Destroyer/Rock
and Roll over tours 1976 &
Psycho Circus variations
With Destroyer, KISS were entering a whole new era... being
superstars! And naturally the costumes had to reflect this!
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 new costume (as seen in pictures K to N) was very similar to the Destroyer costume,
except it didn't have sleeves!! Paul would also wear his feathered cuffs (seen in picture
K) and a studded belt (seen in picture L) with that costume. The belt had also been used
with the Destroyer costume a few times, as I mentioned earlier.
The boots for this costume were basically the same as the Destroyer boots, except for the
paint job. On these the heels and platforms were painted silver (picture N).
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!
The costume also seemed somewhat darker than the original costume. Both photos and video
footage of the original costume shows it to be rather dark gray instead of black, but the
Psycho Circus version was pitch black.
Paul had surgery in his right knee just after the Reunion tour, but during the Psycho
Circus video shoot he suffered another injury... this time in his left knee! Another
operation was performed on him, just about a month before the Psycho Circus tour was
scheduled to start. The injury was not completely healed though, because when the tour
started in Europe in late February 1999, Paul was wearing a protective brace on his left
knee (circled in on picture R). The brace was as pitch black as the rest of the costume,
so it was actually hard to see from the audience, but photos from the tour shows it
clearly.
Picture S is a shot of the Psycho Circus costume from behind... there is not much to see,
however! Just Paul's big ass, the laces for the garter-belt, and the reception unit for
Paul's ear monitor.
There were different chokers to each of the three tours:
Picture T shows the normal Destroyer tour version, which was a broad choker with a large
"diamond" in the middle, surrounded by rhinestones. It was the one in picture U,
that was the most common, however! As you can see, this version has more rhinestones
around the "diamond", almost resembling a spider. You can also see Paul's
treasured necklace, the one with a large black stone pendant.
A few pictures shows Paul with the choker seen in picture V: a basic leather choker, with
three rows of pyramid shaped studs.
Picture W shows the Rock And Roll Over tour choker: a smaller choker with two rows of
small, pyramid shaped studs. Also in this picture Paul is wearing a necklace, this one
with a small silver spoon!!
Picture X shows the Psycho Circus/Farewell tour variation. It has a pattern of studs and
rhinestones, with some large "gems" in the middle!
DAILY KISS NEWS!
The Site from Fans for Fans! Send your news to News@kissnews.net
This is a private website and all News on this website should be considered
as inofficial and unconfirmed unless otherwise stated.
english
deutsch
dansk
français
italiano
svensk
español
nederlands
TÄGLICHE KISS NEWS!
Die Seite von Fans für Fans! Hast Du irgendwelche Neuigkeiten? Schicke sie an News@kissnews.de, damit wir sie hier
veröffentlichen! KISS NEWS ist eine
private Website. Alle News sind als inoffiziell zu betrachten und nicht von KISS
bestätigt (außer ausdrücklich angegeben).