Gene Simmons has tweeted after reports he was hospitalized after a fall.
“Please note, I’m fine. This is bullshit news. Ignore it….Gene Simmons hospitalised after fall at LAX airport.”
Please note, I’m fine. This is bullshit news. Ignore it….Gene Simmons hospitalised after fall at LAX airport
Source: Planet Rock
Shared via the Google app https://t.co/rixxSfQfFx— Gene Simmons (@genesimmons) March 3, 2025
It was 1996. Kiss was back. The original lineup had reunited, and their ‘Alive-Worldwide’ Tour was set to be one of the biggest rock spectacles of all time. The first show? A sold-out Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Forty thousand screaming fans… and the perfect opening band which had been chosen was Stone Temple Pilots.
They were at the peak of their career. They were alt-rock royalty, selling out arenas and dominating the charts. But there was just one problem—Scott Weiland. His battle with addiction had already started making headlines, and Gene Simmons, a man who had seen it all in the rock world, knew trouble when he saw it.
Gene didn’t just invite Stone Temple Pilots to open for Kiss. He begged Weiland to clean up. In a recent interview on The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan, Simmons recalled his conversation with the singer.
“Sad story: it was going to be Stone Temple Pilots. And [Scott] Weiland and I had a discussion, and I said, ‘This is your chance. It’s going to be a lot of media.’ The thing sold out in 40 minutes. ‘You guys open up, but I want you to be straight. You gotta promise me.’ ‘Gene, I promise,’ like all addicts. Then he died.”
Stone Temple Pilots were out. Gene had to make a call. And in stepped another legendary band—Alice in Chains. They took the stage at Tiger Stadium, filling the void left by Stone Temple Pilots. And they delivered an unforgettable performance. Unfortunately, Layne also passed away soon after.
“And then I saw Layne [Staley] backstage,” Simmons continued. “We got Alice in Chains because we loved the band. And before he went up on stage, I said, ‘Layne, this is your chance, I want you to be straight,’ and all that stuff. And shortly thereafter, he died.” Staley would pass away on April 5, 2002, also from drugs.
