Kiss bassist Gene Simmons has opened up about his relationship with Ozzy Osbourne after the Black Sabbath frontman passed away in July.
Osbourne tragically passed away on July 22nd, at the age of 76. He was suffering from Parkinson’s disease, and it was later revealed that Osbourne suffered a fatal heart attack. He passed only 17 days after the huge farewell show for Black Sabbath, called Back to the Beginning.
Kiss musician Simmons reflected on his long friendship with Osbourne on the Fail Better podcast. First, Simmons spoke on the consistency of Osbourne’s character, sharing, “There was a unique human being, a giant, who, no matter what anybody said, was always Ozzy and treated you and the next-door neighbour exactly the same. ‘Hey, how are you? Nice to see you,’ No airs about him, no anything.”
Osbourne, whom Simmons knew for decades, acted as an important symbol in his life. He said, “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 have met Ozzy, you know, you’re on your best behaviour. You try to, because it is a big deal.”
He added, “It is important to meet somebody like Ozzy who is just himself. 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.”
Simmons then discussed the antithesis of who Osbourne was at his heart, and what his ‘Prince of Darkness’ epithet made the public believe he was. “Strangely, the real Ozzy is 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.”
Recently, Tom Morello also opened up about his last interaction with Osbourne, which took place at the afterparty for the Back to the Beginning show. There, Morello was attempting to spend time with his son, which was interrupted as Osbourne told him, “I want to get the fuck out of here.”
