Mojo - The Music Magazine

"We're The Beatles on steroids!" boasts Gene Simmons in the current issue of MOJO magazine where the Kiss bassist is the subject in this month's all-revealing MOJO Interview. While Simmons reflects on his humble origins ("we were dirt poor"), his love of The Fabs and his collaboration with Bob Dylan, we celebrate the band's career with this 15 video salute to four decades of, er, Kiss-story!

Kiss Your Face!

As any self-respecting member of the Kiss Army knows, before viewing this playlist you need to get into character, preferably with some Kiss Your Face Make-Up, issue date: '78...

Kiss Detroit Rock City

Cue exploding speaker stacks, tongue-waggling horror and a heartfelt homage to Detroit - the first city in the world to clutch Kiss to its collective bosom when the band recorded 1975's groundbreaking Alive! album at Cobo Hall.

Kiss She

Following the Friday night instalment of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on NBC, The Midnight Special aired at 1.00am for eight years, beaming the likes of AC/DC, Fleetwood Mac, Donna Summer, Aerosmith, Elton John, Marvin Gaye and many more into front rooms across America. There a generation of late-living teens flipped out to these live performances, including this Kiss tune from '75.

Kiss Cold Gin

Nothing much happens in Largo, Maryland, so when Paul Stanley declared the town to be "the rock'n'roll capital" he received a rapturous response...Then came a roll call of booze-related fun...

Kiss God Of Thunder

WATCH VIDEO!

Gene Simmons serves up his signature tune (ironically written by Paul Stanley!), resplendent with a dose of bloody mouthwash.

Kiss I Was Made For Loving You

By 1979 Kiss were the richest band in America, merchandised beyond Simmons' wildest fantasies. Signed to Casablanca (where labelmates included Funkadelic and Donna Summer), they also had no problem in tackling the 'disco problem' head-on...

Kiss 2000 Man

....And while inventing the hitherto non-existent disco-metal genre with I Was Made For Loving You, their Dynasty album also saw them return to one of their key inspirations as they tackled this Jagger-Richards number, with guitarist Ace Frehley on vocals.

Kiss A World Without Heroes

In 1981 Kiss embarked on an ambitious musical, the concept of which remains utterly unintelligible to this day. Indeed, (Music From) The Elder, remains one of Kiss's worst selling albums, the band shorn of their trademarked locks and bubblegum rock appeal. Still, it did yield this track, curiously co-written with Lou Reed...

Kiss and "the joy of Cola!"

Never a band to shy away from the commercial opportunities presented to them, Kiss enjoyed penning a tune for a soda company, and guzzling a can or two on stage...

Gene Simmons as Dr Love

But, as a man unafraid of proclaiming his love of lucre, Gene Simmons does not believe in brand loyalty, openly endorsing this "devilish elixir" in a manner that even his son Nick found to be slightly over-exaggerated...

Kiss go for the dough!

"I'll give you the P&L statement!" proclaims guitarist Ace Frehley as sparks fly. All in all, The Spaceman ends up putting the "doh!"in donuts...

Kiss I Love It Loud

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oESjf7xywwY&feature=related

While we hesitated included this '82 clip on this playlist we eventually felt obliged to for its sheer metal-ness - a point out by the use of a tank as a drum riser not to mention the immortal lyric: 'Whiplash! Heavy metal accident!'

Kiss on Good Morning America

"We pervade pop culture," proclaims Gene Simmons in this month's MOJO Interview and here's proof..."Do you have Beth cued up?" asks ABC's jock anchorman Bill Weir, before offering to "slow dance in the gym later" with fellow presenter Kate Snow...

Kiss Beth

And here's Weir's work-out favourite, performed in this instance with a fully pan-sticked classical orchestra...

Kiss Get Rick Rolled!

And like all true cultural phenomena, Kiss have not escaped being victims of the cruel online fad known as Rick Rolling....