Pop Culture Rewind: Kiss Performs Without Makeup for the First Time | Billboard News

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We take a look back at Kiss‘ first performance without their iconic makeup in this episode of Pop Culture Rewind.

Evan Burke:
The day was Oct. 11, 1983, and the iconic band Kiss showed us a side of them like we had never seen. Get ready to rock and roll in this week’s Pop Culture Rewind.

American rock legends Kiss were formed in New York City in 1973, and just as much as they’d become known for their hits, their looks and style are iconic in every way. Their makeup, that became part of history, was always on. They didn’t perform a Kiss show without it until Oct. 11. They did it as they opened up their Lick It Up World Tour in Lisbon, Portugal. They had been long famous for hiding their identities in public, but had just revealed their faces during a special MTV appearance. Gene Simmons said in his book KISS And Make Up that he “didn’t know how I was supposed to act because the non-makeup version of the band was an entirely new idea.”

With or without makeup, the mega stars continued to pave the way for rock n’ roll and culture.

Paul Stanley:
Because we’re Kiss, we define ourselves by all the rules we break.

Evan Burke:
We’ll have another huge moment for you next week in our Pop Culture Rewind.

Watch the full video above!