9/11/25 Page 5
KISS bassist / vocalist and longtime HardRadio friend GENE SIMMONS recently appeared on Fail Better With David Duchovny, the podcast hosted by actor David Duchovny (The X-Files). The following transcribed excerpt has Gene reflecting upon Ozzy Osbourne, who died at his home in Buckinghamshire, England on July 22, 2025, aged 76; a mere 17 days after the Back To The Beginning farewell concert.
According to Gene: "Poor Ozzy passed away. And 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. 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."
Gene went on to say: "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."