Kiss - Lick It Up

What this video is

Released in September 1983, 'Lick It Up' arrived at a watershed moment for Kiss and for MTV-era rock. After nearly a decade performing exclusively in theatrical face paint, the band removed their makeup publicly for the first time in this video — an unmasking that was treated as a genuine cultural event, receiving its own dedicated MTV premiere special hosted by J. J. Jackson. The video's post-apocalyptic visual…

Why it matters

This video is a primary document of the glam-metal / hard rock MTV moment of 1983, and specifically of the band-image reinvention as promotional strategy. The unmasking functions as both a marketing event and a genre signal — moving Kiss away from theatrical shock-rock toward the naturalistic…

The director

Martin Kahan was an American music video director active from the early 1980s through 2000. He launched his career directing promotional live videos for Rush, then worked with Columbia Records on clips for Scandal, Ian Hunter, Loverboy, and Eddie Money. He…