PAUL'S COSTUMES
Paul's costume (as seen in picture A) was a black all-over leotard, open at the chest (as usual!). For the first time ever, Paul's outfit also had sleeves. The costume seems to show the flow of energy through Paul's body, with the main energy-center being Paul's crotch! There were at least two versions of the costume, but it takes a keen eye to tell them apart! Compare the pictures of his shoulder (picture B and C) and you'll see that they are different! There were at least three different pair of boots used with the Destroyer-outfit. In picture D you can see the first pair used. These are clearly the boots from Paul's previous costume (see picture C in the 1975 section), spray-painted black. The paint job is not that good, because you can clearly see a silver star through it (circled in). These boots were only worn at a couple of early photo sessions. The first photo session with the prototype Destroyer outfits, shows Paul also wearing the 1975 boots, without any spray paint. The first real pair of boots for the Destroyer outfit is the ones seen on picture E. They had silver tips, and black heels and platforms. For encores and photo shoots Paul would sometimes wear a full-length satin coat (seen in pictures F to H). It had green feathers on the collar and the cuffs, and were split up the back (as you can see in picture G and H). Picture H also gives you a good look of Paul's costume from behind! Picture I shows Paul in the Destroyer outfit, with a belt (circled in). Photos of that are very rare, but here you have it! He also used the belt with the Destroyer costume for a few concerts... pictures of that are even rarer! Paul
was the only one to change his costume for the Rock And Roll Over tour. The reason for
Paul's change, was probably that he was unhappy with the Destroyer-costume, especially the
sleeves! But the new outfit was not ready for the first shows of the Rock And Roll Over
tour, and for those shows Paul wore his Dressed To Kill/Alive! costume... picture J shows
the band backstage, with the rest of the band (only Gene is seen here) in their Destroyer
outfits, and Paul in the older one. So far I haven't seen any live photos of this
combination, but from eyewitnesses I know he did play some shows in this costume! The
Destroyer costumes were also used as base for the Psycho Circus era outfits. But there
were many changes. I think Paul's Psycho Circus outfit shows exactly what was wrong about
Destroyer outfit... namely the sleeves. The new version (seen in pictures O to S) had a
detachable top, so Paul could run around "top less". Without the top the costume
would look very similar to Paul's 1974 outfit (or outfits, more appropriate). It had a
broad, purple garter-belt around the waist (picture O and Q), with studs, rhinestones and
chains. There were also chains similar to this, on Paul's The Elder outfit. The belt had a
big star made from rhinestones in the middle! There were different chokers to each of the three tours: return
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