46 ............... Friday, May 20, 2016 1SM

MUSICss f t w MEETSGENESIMMONS

EXCLUSIVEby LAURA ARMSTRONG

BEFORE the Playboymodel wife of Kisshell-raiser GeneSimmons agreed tomarry him after 28years’ dating, shehad one demand.

Shannon Tweed insisted the66-year-old rocker, whoadmits to bedding almost5,000 groupies, must burn hissecret collection of sex snaps.

And the bonfire at their homein Los Angeles went on for days.

Gene says: “I didn’t do drugs inthe crazy times but I did do sex.

“Did I sleep with 4,800 women?So they tell me. I did have thePolaroids to prove it, oh yes. Butmost of them were burned.

“Shannon and I got togetherwith them and we had a ritual.”

As the frontman of hard rockband Kiss, Gene has spat bloodand breathed fire — daubed in theband’s iconic face paint — formore than four decades.

And with the help of thefreakishly long tongue he flasheson stage, he racked up conquestseven faster than the band rackedup gold albums.

But 42 years after Kiss’s debutalbum, Gene insists his days ofwild sex with groupies are longbehind him.

Since 1974, Kiss have had moregold albums than any otherAmerican band.

But Gene says his biggestachievement is his family.

He says: “I never knew what abig deal it was before Shannonand I had kids.

“I never cared about it, I didn’twant to get married or have kids.

“But when they were born I wasat the hospital crying like a12-year-old girl.

‘I don’t care if I gethurt, I don’t fear pain’

“Have Kiss sold millions ofrecords? Yes. Are we are theluckiest b******s in the world?You’re goddam right we are.

“I feel like the man on top ofthe highest mountain in the world,shouting out at the top of hislungs, ‘Isn’t this great. How did weget up here?’

“But my kids are moreimportant. Sophie is 23 but alreadyhas a song which has beendownloaded nine million times.And Nick, who is 27, is writinga script.

“When they were younger, theywould see me performing on stageand say, ‘Oh God, there’s dadsticking his tongue out again.’

“Nick also gets asked if he has along tongue — which he does.

“At first they didn’t realise howbig the band were but as they hittheir teens they noticed thatpeople who they thought were coolknew me.

“I can remember Nick sayingonce, ‘Bob Dylan’s really good.’And I was, like, ‘Yeah, he’s good.You met him when you were eight,he came over here.’

“He was, like, ‘What? Why didn’tyou tell me?’ I replied, ‘Nick, youwere in the room.’ ”

Bob Dylan is just one of themillions who Gene and bandmatesPaul Stanley, Eric Singer andTommy Thayer have won as fans.

And Gene credits their successto the escapism they offer.

He says: “If you have been stuckin traffic or had an argument withyour girlfriend the place you wantto be is at a Kiss concert.

“I want people to forget abouteverything for a few magic hours.

“It’s magic time, like an electricchurch. It’s escapism for me, too.

“It’s a bit like Jekyll and Hyde.

I’vesleptwith4,800groupies...butmywifemademeburnall thePolaroids

OnstageI’vecaughtonfire loadsof timesandonceI felloffa15ft flyingrig

Ifyou’vearguedwithyourgirlfriendtheplaceyouwant tobe isaKissconcert

When I hear the roar of the crowdand smell the greasepaint, theadrenaline courses. It’s a pure high.

“When you see me doing God OfThunder — with the blood and thefire — I’m right there in thatmoment, I’m not thinking aboutanything else.

“At that moment I would be thelast f*****g guy on Earth you’d wantto fight because I don’t care if I gethurt, I don’t fear pain.

“On stage I’ve caught on fireloads of times and once I fell off a15ft flying rig.

“You really have to have a loosescrew to want to get up on stage. Ido have that bit of insanity.

“And I don’t have the shynesssome people have. That comes fromnot wanting to be judged — and Icouldn’t personally give a f***.”

This month sees the release ofmovie Kiss Rocks Vegas, filmedduring their nine-show run at HardRock Hotel Las Vegas in 2014.

Gene says: “The shows in Vegaswere a challenge for us because thespace was small. Normally we have

to notify airports about our concertsbecause our fireworks go up 200ftand we could easily knock low-flying planes out of the sky.

“The film is a celebration, ourway of giving back to the fans.”

Kiss may be one of the longest-rocking bands around but theyshow no signs of slowing down.

And Gene, who says he’s onlyever got high in a dentist’s chair, isclear on what he thinks about starssnuffed out before their time.

He says: “With drugs, you reapwhat you sow.

“I’d understand if drugs madeyou smarter, run faster, made yourd**k bigger. But they don’t.

“So I think it’s f*****g patheticthat Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix,

Prince, Amy Winehouse all diedbecause of them.

“No one came into their housesand shot them dead. No, they killedthemselves. They were talented butthey weren’t around to enjoy whatthey achieved.”

But when Kiss do eventually bowout, Gene thinks there is only onecontender to take their place — aslong as she picks up a guitar.

He says: “As soon as Lady Gagagets rid of the disco stuff, she’s arock star. She can do thingsBritney and Madonna can’t.

“If she had guitars behind her,she could knock it out of the park.”

Asked about Kiss’s own legacy,Gene adds: “Are there moredeserving bands out there than us?Yes. Are there better writers? Yes.

“But I always think of it in termsof cooking. Yes, you can havecordon-bleu cooking that’s all fancy.Technically, it’s better. Butpersonally, I prefer a Whopper.”lKiss Rocks Vegas is in cinemas forone night only on May 25.

NEWMUSICBy Jim Gellatly

INDIGO VELVETWHO: Darren Barclay (vocals/guitar), Jason Tucker (guitar/vocals), Laurie Adam (bass),Billy McMahon (drums).WHERE: Edinburgh.FOR FANS OF: The 1975, TwoDoor Cinema Club, TheVaccines.JIM SAYS: I’m forever bumpinginto the guys from Indigo Velvetat gigs.

They seem to be as passion-ate about seeing other acts asthey are about making their ownmusic. For me that’s the sign of aband that’s embracing thescene.

It’s clearly rubbed off on themwhen it comes to their own liveperformances.

Starting around 2011 when stillat school, they were originallyknown as The Kiks.

Initially with a more of a rocksound akin to bands like KingsOf Leon, they re-emerged with anew line-up as Indigo Velvet acouple of years ago.

Ditching their indie-rock bynumbers sound they’ve devel-oped into one of the most excit-ing young bands in the country.

With shades of VampireWeekend and Bombay BicycleClub, Indigo Velvet create awonderfully upbeat soundthat can’t fail to put a smile onyour face.

Styling themselves as “tropi-cal pop”, they’ve inadvertentlyfound themselves part of a newwave of indie pop that includesCoasts and Dundee’s ModelAeroplanes.

Frontman Darren Barclay

said: “The music has naturallydeveloped throughout theyears. After experimenting withour sound, we discovered whatwe want to be as a band.

“Every song we write orrecord, we want it to be biggerand better than the last.”

They’ve again proved thatwith their latest single EasyLove, which has been picking upradio play across the country.

An early break for Indigo Vel-vet was getting involved with theHit The Road youth music initia-tive a couple of years ago. Art-ists are mentored by musicindustry professionals and goon tour across Scotland. Theprogramme’s been pivotal inhelping young acts break out.

Making their festival debut onthe Hit The Road stage at lastyear’s Electric Fields Festival inDumfries and Galloway, IndigoVelvet’s diary is already startingto fill up for this summer.

They showcase at the Xpo-North creative industries festivalin Inverness on June 9. In Sep-tember the band are booked toappear at the Lindisfarne Festi-val in Northumberland along-side acts like British Sea Power,Fatherson and Reef. Bass playerLaurie Adam said: “They’vehelped us arrange a return busfrom Edinburgh for our fans sothat will be special.”

Indigo Velvet’s next gig is Sun-day, May 29, at Sneaky Pete’s inEdinburgh, supporting Lisbon.MORE:weareindigovelvet.co.uklJim presents a weekly show-case of New Music on AmazingRadio Sundays 2-4pm.

amazingradio.comjimgellatly.com

WATCH VIDEOOF BAND AT:thescottishsun.co.uk