Ozzy Osbourne sadly passed away earlier this year just weeks removed from his final live performance. In a new podcast interview with actor David Duchovny, KISS bassist Gene Simmons talked about “The Prince of Darkness” and the important lesson he learned from the two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer.
“That was heartbreaking,’cause I knew him for decades and decades,” Simmons reflected about Ozzy’s passing. “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.”
Simmons continued: “People think I’m much richer than I actually am. I mean, I’ve done okay, but, ‘Oh, you must have billions.’ No, I don’t. It’s just that thing. And I like that thing because it means you might not be hurt as much, ’cause there are a lot of people who are out to get you, because they have empty lives; I don’t know why. But humbling — it’s important for people like yours truly… 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.”
Simmons’ full interview can be viewed below.
