Description
Collector's Note – Why This Issue Matters
The October 17, 1978 issue of Circus magazine features KISS at a genuinely unusual and transitional moment in the band's career, one that does not actually correspond to any tour called the "Times Tour." No such tour exists in KISS's documented history, and the band was not touring at all during the fall of 1978: their most recent tour in support of "Alive II" had concluded that April in Japan, and their next major tour, the "Dynasty Tour," would not begin until the second half of 1979, following the May 1979 release of the "Dynasty" album. The listing's tour reference appears to be a mistaken or garbled rendering of this later tour name, and this page treats it as such rather than describing a tour that did not exist at the time of this issue's publication.
What was genuinely happening with KISS in October 1978 was, if anything, a more unusual and historically interesting story than any tour would have been. On September 18, 1978, just weeks before this issue's cover date, all four band members had simultaneously released solo albums under the Casablanca label, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss each putting out a self-titled record on the same day, an unprecedented move in popular music at the time. The strategy, intended to give each member creative latitude after years of operating strictly within the band's collective identity, instead produced what the music press and the band themselves would later describe as "Kiss overload," since fans were simultaneously being asked to purchase four solo albums on top of a greatest hits compilation, "Double Platinum," that had been released only five months earlier. Each solo album sold reasonably well individually, around half a million copies apiece, but the label had pressed roughly twice that many copies of each, resulting in significant overproduction and a costly miscalculation for Casablanca Records.
This October 1978 Circus issue therefore arrives at the precise moment the wider music press and KISS's fan base were absorbing this unprecedented four-album rollout, a story considerably more unusual than a standard album or tour cycle and one that reflected genuine uncertainty within the band about its direction following several years of intense, non-stop output, including studio albums, live albums, and extensive merchandising. Ace Frehley would later reflect that the band had become increasingly youth-oriented during this period, with younger fans and their parents both showing up to shows in KISS makeup and costume, a shift in audience composition that paralleled the band's internal experimentation with the solo album format.
For collectors, this issue captures KISS during a genuinely distinctive interlude in the band's history, between the conclusion of their "Alive II" touring cycle and the eventual "Dynasty" album and tour the following year, documenting the band's unusual and commercially complicated solo album experiment rather than any tour, "Times" or otherwise, that did not actually take place during this specific window.
About the Publication
Circus began in 1966 as Hullabaloo, a magazine launched by writer and editor Gerald Rothberg to capitalize on the British Invasion, before being relaunched under the Circus name in March 1969 with a shift toward heavier rock coverage. Throughout the 1970s, Circus built a substantial editorial reputation, with a circulation that rivaled Rolling Stone and exceeded Creem, and the magazine became particularly well known for its signature format of full-color, double-page poster spreads bundled into each issue, a hallmark that distinguished it within the broader rock journalism category and made it a favorite among younger readers eager to display images of their favorite bands. By 1978, the period of this issue, Circus had become deeply associated with hard rock and emerging heavy metal coverage, with bands like KISS representing exactly the kind of visually spectacular, merchandising-heavy act that suited the magazine's poster-driven format particularly well. The magazine's coverage of KISS throughout the late 1970s tracked the band through its most commercially dominant period, including the band's unprecedented merchandising operations, comic book tie-ins, and the kind of visual spectacle that made them a natural recurring subject for a magazine built around dramatic photography and poster content. Circus would go on to shift its focus toward heavy metal and glam metal acts through the 1980s before ceasing publication in 2006. For collectors, late-1970s issues covering KISS represent Circus at the height of its relevance to one of the most commercially dominant and merchandising-savvy rock acts of the entire decade.
Key Highlights Inside
- Feature coverage of KISS published just weeks after the unprecedented September 18, 1978 simultaneous release of solo albums by all four band members, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss, a move without real precedent in popular music at the time.
- Likely commentary or reporting on the resulting "Kiss overload" phenomenon, as fans were asked to absorb four individual solo albums on top of the band's "Double Platinum" greatest hits compilation released just five months earlier. Specific article framing and content for this issue are not confirmed from available listing information.
- An included poster, consistent with Circus's signature format throughout this period, which made the magazine a particular favorite among fans of visually dramatic acts like KISS.
- Likely additional coverage of other contemporary hard rock and emerging heavy metal acts typical of Circus's late-1970s editorial mix. Specific additional names and content for this issue are not confirmed from available listing information.
- This issue falls within the genuine gap between KISS's "Alive II" touring cycle, which concluded in April 1978, and the band's next tour, the "Dynasty Tour," which would not begin until the second half of 1979, meaning any tour-specific content in this issue should be understood within that actual timeline rather than the "Times Tour" referenced in the listing.
Condition & Rarity
Surviving copies of late-1970s Circus magazine issues are generally evaluated using collector standards specific to this category, where the completeness of included poster content carries particular weight alongside the standard considerations applied to the magazine itself. The absence of a mailing label on this copy indicates it likely reached its original owner through newsstand purchase rather than subscription, a trait collectors typically favor since it preserves the cover image without obstruction. Because this issue specifically includes a poster, collectors should confirm that this insert remains fully intact and uncut, since posters in magazines of this category were frequently removed by original readers for display, making complete surviving examples meaningfully more desirable than incomplete ones, particularly given KISS's status as one of the most heavily collected poster subjects of the era. General condition factors for a periodical of this vintage include the integrity of the remaining pages, the state of the binding, and typical handling wear such as creasing or cover scuffing, all of which are common and expected for magazines produced for casual newsstand consumption by a young readership rather than long-term archival preservation. Protective plastic sleeving, as provided with this copy, represents a sensible precaution for preserving both the magazine and its poster against further handling wear. Given KISS's enduring popularity among collectors of 1970s rock memorabilia, well-preserved surviving copies of this issue hold strong interest, particularly given its documentation of the band's unusual solo-album period rather than a more conventional tour-cycle issue.
Looking for More Issues Like This?
Original issues of Circus magazine featuring KISS from across the band's commercially dominant late-1970s period offer a substantial resource for collectors, given how extensively the magazine covered the band throughout this era of intense album and merchandising output. Readers interested in this issue's connection to the band's 1978 solo album rollout may also find related interest in other period music magazines covering the same unusual four-album release and the "Kiss overload" reaction it generated among fans and critics. Those specifically interested in the band's subsequent "Dynasty Tour," which the listing's "Times Tour" reference likely intended, may find more directly relevant material in Circus issues from mid-to-late 1979, when that tour actually took place. For collectors building a year-specific archive rather than a title-specific one, the 1978 magazines collection offers a wider cross-section of what was being published that year across multiple titles and genres, situating this issue within the broader media landscape of the period. Because Circus issues were frequently disassembled by original owners for their posters, locating complete copies with intact interior content and original poster inserts can require real persistence. The Circus, KISS, and 1978 collections are all reasonable starting points for collectors pursuing a title-focused, artist-focused, or year-focused approach to material from this era.