Rock Rewind, 1983: KISS Shocks the World With New Look That Was More Surprising Than the Original

With each new wave of rock ‘n’ roll, members of the old guard must decide whether they want to scramble to fit in or fade into nostalgic obscurity—quite the difficult decision that, for KISS, resulted in the day they shocked the world with a new look that was somehow more surprising than the original.

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After years as one of the biggest rock bands in the world, the band effectively accustomed the public to a look that, by all intents and purposes, shouldn’t have been less surprising than their 1980s makeover. But lo and behold, when the rock stars really revealed themselves to the world on September 18, 1983, the world learned that, in a strange way, seeing Gene Simmons with his tongue in his mouth was more unsettling than the fire-breathing, on-stage alternative.

KISS Debuted Its New Look During Exclusive MTV Interview

Back when MTV still ruled the roost when it came to musical news, KISS opted to use the channel to debut their new look: no makeup. The episode, which MTV aired on September 18, 1983, was a big deal, given that no one had ever seen the members of KISS without their black-and-white stage makeup. Their identities (and true appearances) had always been a secret. But what set them apart throughout the 1970s quickly started to sour into a novelty as rock ‘n’ roll continued to evolve throughout the 1980s. For some critics, KISS was a campy relic from the 70s with no real staying power.

KISS was having none of that. During a 2025 interview with Billy Corgan on the Magnificent Ones podcast, band co-founder Paul Stanley recalled a particularly unsettling conversation with the press that clued him in to the changes the band needed to make to survive. Stanley said that he noticed toward the end of the band’s “makeup period,” journalists almost took “joy in making you squirm.” He recalled one reporter asking him how it felt to be on the Titanic.

“I was kind of like, ‘I’m a human being. How could you say that?’” Stanley said. “All I could think was, ‘Nobody’s going to tell me when this ends. Watch this.’”

So, KISS opted to join the ranks of more “regular” rock bands of the 1980s. They traded leather alien suits for light-wash jeans. They wiped off the layers and layers of face makeup. When they finally revealed their true appearance on MTV, the public had mixed reactions. “I thought it was admitting KISS was dead,” one KISS fan commented on Facebook. “This was the second great era for KISS,” offered another fan on YouTube.

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