In a brand new interview with Newsweek posted online earlier today, KISS bassist/singer Gene Simmons spoke about the recent deaths of music icons David Bowie and Prince.
While the rock star was saddened by Bowie’s death “because it was [from] a real sickness,” he bluntly stated that other artists who recently died - most notably Prince - did so because of a “choice.”
“His drugs killed him,” Simmons said. “I think Prince was heads, hands and feet above all the rest of them. I thought he left [Michael] Jackson in the dust. Prince was way beyond that. But how pathetic that he killed himself. Don’t kid yourself, that’s what he did. Slowly, I’ll grant you… but that’s what drugs and alcohol is: a slow death.”
Simmons went on to tell a story about the first time he met the “Purple Rain” composer. Prince had just performed a “great” club gig early on in his career. “We’d never seen anything like that,” the KISS co-founder exclaimed, referring to himself and his girlfriend at the time, who accompanied him, legendary vocalist Diana Ross.
But the rocker - who has long claimed he has never ever been drunk or high - doesn’t understand how someone who worked so hard to achieve his dreams could “succumb to the cliché of clichés,” drugs.
However, he does believe that the circumstances surrounding Prince’s death won’t hurt his legacy. “Your legacy becomes even bigger, you become more iconic, if you die before your time,” he added.
KISS singer/guitarist Paul Stanley doesn’t agree with his bandmate’s words. “Embarrassed by cold clueless statements re Prince’s death,” he tweeted. “Without all the facts better to say nothing. My apologies.”
The cause of Prince’s April 21 death is still under investigation, but painkillers were found at the scene.
Meanwhile, Simmons is very busy with his band. The concert film “KISS Rocks Vegas” will be screened at movie theaters across the globe May 25, and the band’s big summer Freedom To Rock tour kicks off in Tucson, Ariz., July 4.
