In a new interview with Fail Better With David Duchovny, the podcast hosted by actor David Duchovny, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons reflected on the recent passing of Black Sabbath legend Ozzy Osbourne.
Simmons said (as transcribed by blabbermouth.net): “That was heartbreaking, ’cause I knew him for decades and decades. And there was a unique human being, a giant who, no matter what anybody said, was always Ozzy and treated you and the next door neighbor exactly the same. ‘Hey, how are you? Nice to see you.’ No airs about him. No anything. And it’s a good lesson for idiots like me who sometimes — guilty as charged — get full of themselves and say, ‘Wow, I’m Gene Simmons.’ And if you would’ve met Ozzy, you’re on your best behavior, because it was a big deal. ‘Nice to see you. You know, I just bought Vermont,’ those sorts of stupid things which you just meant to impress. [He was] not about that at all. Just, ‘Hey, how are you? How are the kids?’ So it is humbling for someone like me who based my life on creating armor around me so that I wouldn’t be hurt — change my name, change my appearance, do whatever I have to do to survive and appear stronger and more successful than I am.”
He added, “… It is important to meet somebody like Ozzy, who is just himself, whether — now, of course, when he gets up on stage, it’s more like scream therapy. You get out there and it’s just all energy coming, but strangely, the real Ozzy — he’s supposed to be the Prince Of Darkness, and yet in the shows he blows kisses to the fans and goes, ‘I love you.’ If you were the Prince Of Darkness, that’s like anti — that’s kind of like a good guy. He was a giant.”
Ozzy Osbourne passed away on July 22nd from acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, with coronary artery disease and Parkinson’s disease with autonomic dysfunction listed as associated factors.
13 Responses
i think gene actually learned about humidity. “oy! it’s so humid!”
Humidity is not good for the helmet – prefer staying in air conditioning. 🙂
you’d make a great expert witness.
We all know that gene is the most arrogant and egotistical of all kiss members ( yes even paul) , but I bet if you stopped gene on the street to say hello and what’s up, he would stop to accommodate even for a minute.. Paul looks like he wouldn’t give you the time of day even if you said you loved the elder and his Maxwell house commercial