Gene Simmons picks his favourite punk song: “Punk was authentic in England”
A lot of the time, compliments in music aren’t always reciprocated. It would be great if they were; everybody would get along, and there would be no need for beef, but that’s not how the world works. Gene Simmons was a big believer in authentic music and always championed that all music should come from a place of truth. He also said that the punk scene in England is one of the best examples of that authenticity.
“I think that anything that starts honestly and has integrity is authentic. It’s authentic in its own way,” he said, “You don’t have to understand it. For me, punk was authentic in England… In America, it’s style, The Ramones were not punk. We knew those kids when they were little boys, and they used to come to all the shows. That ain’t punk, that’s pop.”
While Simmons was a big fan of the punk scene in England and everything it achieved, John Lydon, one of the pioneers of the movement, unfortunately, didn’t feel the same way about Kiss. When asked about the band, Lydon was quick to offer up his comments, calling the band fake and criticising them for how blatant their attempt at relevance was.
“There’s a lot [of artists] that are selling you an image that’s false, deliberately fake, and deliberately commercial,” said the Sex Pistol, “I’ve met the Kiss lads. They’re alright. You know, [but] without the makeup, there ain’t much going on.”
Whether or not his words skewed Simmons opinion of specific punk bands remains to be seen, but when he spoke about his favourite punk songs, Sex Pistols were conveniently missed out. Instead, the Kiss bassist turned towards The Clash and ‘London Calling’, complimenting them on how much he believed in the sound and loved everything about it.
“Punk, the real anger,” he said, “The frustration of being outcasted or filling the blanks, they didn’t fill part of the mainstream [and that] was authentic as you can get.” Though The Clash achieved a good amount of mainstream success, it didn’t come without controversy, as Joe Strummer and Co were often criticised for the robust nature of their sound and the political meaning behind many of their lyrics.
When you simply listen to their sound, Kiss and The Clash have much in common. While Kiss goes for a much more agreeable glam rock angle, there is no denying the two put energy at the forefront of their delivery. They are always keen on delivering something that is easy to move to and will get crowds worldwide out of their seats. The subject matter separates them massively, but just the sound alone certainly has its parallels.
They are also connected in that John Lydon was critical of Joe Strummer, again calling out a lack of authenticity. “I mean, talk about class war. Joe Strummer was living in a mansion,” he said. “Look, he pretended to hop off buses, you know, like in his studded leather jacket. It’s nothing personal. I liked Joe. But you can’t be a champagne socialist; you’ve got to be more honest with us than that.”
