The Demon, Jacko and Diana's choccy cake
MOST people reined in their opinions of Michael Jackson after his murky death last summer - but not Gene "The Demon" Simmons.
The Kiss singer/bassist called time on the tributes soon after Jacko's mysterious end, saying he would rather hear from those who had accused him of abuse.
Now Simmons is at it again. He talks about Jackson as part of the Ever Meet Hendrix? feature in the ever-brilliant Classic Rock magazine this month.
The Demon insists there is "no question in my mind, not a doubt" that Jackson was guilty of the allegations. "Where there's smoke, there's fire," he argues.
Part of his rationale is based on sex, as is much of The Demon's life and work. "There's never been a single female of any age that I've ever known about who has ever made a claim that she had a physical relationship with Michael, ever. In fact, while he was alive, I never heard about mature men making that claim either - and believe me, you can't keep it a secret. If you're a celebrity, somebody somewhere will say 'oh yeah, I s**gged him'."
Strong stuff. But Simmons is a man who says what he thinks, and he doesn't care what you think. He's one of those people who sees the world with glorious simplicity: good and bad, right and wrong, making money and not making money, what makes sense and what doesn't.
He's seemingly immune to criticism. If you question Kiss's talent or credibility, he'll show you his bank balance; if you poke fun at him, he'll point you to the notches in his bedpost.
And that makes the feature all the more entertaining (especially when compared to 'Wayne Rooney interviews Stereophonics' across the magazine stand in this month's Q).
Elsewhere, there's tales of jamming with Bob Dylan, songwriting with Lou Reed, how Donald Trump is a "huge fan" of him, how he and Simon Cowell "understand each other" and how he discovered Eddie Van Halen. Just the usual modest claims.
But the funniest stuff is saved for his high-profile relationships with Cher and Diana Ross. He even two-timed them for a bit, and they didn't really seem to mind.
The Demon met Cher at a party. "Literally that first night, I said 'you wanna come with me?' So she hopped in the limo and off we went. Hey, you want my advice when it comes to women, it's this: say what you mean and mean what you say. If you see a beautiful women and you find her attractive, say those words."
His dalliance with Diana came about when he was trying to buy a Christmas present for Cher. "What do you buy someone who has everything? Cher said 'call my best friend, Diana. I tell her all my secrets and she knows exactly what I want'.
"So when I was in New York, I rang Diana up and said 'would you help me?' When I met her at her apartment she gave me a slice of chocolate cake....
Hold on for the money line....
"And then she gave me a different slice of chocolate cake!"
Incredible scenes! And clearly an incredible man, whether his views delight or enrage you. Please check out the full article (and discover a magazine that genuinely loves the music it writes about). You won't be disappointed.