Animalize World Tour Explained

Concert Tour Name:	Animalize World Tour
Artist:	Kiss
Album:	Animalize
Start Date:	September 30, 1984
End Date:	March 29, 1985
Number Of Legs:	2
Number Of Shows:	119
Last Tour:	Lick It Up World Tour (1983–1984)
This Tour:	Animalize World Tour (1984–1985)
Next Tour:	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. 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:

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.^[7]

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.^[8]

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

1. "Detroit Rock City"
2. "Cold Gin"
3. "Strutter"
4. "Fits Like a Glove"
5. "Heaven's on Fire"
6. "Under the Gun"
7. "War Machine"
8. "Young and Wasted"
9. "I've Had Enough (Into the Fire)"
10. "I Love It Loud"
11. "I Still Love You"
12. "Creatures of the Night"
13. "Love Gun"
14. "Rock and Roll All Nite"

Encore

15. "Lick It Up"
16. "Black Diamond"

North America setlist

1. "Detroit Rock City"
2. "Cold Gin"
3. "Creatures of the Night"
4. "Fits Like a Glove"
5. "Heaven's on Fire"
6. "Under the Gun"
7. "War Machine"
8. "Young and Wasted"
9. "I Love It Loud"
10. "I Still Love You"
11. "Love Gun"
12. "Black Diamond"

Encore

13. "Lick It Up"
14. "Rock and Roll All Nite"

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue	Opening Act(s)
Europe
September 30, 1984		England		Bon Jovi
October 1, 1984			Gaumont Theatre
October 2, 1984			Cornwall Coliseum
October 4, 1984			Manchester Apollo
October 5, 1984			Glasgow Apollo
October 6, 1984			Edinburgh Playhouse
October 7, 1984		England	Newcastle City Hall
October 8, 1984
October 10, 1984			De Montfort Hall
October 11, 1984			Gaumont Theater
October 12, 1984			Bingley Hall
October 13, 1984			Queen's Hall
October 14, 1984	London		Wembley Arena
October 15, 1984
October 18, 1984			Circus Krone
October 17, 1984			Stadthalle Offenbach
October 19, 1984			Hemmerleinhalle
October 21, 1984			Falkoner Center
October 22, 1984				rowspan="2"
October 24, 1984			Olympen
October 26, 1984				Bon Jovi
October 27, 1984			Scandinavium
October 29, 1984		West Germany	Stadionsporthalle
October 30, 1984			Philipshalle
October 31, 1984			Friedrich-Ebert-Halle
November 1, 1984		Switzerland	Palais de Beaulieu
November 3, 1984		Belgium	Forest National
November 4, 1984		Netherlands	IJsselhallen
November 5, 1984	Paris	France	Zénith de Paris
North America^[9]
November 15, 1984		United States		Queensrÿche
November 16, 1984			Glens Falls Civic Center
November 17, 1984			Rochester Community War Memorial
November 18, 1984			Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
November 20, 1984			Onondaga County War Memorial
November 23, 1984			The Centrum
November 24, 1984			New Haven Coliseum
November 25, 1984			The Spectrum
November 26, 1984			Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
November 27, 1984			Baltimore Civic Center
November 28, 1984			Mid-Hudson Civic Center
November 29, 1984			Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena
December 2, 1984			Market Square Arena
December 4, 1984			Kiel Auditorium
December 5, 1984			Roberts Municipal Stadium
December 6, 1984			Hulman Center
December 7, 1984			Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
December 8, 1984			Cobo Arena
December 11, 1984			Saginaw Civic Center
December 12, 1984			Battelle Hall
December 13, 1984			Hara Arena
December 14, 1984			Richfield Coliseum
December 15, 1984			Commonwealth Convention Center
December 17, 1984			Peoria Civic Center
December 18, 1984			Five Seasons Center
December 26, 1984			Kansas City Municipal Auditorium
December 27, 1984			Pershing Auditorium
December 29, 1984			St. Paul Civic Center
December 30, 1984			MECCA Arena
January 3, 1985				Krokus
January 4, 1985			Freedom Hall Civic Center
January 5, 1985			Cumberland County Memorial Arena
January 6, 1985			Charlotte Coliseum
January 8, 1985			Knoxville Civic Coliseum
January 9, 1985			The Omni Coliseum
January 10, 1985			Orlando Sports Stadium
January 11, 1985			Sunrise Musical Theater
January 12, 1985
January 13, 1985			Bayfront Center
January 15, 1985			Kiefer UNO Lakefront Arena
January 16, 1985			Mississippi Coast Coliseum
January 17, 1985			Von Braun Civic Center
January 18, 1985			Boutwell Memorial Auditorium
January 19, 1985			Nashville Municipal Auditorium
January 21, 1985			Pensacola Civic Center
January 22, 1985			Mid-South Coliseum
January 24, 1985				Queensrÿche
January 25, 1985			Taylor County Expo Center
January 26, 1985			Frank Erwin Center
January 27, 1985			Corpus Christi Memorial Coliseum
January 29, 1985			Reunion Arena
January 30, 1985			HemisFair Arena
January 31, 1985			Sam Houston Coliseum
February 1, 1985			Waco Convention Center
February 3, 1985			Ector County Coliseum
February 4, 1985			Amarillo Civic Center
February 5, 1985			El Paso County Coliseum
February 6, 1985			Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
February 7, 1985			Aladdin Theatre
February 9, 1985			Kaiser Convention Center
February 11, 1985			Salt Palace
February 13, 1985			Seattle Center Arena
February 14, 1985			Portland Memorial Coliseum
February 17, 1985			Long Beach Arena
February 18, 1985
February 20, 1985		Orange Pavilion
February 21, 1985		Bakersfield Convention Center
February 22, 1985		San Diego Sports Arena
February 24, 1985		Sacramento Memorial Auditorium
February 26, 1985		Spokane Coliseum
February 27, 1985		Canada	Pacific Coliseum
March 1, 1985				Sentinel
March 2, 1985				Queensrÿche
March 3, 1985			Stampede Corral
March 7, 1985				Dokken
March 9, 1985			Winnipeg Arena
March 10, 1985		United States	Hyslop Sports Center
March 11, 1985			Bismarck Civic Center
March 13, 1985			Duluth Arena
March 14, 1985			Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena
March 15, 1985			La Crosse Center
March 16, 1985			Five Flags Center
March 17, 1985			Iowa Veterans Memorial Auditorium
March 19, 1985				W.A.S.P.
March 20, 1985			Lakeview Arena
March 22, 1985			Lansing Civic Center
March 23, 1985			Athletic & Convocation Center
March 24, 1985			Cincinnati Gardens
March 25, 1985			Toledo Sports Arena
March 26, 1985			Pittsburgh Civic Arena
March 28, 1985			Springfield Civic Center
March 29, 1985			Brendan Byrne Arena

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

Box office score data

Date
(1984)! scope="col" style="width:16em;"

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

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

Sources

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Giles . Jeff . The Life and Death of Kiss Guitarist Mark St. John . Ultimate Classic Rock . December 11, 2021 . en . April 27, 2017.
2. Book: Gooch. Curt. Suhs. Jeff. Kiss Alive Forever: The Complete Touring History. Billboard Books. 2002. New York. 0-8230-8322-5.
3. Web site: Wilkening . Matthew . 35 Years Ago: Kiss' Bruce Kulick Era Begins With 'Animalize Live' . Ultimate Classic Rock . December 11, 2021 . en . December 7, 2019.
4. News: Bishop . Pete . Music still second fiddle at Kiss concert . December 12, 2021 . The Pittsburgh Press . March 27, 1985 . Pittsburgh . en.
5. Web site: Durr . Matt . KISS's most memorable Michigan moments . mlive . December 12, 2021 . en . March 9, 2019.
6. Web site: Wardlaw . Andrew . Kiss to Release Rare 1984 Mark St. john Show as Next Live Album . Ultimateclassicrock.com . Andrew Wardlaw.
7. Moleski . Linda . Talent in Action . Billboard . December 15, 1984 . 96 . 50 . 45 . December 12, 2021 . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. . en . 0006-2510.
8. News: Bunch . Jeff . KISS concert is nothing more than play it loud, say it crude . December 12, 2021 . The Spokesman-Review . February 27, 1985 . Spokane . 12 . en.
9. North America show notices:
   • News: What's Happening Out of Town? . December 12, 2021 . The Bryan Times . November 23, 1984 . 7 . en . Kiss Concert, Dec 7.
   • News: Arts - Activities: On Stage... . December 12, 2021 . Times-Union . February 23, 1985 . Warsaw, Indiana . en . Saturday, March 23, KISS Concert, 8 p.m..
   • News: Calendar of Events . December 12, 2021 . Gadsden Times . January 11, 1985 . Gadsden, Alabama . A9 . en . KISS to perform.
10. Amusement Business Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses . Billboard . December 1, 1984 . 96 . 48 . 37 . December 11, 2021 . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. . en . 0006-2510.
11. Amusement Business Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses . Billboard . December 15, 1984 . 96 . 50 . 45 . 11 December 2021 . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. . en . 0006-2510.
12. Amusement Business Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses . Billboard . December 22, 1984 . 96 . 51 . 41 . December 11, 2021 . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. . en . 0006-2510.