Chris Epting | Ultimate Classic Rock
In February of 1978, Kiss ended a grueling five-year touring cycle that helped them become one of the biggest bands in the world. Yet, when the foursome returned to the road a year and a half later for a jaunt dubbed ‘The Return of Kiss,’ they found their position in the rock hierarchy was anything but secure.
The tour was to follow one of Kiss more audacious stunts, the release of four solo albums after the conclusion of their ’78 dates in support of ‘Alive II.’ They’d then issued a disco-fied hit ‘I Was Made for Lovin’ You’ in advance of the May street date for ‘Dynasty,’ with concert dates set for the entire second half of 1979.
These concerts would be the biggest and boldest yet from a production standpoint, even while reflecting those solo efforts through the individual band members’ costumes. Each contained colors from their respective solo albums — so Paul Stanley’s costume was purple, Gene Simmons’ was red, Ace Frehley’s was blue and Peter Criss’ was green.
The ‘Dynasty’ tour also saw the introduction of several new effects in the Kiss live concert arsenal. It was during this tour that fans first got to experience Simmons flying in midair. Frehley’s guitar, meanwhile, was tricked out with a new rocket-shooting stunt as well.
But something had changed since the last time Kiss toured the United States. Audiences had begun shifting away from the band’s classic and bombastic presentation. By this time, both punk and disco had gained solid footholds in the country. All of a sudden, the Kiss circus seemed somewhat out of step. Markets that had once been surefire sellouts were canceling gigs or downgrading to smaller venues.