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January 30: The End For The Beatles, The Beginning For KISS

In music history, it’s not uncommon for different notable moments to share the same anniversary date, but it is rare that those moments complement each other as well as the…

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 04: Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of US rock group Kiss perform live on stage, for a one-off Independence Day show as a fundraiser for the Help for Heroes charity, at The Kentish Town Forum on July 4, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images)

Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images

In music history, it’s not uncommon for different notable moments to share the same anniversary date, but it is rare that those moments complement each other as well as the two now infamous concerts that took place four years apart on January 30th.

On this date in 1969, The Beatles took to the roof of the Apple Corps headquarters in London and performed together for the last time. That concert, of course, was captured and closed out the Let It Be film.

While the biggest band in music history said goodbye to the stage, just four years later another groundbreaking act was just getting started in a club in Queens, N.Y.

Just after dropping their original name of Wicked Lester, KISS performed for the very first time on this date in 1973 at a place called the Popcorn Club. The band performed in makeup, but they were still a ways off from their trademark “Starchild,” “Demon,” “Spaceman” and “Catman” designs. In a rare photo, Paul Stanley doesn’t even have a star around his right eye; he looks more like a prettier version of Alice Cooper.

Who would’ve thought that four painted-up freaks that performed for a handful of people that night would eventually become “the hottest band in the world?”

Erica Banas is a rock/classic rock blogger that loves the smell of old vinyl in the morning.

Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights