On 25. July, 1980, Kiss played their first concert without founding drummer Peter Criss, introducing Eric Carr to the world at the Palladium in New York City.
C. K. Lendt:
“On July 25, just before packing the equipment off to Europe, a show was put on for the public. Kiss would introduce Eric Carr, the new drummer, at the Palladium in their only U.S. appearance in 1980. Eric would appear in his fox stage persona and makeup. Originally, several shows were planned, but only one was put on sale. Ticket sales were sluggish. The show sold out but a second show would have been chancy. Demand wasn’t strong enough for Ron Delsener, the promoter, to risk it. It was an omen of things to come, but everyone looked the other way, rationalizing that weak ticket sales were the result of minimal advertising for the show. Just one year earlier, Kiss had played two nights at Madison Square Garden.
Kiss kept the audience on their feet during the show at the Palladium, with fans cheering and waving clenched fists for nearly two hours. The reaction proved the group hadn’t lost their touch. Eric was a dynamo on the drums, filling out the Kiss sound with a depth it hadn’t had in recent years. Seeing Kiss in a theater and not an arena was a first for me. Everything seemed much more concentrated and contained and the overall effect was especially intense. Within a few weeks Kiss would leave for Europe and start their tour in Italy at the end of August.”
– “Kiss and Sell: The Making of a Supergroup” by C. K. Lendt.
Gene Simmons:
“Bringing Eric into the band the way we did just before a tour, with very little preparation and tons of enthusiasm was like living the beginning of our careers all over again. It was an astonishing thing to watch him take on his new role, and to watch ourselves try to integrate him. First, there was the matter of his personality within the band: What was his character going to be? What was his makeup going to be? Was he going to be an elephant or a giraffe? For an ordinary band his personality might have been an issue; for KISS it was an issue times ten. For a while we decided that Eric would look like a hawk, but later he came up with a fox persona. We introduced him by playing at the Palladium in New York City, to a crowd of about three thousand people. That was the trial by fire, and he passed with flying colors. Then we went off to Europe, taking Bon Jovi on their first European tour.
Everything was brand-new for Eric. He was wide-eyed as we started our European tour and not used to the kind of fame we were experiencing. One night we were in a hotel in England, and he was downstairs in the bar. There were girls there, as always. One of them introduced herself as a photographer for Melody Maker, a British music industry paper. Eric talked to her for a while and gave her the complete new-rock-star rap. At one point he asked her if she wanted to come up and take nude pictures of him. She said, “Sure.” So they went up, and apparently he had told her, “Look, these pictures are just for you.” She said that she understood completely. Eric got into a bathtub nude, holding a champagne glass with shades on and this big mop-top head of hair. Apparently they didn’t spend the night together after she took the pictures, she took off. The next day Eric related the story to us. We doubled over laughing. It was like Trust on the Road 101. “Are you out of your mind?” we said. “This girl is going to print those photos.” Eric protested for a second, but then the truth dawned on him. “Oh, my God!” he said. “You think she will?” Of course she did.”
– “Kiss and Make-Up” by Gene Simmons.
On 25. July, 1980, Kiss played their first concert without founding drummer Peter Criss, introducing Eric Carr to the world at the Palladium in New York City.
C. K. Lendt:
“On July 25, just before packing the equipment off to Europe, a show was put on for the public. Kiss would introduce Eric Carr, the new drummer, at the Palladium in their only U.S. appearance in 1980. Eric would appear in his fox stage persona and makeup. Originally, several shows were planned, but only one was put on sale. Ticket sales were sluggish. The show sold out but a second show would have been chancy. Demand wasn’t strong enough for Ron Delsener, the promoter, to risk it. It was an omen of things to come, but everyone looked the other way, rationalizing that weak ticket sales were the result of minimal advertising for the show. Just one year earlier, Kiss had played two nights at Madison Square Garden.
Kiss kept the audience on their feet during the show at the Palladium, with fans cheering and waving clenched fists for nearly two hours. The reaction proved the group hadn’t lost their touch. Eric was a dynamo on the drums, filling out the Kiss sound with a depth it hadn’t had in recent years. Seeing Kiss in a theater and not an arena was a first for me. Everything seemed much more concentrated and contained and the overall effect was especially intense. Within a few weeks Kiss would leave for Europe and start their tour in Italy at the end of August.”
– “Kiss and Sell: The Making of a Supergroup” by C. K. Lendt.
Gene Simmons:
“Bringing Eric into the band the way we did just before a tour, with very little preparation and tons of enthusiasm was like living the beginning of our careers all over again. It was an astonishing thing to watch him take on his new role, and to watch ourselves try to integrate him. First, there was the matter of his personality within the band: What was his character going to be? What was his makeup going to be? Was he going to be an elephant or a giraffe? For an ordinary band his personality might have been an issue; for KISS it was an issue times ten. For a while we decided that Eric would look like a hawk, but later he came up with a fox persona. We introduced him by playing at the Palladium in New York City, to a crowd of about three thousand people. That was the trial by fire, and he passed with flying colors. Then we went off to Europe, taking Bon Jovi on their first European tour.
Everything was brand-new for Eric. He was wide-eyed as we started our European tour and not used to the kind of fame we were experiencing. One night we were in a hotel in England, and he was downstairs in the bar. There were girls there, as always. One of them introduced herself as a photographer for Melody Maker, a British music industry paper. Eric talked to her for a while and gave her the complete new-rock-star rap. At one point he asked her if she wanted to come up and take nude pictures of him. She said, “Sure.” So they went up, and apparently he had told her, “Look, these pictures are just for you.” She said that she understood completely. Eric got into a bathtub nude, holding a champagne glass with shades on and this big mop-top head of hair. Apparently they didn’t spend the night together after she took the pictures, she took off. The next day Eric related the story to us. We doubled over laughing. It was like Trust on the Road 101. “Are you out of your mind?” we said. “This girl is going to print those photos.” Eric protested for a second, but then the truth dawned on him. “Oh, my God!” he said. “You think she will?” Of course she did.”
– “Kiss and Make-Up” by Gene Simmons.