Today In KISStory - 1984: The 'Animalize' tour kicks off in Brighton, England. The Animalize Tour was a concert tour in support of KISS' Animalize album.
It was divided into two halves: the European leg and the U.S. leg, with two very different shows and stage sets. The European staging was essentially the Unmasked Tour stage, decorated to resemble the Animalize album cover (amps painted with leopard spots and tiger stripes). One short-lived prop saw two growling panthers covering Eric Carr's bass drums.
When Animalize became a surprise hit in America, a much larger stage set was designed for the American leg of the tour by Tait Towers.
The shows would start much in the same manner as the Dynasty show, with the band being lifted onto the stage by a lift behind the drum riser. Sound effects of a large airplane landing would be played over the speakers while the band was coming up, and after the famous "You Wanted The Best" intro the band would launch into "Detroit Rock City". This was the first tour with Bruce Kulick on lead guitar, replacing Mark St. John who couldn't play due to his arthritic condition. Originally Kulick was a temporary replacement, but St. John's condition did not improve, and Kulick was named an official member on December 8, 1984. Bon Jovi was the opening act on the European leg, with Queensrÿche and Krokus opening shows in North America.
Tour notes
"I've Had Enough (Into The Fire)", "Get All You Can Take" and "Burn Bitch Burn" were all performed at the opening show in Brighton, England. "Get All You Can Take" would never be performed live again, while "I've Had Enough (Into The Fire)" would continue to make sporadic appearances through the November 18 show in Buffalo. "Burn Bitch Burn" would be performed only once, being played on opening night.
Eric Carr would handle lead vocals on "Young and Wasted" at all shows. In a 1989 interview just prior to the release of Hot in the Shade, Eric was quoted as saying that the Animalize Tour was his favorite with Kiss.
Mark St. John made his final appearance with Kiss at the December 7 show in Fort Wayne, Indiana. During a meeting in Fort Wayne later that night, St. John was fired and Bruce Kulick was named the band's new guitarist.
Footage from the December 8 show in Detroit was used for an episode of MTV's Saturday Night Concerts series. A more complete, but still heavily edited (and overdubbed) version of the show would be released by RCA/MusicVision as Kiss: Animalize Live Uncensored in April. This show was also broadcast live it its entirety on a local FM radio station. Furthermore, "Heaven's on Fire" from this concert was included on the 1985 Hear N'Aid charity LP.
Footage for the "Thrills in the Night" music video was shot at the December 14 & 15 shows in Cleveland and Louisville.
Tragedy hit on the January 3, 1985 show in Greenville, South Carolina when local lighting tech John Addington fell to his death during the changeover between openers Krokus and Kiss.
A rare snowstorm nearly canceled the February 1 show in Waco, Texas. The decision to proceed with the concert was literally made minutes before show time.
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.
European Setlist
* "Detroit Rock City" * "Cold Gin" * "Strutter" * "Fits Like a Glove" * "Heaven's on Fire" * "Under the Gun" * "War Machine" * "Young and Wasted" * "Creatures of the Night" * "I Love It Loud" * "I Still Love You" * "I've Had Enough (Into the Fire)" * "Love Gun" * "Rock and Roll All Nite" * "Lick It Up" * "Black Diamond"
North American 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" * "Lick It Up" * "Rock and Roll All Nite"
* "I've Had Enough (Into the Fire)" opened the Brighton, England show on 9/30/84.
* A few bars of "Strutter" were performed at the 3/28/85 show in Springfield, Massachusetts.
European leg
30/09/84 Brighton Centre - Brighton, England
01/10/84 Gaumont Theater - Southampton, England
02/10/84 Cornwall Coliseum - St Austell, England
04/10/84 Manchester Apollo - Manchester, England
05/10/84 Glasgow Apollo - Glasgow, Scotland
06/10/84 Playhouse Theatre - Edinburgh, Scotland
07/10/84 Newcastle City Hall - Newcastle upon Tyne, England
08/10/84 Newcastle City Hall - Newcastle upon Tyne, England
10/10/84 De Montfort Hall - Leicester, England
11/10/84 Gaumont Theatre - Ipswich, England
12/10/84 Bingley Hall - Stafford, England
13/10/84 Queen's Hall - Leeds, England
14/10/84 Wembley Arena - London, England
15/10/84 Wembley Arena - London, England
16/10/84 Circus Krone - Munich, Germany
17/10/84 Stadthalle - Offenbach am Main, Germany
19/10/84 Hammerleinhalle - Nuremberg, Germany
21/10/84 K.B. Hallen - Copenhagen, Denmark
22/10/84 Drammenshallen - Oslo, Norway
24/10/84 Olympen - Lund, Sweden
25/10/84 K.B. Hallen - Copenhagen, Denmark
26/10/84 Johanneshovs Isstadion - Stockholm, Sweden
27/10/84 Scandinavium - Gothenburg, Sweden
29/10/84 Stadionsporthalle - Hanover, Germany
30/10/84 Philipshalle - Düsseldorf, Germany
31/10/84 Eberthalle - Ludwigshafen, Germany
01/11/84 Hallenstadion - Zurich, Switzerland
03/11/84 Forest National - Brussels, Belgium
04/11/84 Ijsehal - Zwolle, Holland
05/11/84 Le Zenith - Paris, France
North American leg
15/11/84 Stabler Arena - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
16/11/84 Glens Falls Civic Center - Glens Falls, New York
17/11/84 War Memorial Arena - Rochester, New York
18/11/84 Buffalo Memorial Auditorium - Buffalo, New York
20/11/84 War Memorial Arena - Syracuse, New York
23/11/84 Worcester Centrum - Worcester, Massachusetts
24/11/84 New Haven Coliseum - New Haven, Connecticut
25/11/84 The Spectrum - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
26/11/84 Nassau Coliseum - Uniondale, New York
27/11/84 Baltimore Arena - Baltimore, Maryland
28/11/84 Mid-Hudson Civic Center - Poughkeepsie, New York
29/11/84 Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena - Binghamton, New York
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