The Lick It Up World Tour was a concert tour by American hard rock band Kiss, in support of their eleventh studio album Lick It Up. It was the last tour to feature lead guitarist Vinnie Vincent.

Background It was the first tour the band performed without wearing their trademark make-up, following the reveal of the members without them on MTV in September 1983, basing it on how bands, fans and the times change. The tour began in Cascais, Portugal on October 11, 1983 when they performed for the first time without the usage of makeup. According to Simmons, fan reaction in Europe was 'greater than ever' and had sold out in advance. When asked if the removal of the makeup meant that it was a farewell tour, Simmons stated that it was not, saying "If that were the case, I'd rather let the thing fade away. We're only doing this because, after the tour and making Lick It Up, we feel stronger than ever."

The "tank" stage design from the preceding Creatures of the Night tour was used again, keeping all the same gimmicks. The January 11 show in Nashville was recorded, and an edited version aired on The King Biscuit Flower Hour. At the January 27 show in Long Beach, Kiss were presented with their first gold records since 1980 for the Lick It Up album.

Lead guitarist Vinnie Vincent was fired after the European Tour due to "unethical behavior". Kiss did not have enough time to search for another guitarist, so they re-hired Vincent for the North American leg until his firing became permanent after the tour ended. Bass guitarist Gene Simmons stated in various interviews that Vincent's dismissal was because he never signed his contract as an official member of Kiss and for unethical behavior. Stanley later admitted that Vincent had to go, stating that he was getting worse and stalling the shows with lengthy guitar solos. There were also issues regarding Vincent over his salary, who wanted a better deal and complained about the contract and working conditions, who eventually drove Stanley and Simmons to fire him when they accused him of trying to hijack the band.

In the tour program for the band's final tour, Simmons reflected on the tour:

Reception A local reporter who attended the Lakeland performance on December 29, 1983, opened their review by stating that before the removal of the make-up, it was easy to laugh at Kiss - referring to them as clowns that weren't amusing. However, they noted the positivity of the changes in the band's personnel and the band's hopes to retake the lead in the heavy metal industry. They praised the song "I Love It Loud", citing it as a song to capsulize the revitalized band's performance to 6,000 fans that night.St. Petersburg Times, December 31, 1983

Chuck Gates, a reporter from the Deseret News, who had attended the Salt Palace performance on February 5, 1984, opened his review by stating that the band was 'mediocre then and still is'. He noted on the inclusion of songs from the band's album Lick It Up, but had inquired about the exclusion of the band's two hit songs "Beth" and "I Was Made for Lovin' You". Regarding the stage, he acknowledged the lack of theatrics and makeup, and the absence of both Ace Frehley and Peter Criss - to which he stated that all that was left was a mediocre heavy metal band playing at deafening volumes.

John Laycock from the Windsor Star who had attended the Cobo Arena show opened their review by stating that the band continued to roar without their makeup. He acknowledged the usage of Simmons' fire-breathing effects and the new wave haircuts that band members had. Even with the sight of no makeup, he reported the sturdiness of the band's songs during the performance, as well as noting on how the band's clothes had changed and not the music. He concluded his review, saying that the show remains a vividly staged break from sanity.

Set lists These are example set lists of what was performed during the tour on each leg, but may not represent the majority of the tour.

European set list "Creatures of the Night" "Detroit Rock City" "Cold Gin" "Fits Like a Glove" "Firehouse" "Exciter" "War Machine" "Gimme More" "I Love It Loud" "I Still Love You" "Young and Wasted" "Love Gun" "Black Diamond" Encore "Lick It Up" "Rock and Roll All Nite"

North American set list "Creatures of the Night" "Detroit Rock City" "Cold Gin" "Fits Like a Glove" "Firehouse" "Gimme More" "War Machine" "I Love It Loud" "I Still Love You" "Young and Wasted" "Love Gun" "All Hell's Breakin' Loose" "Black Diamond" Encore "Lick It Up" "Rock and Roll All Nite"

Tour dates Date City Country Venue Opening Act(s)Europe October 11, 1983 Cascais Portugal Pavilhão de Cascais HelixOctober 13, 1983 Madrid Spain Pabellón de Deportes del Real Madrid HelixTigres de Oro October 14, 1983 October 15, 1983 San Sebastián Velódromo de Anoeta October 16, 1983 Barcelona Palau dels Esports de Barcelona October 18, 1983 Toulouse France Palais des Sports de Toulouse Helix October 19, 1983 Clermont-Ferrand Maison des Sports October 21, 1983 Leeds England Queens Hall HelixHeavy Pettin' October 22, 1983 Stafford Bingley Hall October 23, 1983 London Wembley Arena October 24, 1983 Leicester De Montfort Hall October 25, 1983 Poole Poole Arts Center October 27, 1983 Glasgow Scotland Glasgow Apollo October 28, 1983 Edinburgh Edinburgh Playhouse October 29, 1983 Newcastle-upon-Tyne England Newcastle City Hall October 31, 1983 Paris France Espace Balard Helix November 1, 1983 Offenbach am Main West Germany Stadthalle Offenbach November 2, 1983 Munich Löwenbräukeller November 3, 1983 Basel Switzerland St. Jakobshalle November 4, 1983 SindelfingenWest Germany Messehalle November 6, 1983 Neunkirchen am Brand Hemmerleinhalle November 7, 1983 Linz Austria Linzer Sporthalle November 8, 1983 Vienna Wiener Stadthalle November 9, 1983 Graz Eisstadion Liebenau November 10, 1983 Essen West Germany Grugahalle November 11, 1983 Kassel Eissporthalle Kassel November 12, 1983 Lille France Palais de la Foire November 13, 1983 Brussels Belgium Forest National November 15, 1983 Lausanne Switzerland Halle des Fêtes de Beaulieu November 17, 1983 Risskov Denmark Vejlby-Risskov Hallen November 18, 1983 Gothenburg Sweden Scandinavium November 19, 1983 Stockholm Johanneshovs Isstadion November 20, 1983 Malmö Malmö Isstadion November 21, 1983 Hillerød Denmark Frederiksborg Center November 23, 1983 Helsinki Finland Helsinki Ice Hall November 25, 1983 Oulu Oulu-halliNorth AmericaNorth America show announcements: December 26, 1983 Atlanta United States The Omni Coliseum AxePat Travers Band December 28, 1983 Augusta Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center Axe December 29, 1983 Lakeland Lakeland Civic Center AxePat Travers Band December 30, 1983 Pembroke Pines Hollywood Sportatorium December 31, 1983 Jacksonville Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum January 1, 1984 Tallahassee Leon County Civic Center Axe January 6, 1984 Birmingham Boutwell Memorial Auditorium VandenbergRiot January 7, 1984 Memphis Mid-South Coliseum January 8, 1984 New Orleans Kiefer UNO Lakefront Arena January 9, 1984 Biloxi Mississippi Coast Coliseum January 10, 1984 Knoxville Knoxville Civic Coliseum January 11, 1984 Nashville Nashville Municipal Auditorium January 13, 1984 Dallas Dallas Convention Center January 14, 1984 San Antonio HemisFair Arena January 16, 1984 Austin Palmer Auditorium January 17, 1984 San Angelo San Angelo Coliseum January 18, 1984 Houston Sam Houston Coliseum January 19, 1984 Corpus Christi Corpus Christi Memorial Coliseum January 21, 1984 El Paso El Paso County Coliseum January 22, 1984 Albuquerque Tingley Coliseum January 23, 1984 Odessa Ector County Coliseum January 25, 1984 Denver University of Denver Arena January 27, 1984 Long Beach Long Beach Arena January 28, 1984 Las Vegas Thomas & Mack Center January 29, 1984 Fresno Selland Arena January 31, 1984 Reno Lawlor Events Center February 1, 1984 Berkeley Berkeley Community Theatre February 2, 1984 Bakersfield Bakersfield Civic Auditorium February 3, 1984 San Bernardino Orange Pavilion February 5, 1984 Salt Lake City Salt Palace February 8, 1984 Sioux City Sioux City Municipal Auditorium VandenbergHigh Fever February 9, 1984 Omaha Omaha Civic Auditorium VandenbergHeaven February 10, 1984 Milwaukee Milwaukee Auditorium February 11, 1984 Dubuque Five Flags Center February 12, 1984 Bloomington Met Center February 14, 1984 Green Bay Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena February 15, 1984 Chicago UIC Pavilion February 16, 1984 Indianapolis Market Square Arena February 17, 1984 Saginaw Wendler Arena February 18, 1984 Detroit Cobo Arena February 19, 1984 Columbus Battelle Hall February 21, 1984 Trotwood Hara Arena February 22, 1984 Richfield Richfield Coliseum February 24, 1984 Worcester Centrum in Worcester Accept February 26, 1984 Hampton Hampton Coliseum February 28, 1984 Baltimore Baltimore Civic Center March 1, 1984 New Haven New Haven Coliseum March 3, 1984 Upper Darby Township Tower Theater March 4, 1984 Pittsburgh Stanley Theater March 5, 1984 Erie Erie Civic Center March 7, 1984 Binghamton Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena March 8, 1984 Poughkeepsie Mid-Hudson Civic Center March 9, 1984 New York City Radio City Music Hall March 10, 1984 March 12, 1984 Quebec City Canada Colisée de Québec March 13, 1984 Montreal Montreal Forum March 15, 1984 Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens March 17, 1984 Evansville United States Roberts Municipal Stadium

Personnel Paul Stanley – vocals, rhythm guitar Gene Simmons – vocals, bass Eric Carr – drums, vocals Vinnie Vincent – lead guitar, backing vocals

References

Sources