...MY FIRST KISS, AGED ABOUT 2.
Some relative or neighbour came to
our home in Israel, where I was born,
wearing bright red lipstick, which I’d
never seen before. There wasn’t a lot
of infrastructure in the country, back
them, so my mother, Flora, didn’t use
much make-up.
I wound up dancing a jig on the
coffee table and this woman squealed
and kissed me. I was horrified. It
affected my attitude to kissing for a
while—until I stuck my tongue out for
the first time and the earth stopped.
...BEING TERRIFIED BY
SOMETHING HIDING IN MY
H AT. We had to wear caps to keep
out the sun at school, and one day,
mine just wasn’t sitting right—
because there was an enormous
spider sitting underneath. I was
scared of insects for years. Then,
after Kiss formed, I found a black
belt with a huge tarantula on the
buckle. I must have worn it every
day for more than a decade—
it was a sort of confront-your-
fears approach.ENTERTAINMENT
Rock legend, actor, one-time ladies’ man and TV
personality Gene Simmons, 69, has sold more than
100 million albums as bassist and co-lead singer
with the American band, KissI REMEMBER...
Gene Simmons
30 • JULY 2019