Psycho Circus (song)


"Psycho Circus" is a song by the American hard rock band Kiss. It is the title track from the 1998 album with the same name. The B-side is the non-album track "In Your Face", a song written by singer and bassist Gene Simmons and sung by Kiss guitarist/vocalist Ace Frehley.

Song information

"Psycho Circus" was written by guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley and Curt Cuomo specifically to fit the theme of the Psycho Circus Tour and album. According to producer Bruce Fairbairn, "We didn't have an opener for the record. We didn't have anything that was going to start things off. And just looked at me and said, 'check this. This is it...' We both sat there and looked at each other and started to laugh. Because that was it"
As a single, the song became the band's first number one hit on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, while also proving to be a Top Ten hit in other countries in the world, including Canada and Norway.
The song would open sets for the band on the Psycho Circus Tour to support the album, and was performed on Kiss's live album in 2003. "Psycho Circus" returned to setlist during the 2010s, on both the Monster World Tour and The KISS 40th Anniversary World Tour.
"Psycho Circus" was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1999 for Best Hard Rock Performance, losing out to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant's "Most High".

Video

A music video was made to promote the single, which was made in the same 3-D theme as the album and tour, and was directed by James J. Hurlburt and produced by Doc McGhee and Eddie Vasker. Although the video was generally ignored by MTV, it won a 1998 Metal Edge Readers' Choice Award for Video of the Year.
To compensate for the lack of MTV airplay the band released the video on VHS complete with 3-D glasses. In addition to "Psycho Circus" the included CD single features Ace Frehley's "In Your Face", a song not available elsewhere in North America.
The video was certified Platinum in the US.
The video was the first by the band since the video for "I Love It Loud" to feature the band wearing their famous makeup.

Charts

Personnel