old. I had Kiss lunchbox

[@SAH7272]

Same! It was a really big deal.

[@nigeldreiner]

Cool - I dont think I've ever seen the entire video! Thank you!

[@chadspencer9302]

Growing up with MTV was great in the 80s

[@phoenixmode6909]

Indeed, back when MTV was still about music. 😎👍🏻

[@charlesreid9337]

i literally remember them playing 'video killed the radio star"... and thinking it was a silly but good song.. didnt "get it" And (some of) their vj's!!! Back in the day music was decided by dj's.. and vj's.. introducing us to new music and seeing what we loved .As opposed to now when what we are exposed to is literally decided by MBA's in corporate offices and the mba's they outsource their programming to for $$$

[@JeffTullock-fs4de]

As a little kid I wanted to see their faces. Huge fan. To this day it is one of my favorite KISS moments. Ditch the makeup and prove people like your music and not just the makeup. The mystique was gone on the Reunion Tour. It wasn’t the same as having no idea what they looked like without makeup.

[@denal0u]

I love KISS. Always have since the 70’s. 🖤💋

[@pauldecoster]

The great J.J. Jackson, one of the first Video jocks on MTV.

[@Sean-me4fv]

Wow it was cool hearing Peter Criss singing in Rock n Roll All Nite

[@Krix6426]

I remember this. I was 12.

[@madpixie02]

Fantastic. Never saw this. Thank you!

[@pattyflanders8021]

I saw them in Portland, Maine January 21st, 1983, WITH MAKEUP 😊

[@hugnroll]

Cool! I Saw Them 1980 In Sweden.... Eric on the drums. 🙂

[@pete7164]

It's Wild that they were only around for ten years at that point

[@gecko-sb1kp]

Eric sounded like an Aussie there when he said 'Magic, mate' after the 'Lick It Up' snippet we never got to seen. The truth is, I was a hardcore kiss fan at the age of 11 in Australia. Dynasty being my first cassette. But I knew what the guys looked like long before they went unmasked in '83. I used to buy tabloid magazines with photos of them proclaiming 'Kiss Unmasked'. And it was all true. My all-time favorite was one of Paul Stanley staring at the camera like a deer caught in headlights... The funny thing is, even after being at their very first Australian concert in 1980, I never really followed them forward after the Unmasked album. Instead buying their earlier albums back to their genesis and loving it. But being my first, Dynasty is my favorite. It was like a drug to me and still is...

[@easterworshipper5579]

i was 11 when they played waverley park in 1980. too young to go, but i could still hear the entire show from my backyard!

[@eyeofthescar6890]

I'll never forget taking Lick It Up home and hearing Exciter for the first time.

[@darania1]

Im not American but I had a 15 yr old friend who worshipped KISS & proudly owned all their albums. KISS were still big stars back in 83 so I imagine this public unmasking was a national KISS PR event back then...

[@radioraffa]

Funny, that before the unmasking they showed older footage before Vinnie or Eric were even with the band.

[@cpeeteetuce1974]

Then says, ‘After ten years together…we’re going to see Kiss without their makeup’.

[@NefariousDreary]

Great interview. I love the vibe of the host.

[@dg-hughes]

I'm in Canada we never got MTV here and Much Music was a year away but we had The New Music a long running music show even before MTV. I'm from a small town but even here and me being age 14 I remember hearing about this major event.

[@Zakker123]

I remember this, I was 12 at the time. and I remember the Mad Magazine spoof that came out later that month.

[@merrywissemes]

I never really got into their music, but there’s no denying their showmanship.

[@tommysonnier9848]

I feel the same way. They were society changers, maybe for the worse. No one else had a gimmick that even came close to what they did. I was a child in the 70s and I noticed the infatuation teens had for KISS.

[@charlesreid9337]

their 80's music was far better.. songs like "tears are falling" and "lick it up".. still "fun kiss music" but far higher quality music

[@arrianemathews4989]

Wow these guys rocked my world xxx kiss I love you

[@imabee2010]

Who doesn`t wanna rock in roll all day and party 😁😁🥰. They will be missed but was so so good

[@MyAussieGardenKitchen]

G'day! I was 11 years old in 1980 and obsessed with Kiss. Moved to Malaysia that year and was totally cut off due to the cultural reasons and censorship, but still played my cassettes and did the air guitar. Moved back to Australia aged 14, and saw non makeup interviews and it blew my mind. I was so shocked as it was just not ever a thing before we moved for a few years. It was like one of the biggest mysteries of the world had just been revealed to me.

[@melissagerber7231]

After Mother died, my 12 year old sister went KISS freak. Dad said that she could have all the records and pictures she wanted,as long as she kept the sound low and everything in her room with he door shut, so,he wouldnt have to look at them or listen to him.

[@tksambrano]

I remember Peter Criss being on the Tomorrow Show without his makeup a few years before this reveal.

[@MarceloApenas]

In 1982 there was a Kissmania here in Brazil, I was 8 years old and I got Creatures of the Night for my birthday, still my favorite to this day!

[@dennisn1672]

The kiss alive double album rocks from start to finish.

[@59plexi]

i was 13 in '83.....long time ago

[@massapower]

Ahhhh. Good ole Reliable BETAMAX BABY 😁👍🏻👍🏻

[@fooddood]

Even as a kid, this was incredibly anticlimactic

[@richbailey8174]

It actually was when I think of it

[@reubensane5539]

So true

[@semyaza555]

Why? This is way ahead of my time. So, I’m curious.

[@BrookeEvangelineWinter]

For sure.

[@karlepaul6632]

Yeah...but it did the job, got them attention, and helped with the record sales.

[@bobbyricigliano2799]

I first saw Kiss live after unmasking. Then again when they remasked! They stayed relevant in the era of "reunion tours" because they gave 110% on stage and earned every penny. The last live show I attended was with the original lineup back together masked. It was almost unbelievable to be there and it completely rocked. Before the internet, most people didn't know about internal conflict among the members. We just enjoyed the show, leaving happy, drunk, and deaf for a day or two.

[@jameskelly5672]

This was big back then.

[@remnantsofasoundblast]

I was 10. I remember watching this. Crazy

[@s.f.morris7331]

I remember seeing this when it came out

[@BigBass-xf5yi]

I miss JJ and the crew. The early 80s were an amazing time. The best of times. Lots of genres kickin in

[@DrTomMD]

Damn…Peter’s voice is so friggin’ good on RnRAN!

[@robertblackmore703]

Yeah man, I was thinking the same thing. Those great backup vocals really shine in that live recording.

[@GusGus6969]

Listen to 'Hard luck woman' if you haven't heard yet, my favorite.

[@craigfazekas3923]

Weird. Looking at the original air date ? I realise that I was 2 weeks into my freshman year at high school.....and high. 🚬😎👍

[@RoktheNation]

I watched this live and it was very interesting. They showed the world premiere of the Lick it up video and wasnt a fan. No guitar solo? Well the song and the album grew on me years later.

[@lisasuzanne8474]

Vinny is easy to recognize out of makeup.

[@ronaldshank7589]

Gotta give Gene credit here. He can be a fun guy to be around! That part, about him having a Ten-Foot sign, that would say "Hi. I'm Gene", was hilarious!

[@jfrey1]

Peter Criss' harmony vocals on the choruses starting at 0:40 are absolute fire 🔥

[@HHH-ye1ro]

I remember watching this at 6 years old! Tattooed on my brain. Seemed so weird, but natural.

[@mskatonic2124]

I was 5. Had just started kindergarten. 😊

[@BNatoAk]

I was the same age watching lol, can you effing believe we'll be 50 in 4 years 😳

[@brianwright2008]

I liked the unmasked Era and I'll bodly say musically this was there best.

[@charlesreid9337]

i agree completely. They became less about gimmics and far more about the music.

[@agoogleuser992]

Man wouldn't it have been cool if the original band stayed together their whole career and never took the makeup off?

[@DropPCTV]

I was just 10 years old in 1983., I only knew of kiss, because my aunt who used to live upstairs in my grandmothers apartment when she got married and moved away I kind of took over her room, and she had a dresser and inside that dresser had a round sticker with kiss on it and I remember saying wow as a young kid it just looks so cool but I have to say I was never much of a kids fan and I do like a lot of 70s and 80s music but their music wasn’t something that I would listen to but I did record that last concert in Madison Square Garden a few nights ago just so I could have it, and I did listen to a few songs that I actually liked. It’s an end of an era. At least they are still alive and kicking so many people from that time or not even around anymore.

[@sstjacques]

First time I saw them un masked, was the lick it up video on MTV. 😆

[@GetBenched2010]

Vinnie Vincent: Ace's Mini Me!

[@Akva77]

Nawww Eric Was so cute😭🌷

[@FoxyCarr]

Yes😭

[@eddielopez5903]

I love our Time Machine that is KZbin… wife is at work, rolled one for the “back pain”, cat an dog chilling, rewinding to a great band

[@Mitzi73]

He said “After TEN years together..”. They were just getting started at that point.😂

[@necrognomicon52]

Was born in 85. Still waiting on my MTV

[@scrunts666]

I always thought the song said "I want to rock and roll all night, and part of the day".

[@warriorv9359]

Love the 76 footage

[@RoyPage1970]

January 77 Madison square garden the first time they played there

[@Phil-pq4ks]

The funny thing is that word is Simmons and Stanley were irritated because it didn't have the shock value they were looking for. Reason was without Ace & Peter at the unveiling Carr and Vincent just didn't matter. 😂

[@darkshiningstar3]

It did actually turn their fate around, they were about to fade into obscurity and it was the right move at that point

[@roamlikekane]

With that said, they were lucky that "Lick It Up" was actually a good song. They were able to ride the wave of the hit song coupled with taking the make-up off in tandem to keep them from completely going under. Then in 96' that's when the were re-ignited with the reunion! I saw them on that tour for the first time, it was electric!

[@jeffhodge7272]

​​​@@roamlikekanesaw the COTN tour.Not a lot if people did. THAT was awesome. Even though I had NO idea Ace had left the band.😮 I saw Vinnie and went," who the F*** is THAT" to the guy next to me.🤭🤷‍♂️ He never really fit IN the band. Good writer and player. Weird guy. I did see the reunion in '96. It was like time traveling back to '77.

[@michaelcorcoran8768]

18th record. I was probably an infant when this was filmed but that's a stunning number. The first rock bands I got into were Def Leppard and guns n' roses and you'd be lucky to get four albums a decade from them

[@acprado67]

I saw KISS at the Morumbi Stadium few months before they change the visual.. They were the kings of the marketing in rock industry

[@CodeBleu724]

I loved The Elder and the D&D lore...for me it came out at the right time...1981...

[@OptimusWrex]

18 records in 10 years. People now really have no idea how much these guys worked back then.

[@Wilders53]

I remember watching this as a little 12 year old boy 😂

[@michaelhartzell9758]

I remember my sis called me up to let me know this was being televised on TV. I wasn't really wanting to even see them then without makeup, it to me wasn't a big deal. It was their second coming!

[@michellerene951]

I was 16 when this aired, and I remember when I saw this, I immediately fell for Gene. It was the eyes. 👀 🥹🥰😁

[@richardwarfordjr.5622]

Its kinda like you can't wait till your 21 so you can drink at a bar then you turn 21 and its no big deal 😂

[@realretrorelapse]

People don't seem to be very fond of this era in KISStory (I see fans trash it often in comments), but I truly enjoy it. Obviously Eric Carr is awesome, and I really dig Vinnie Vincent's style. The 80s was definitely a departure from their 70s stuff, but it works for the era.

[@Chelaxim]

I was born in 93 and I think makeup free was the best Kiss...but to be fair my first exposure to older rock music was hair metal.

[@billb.7346]

RIP JJ Jackson. Been gone nearly 20 years

[@jessicabridges4876]

My older sister loves KISS. My parents took her to a concert in the 70s when she was around 12 yrs old. If you knew my parents you’d recognize that was a major cultural/parental sacrifice on their part. They were more the George & Tammy - Tanya Tucker - Statler Brothers type. Apparently the concert was extremely loud. They still talk about how my dad went to the concessions to try to buy himself some earplugs.

[@SchroderPhotography]

what was the side comment Stanley made when Gene was talking about tshirts girls made?

[@ShayBoneZ]

Yeah, I was there too !

[@jeffreyknight3884]

Just not kiss without Peter and ace, thank goodness I saw them in 1976 and 1978. All original band members.

[@lee-annek6969]

you see Gene here and can see how much his son looks like him

[@trebleface7835]

KISS never started the make up. Bands in the 60s started it, Alice Cooper brought it to a higher level and yes KISS went full out.

[@shawncosmos5431]

Yep.

[@danieleyre8913]

They were the first of the acts in heavy makeup to make the US mainstream though. And they marketed and merchandised it to the hilt, something none of those British acts did.

[@artistamisto]

They started their own plus they took (especially Gene) the costumes to another level. Many KISS fans know they were inspired by Alice and the NY Dolls.

[@mikejohnston-xy8vo]

@@artistamisto Alice was inspired by Arthur Brown the guy who sang 'Fire' in makeup in 1967

[@mikejohnston-xy8vo]

@@danieleyre8913 Alice was inspired by Arthur Brown the guy who sang 'Fire' in makeup in 1967

[@gilbertflores4341]

I was in 7th grade watching that with my friend Acey Baynes !

[@timsteele8063]

I remember watching kiss and the phantom of the park thinking it was the coolest thing ever they kept their mojo in that little coffee table.. and a friend of mine had the comic book that was written with their blood...

[@davidstatz9087]

Madison, Wisconsin!!!! That's my turf!

[@DarkCrueDethAngel]

12:50 that kiss make out scene came out of nowhere at the end of Lick It Up song vid lmhdo

[@reubensane5539]

Time flys by too quick

[@ThailandDantotherescue]

My first painting was a watercolor painting of kiss... I did not like the makeup going away, but... in retrospect it made it cool when they put it back on.

[@_Only_Zuul]

gene said it's their 18th record.. in 10 years 😳😳😳 this is 1983!!! 🤯🤯🤯

[@danielhansen9412]

Kiss kicked ass so hard in the 70s✌️

[@charlesreid9337]

the 80's was their best decade. Before that they were literally trying to create shockrock to make it big. In the 80's they had made it , they knew it , and focused more on the music and less on the gimmicks

[@frostedhead]

I use to see them around everywhere growing up in the Hollywood area in L.A.before they took off the makeup when I were about 12 years old.

[@marksreviewsandrants8554]

I remember this.

[@tonytwosevenstone]

People have to remember there was no social media or computers or cell phones back then so it wasn’t like there was a tons of leaked videos of KISS without their make up this was truly an unmasking at the time.

[@dorothysewing9997]

I remember them with the makeup when I was a preschooler. Then they took the makeup off when I was in elementary school. Now that I’m older, they put the makeup back on.

[@jflclc]

Paul Stanley 🔥❤️

[@davetasche8265]

I remember seeing this for the first time back in the day and when LIck it Up came out #kissrules

[@norcaldeemichaels]

At 6:55, you can see Gene notice a cute studio intern off camera.

[@jayshomer4191]

Poor Vinnie, he just doesn’t fit the part, and gets slammed by Eric on his first comment 😂

[@robertc7072]

Vinnie was great on creatures but like ace he was going to be toxic to the band with his demands. Look at him now he is a complete mess. Eric on the other hand IMO was a far better drummer than Criss.

[@jeffhodge7272]

​@@robertc7072Ace wasn't toxic to the band.Just himself.🤭And he said Peter was always the "dark cloud" over the band. A real pain in the ass to Gene and Paul. Later.He admitted it.

[@metaphoria3]

Wow this was 10 days after my bday