The Destroyer Tour also known as The Spirit of '76 Tour was a concert tour by Kiss, in support of their fourth studio album Destroyer.
History At the time of the European leg of the tour the Destroyer album was already released and the band performed songs from that album, but they wore the Alive! costumes and had the Alive! stage show. At the time, the tour was referred to under the headline "Kiss tour", not "Alive! Tour" or "Destroyer Tour".
The August 20 show in Anaheim, California was the most famous of the tour - the band played for more than 42,000 people, the biggest US crowd the band had played to. Bob Seger, Ted Nugent and Montrose were the opening acts. The J. Geils Band, Point Blank and Seger opened for them at their July 10 show in New Jersey, which was recorded and released on DVD decades later as "The Lost Concert".
Opening act Bob Seger would back out of a few dates on the tour so that he could complete work on his next album, in which he did not perform in Toronto.
In the tour program for the band's final tour, Simmons reflected on the tour:
Kiss Destroys Anaheim '76 On August 21, 2026, Universal released Kiss Destroys Anaheim '76 in honor of the 50th anniversary of Kiss' August 20, 1976 performance at Anaheim Stadium in front of over 42,000 fans, their largest audience to date. The show has been available as a bootleg for years, prompting Kiss' official release from the original multi-track master tapes by producer Eddie Kramer (who worked on all three albums in Kiss' Alive! series). It is available on LP, CD and digitally.
Tour dates + List of 1976 concertsDateCityCountryVenueSupport act(s)April 11, 1976Fort WayneUnited StatesAllen County War Memorial ColiseumArtful DodgerApril 13, 1976UticaUtica Memorial AuditoriumEthosApril 14, 1976Niagara FallsNiagara Falls Convention and Civic CenterBrownsville StationApril 16, 1976BangorBangor AuditoriumEthosApril 18, 1976MonctonCanadaMoncton ColiseumHammersmithApril 19, 1976HalifaxHalifax ForumApril 21, 1976MontrealMontreal ForumApril 22, 1976OttawaOttawa Civic CentreApril 23, 1976KitchenerKitchener Memorial AuditoriumApril 24, 1976LondonLondon GardensApril 26, 1976TorontoMaple Leaf GardensApril 28, 1976WinnipegWinnipeg ArenaMay 4, 1976Mount ProspectUnited StatesRiver Trails Middle SchoolMay 13, 1976ManchesterEnglandFree Trade HallStrayMay 14, 1976BirminghamBirmingham OdeonMay 15, 1976LondonHammersmith OdeonMay 16, 1976May 18, 1976MannheimWest GermanyMannheimer RosengartenScorpionsMay 19, 1976DüsseldorfPhilips HalleMay 22, 1976ParisFranceOlympia TheatreMay 23, 1976AmsterdamNetherlandsRAI CongrescentrumFinchMay 24, 1976OffenbachWest GermanyStadthalle OffenbachScorpionsMay 26, 1976GothenburgSwedenScandinaviumrowspan="5" May 28, 1976StockholmGröna LundMay 29, 1976CopenhagenDenmarkFalkoner CenterMay 30, 1976LundSwedenOlympenJune 2, 1976ZürichSwitzerlandVolkshausJune 3, 1976MunichWest GermanyCircus KroneScorpionsJune 4, 1976FürthMTV Grundig-HalleJune 6, 1976HarelbekeBelgiumOntmoetingscentrumHoa Bihn July 3, 1976 Norfolk United States Norfolk Scope Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band July 6, 1976 Columbia Carolina Coliseum July 8, 1976 Richmond Richmond Coliseum July 10, 1976 Jersey City Roosevelt Stadium The J. Geils BandBob Seger & the Silver Bullet BandPoint Blank July 11, 1976 South Yarmouth Cape Cod Coliseum Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band July 13, 1976 Baltimore Baltimore Civic Center July 15, 1976 Knoxville Knoxville Civic Coliseum July 17, 1976 Charleston Charleston Civic Center July 19, 1976 Johnson City Freedom Hall Civic Center July 21, 1976 Nashville Nashville Municipal Auditorium Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet BandUFO July 23, 1976 Birmingham Rickwood Field Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet BandKansas July 26, 1976 Kansas City Kansas City Municipal Auditorium Artful Dodger July 28, 1976 St. Louis Kiel Auditorium Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band July 29, 1976 July 31, 1976 Toledo Toledo Sports Arena Starz August 2, 1976 Indianapolis Market Square Arena Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet BandArtful Dodger August 4, 1976 Little Rock Barton Coliseum Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band August 6, 1976 Evansville Roberts Municipal Stadium Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet BandArtful Dodger August 8, 1976 Trotwood Hara Arena August 10, 1976 Shreveport Hirsch Memorial Coliseum Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band August 11, 1976 Fort Worth Tarrant County Convention Center Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet BandArtful Dodger August 13, 1976 Houston The Summit August 15, 1976 El Paso El Paso County Coliseum Moon Pie August 17, 1976 Tempe Tempe Diablo Stadium Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet BandTed Nugent August 20, 1976 Anaheim Anaheim Stadium Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet BandTed NugentMontrose August 22, 1976 Oakland Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band.38 Special August 27, 1976 Greensboro Greensboro Coliseum Point BlankArtful Dodger August 29, 1976 Atlanta Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet BandJohnny WinterEdgar WinterBlue Öyster Cult.38 Special September 1, 1976 South Bend Athletic & Convocation Center Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band September 3, 1976 Richfield Richfield Coliseum Artful Dodger September 4, 1976 Pittsburgh Civic Arena Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet BandArtful Dodger September 6, 1976 Toronto Canada Varsity Stadium Blue Öyster CultArtful Dodger September 8, 1976 Louisville United States Freedom Hall Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet BandArtful Dodger September 10, 1976 Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum September 12, 1976 Springfield Springfield Civic Center Artful Dodger
Box office score data +List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, referencesDate (1976)CityVenueAttendanceGrossApril 11Fort Wayne, United StatesAllen County War Memorial Coliseum9,650 / 9,650$57,900April 14Niagara Falls, United StatesNiagara Falls Convention and Civic Center9,500$56,000April 16Bangor, United StatesBangor Auditorium6,932 / 6,932$39,356July 8Richmond, United StatesRichmond Coliseum6,430$41,332July 10Jersey City, United StatesRoosevelt Stadium13,867$105,388July 21Nashville, United StatesNashville Municipal Auditorium8,300$51,800August 2Indianapolis, United StatesMarket Square Arena19,000 / 19,000$121,453August 6Evansville, United StatesRoberts Municipal Stadium11,480$72,254August 17Tempe, United StatesTempe Diablo Stadium15,913$101,301August 20Anaheim, United StatesAnaheim Stadium42,987$437,653August 22Oakland, United StatesOakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena9,897$63,000August 27Greensboro, United StatesGreensboro Coliseum11,068$71,130August 29Atlanta, United StatesAtlanta–Fulton County Stadium35,000$300,000September 1South Bend, United StatesAthletic & Convocation Center7,677$47,911September 4Pittsburgh, United StatesCivic Arena12,000$73,436September 8Louisville, United StatesFreedom Hall17,051$103,918September 10Cincinnati, United StatesRiverfront Coliseum13,391$82,299
Personnel Paul Stanley – vocals, rhythm guitar Gene Simmons – vocals, bass Peter Criss – drums, vocals Ace Frehley – lead guitar, backing vocals
References
Bibliography