They Were Tricked Into Unmasking
For a decade, the real faces behind the KISS band members were a secret. In 1980, they teased fans with a fake-out Unmasked album. However, in September 1983, when MTV aired the real unmasking, it was a really big deal. It attracted enough attention to rejuvenating the group’s career.
Photo by Ginny Winn / Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images
But the classic lineup had already been duped into posing for band shots sans greasepaint in 1974 by Charlie Auringer, an art director at the iconic magazine Creem. Charlie’s cunning plan was to tell the band that he had spoken to their management, who said it was okay. But he didn’t ask, and it wasn’t okay. Creem ultimately agreed not to publish the shots and preserve the mystery.