Gene Simmons remembers meeting AC/DC's Angus Young: "He didn't have front teeth"

Virgin Radio

19 May 2021, 15:58

It was quite the experience for Kiss star Gene Simmons, as he remembers meeting Angus Young for the first time. 

He was talking to Triple M, as the bassist recalled the occasion they were first introduced many moons ago. 

They first met in the 70s, and AC/DC then became the support act for Kiss in 1977 until 1978. 

Simmons remembers: “I saw them playing this really small club in L.A. I happened to be there, and all I remember is being so close to the stage" 

“So I’m in the front. And even after the blackouts between songs, there’s Angus just running around on stage – not posing, just kind of feeling it, like somebody in a trance or something. I said, ‘That guy is rock‘n’roll. That guy is real.’”

The pair then met backstage. Simmons says he’d “never forget” how “he didn’t have front teeth.”

He joked: “I guess at that point they couldn’t afford it.”

“We went to a place called Mel’s Diner, which is in some parts of the world really famous," he says. "I’ll never forget it, Angus asked for a frankfurter – instead of a hot dog – and beets.

“And I’ll never forget, Angus picked up the hot dog without the bun and started biting into it on the sides of his mouth because the two front teeth were missing.

“And I said to him – I can still remember most of the conversation – ‘You guys are great. I’m gonna make some calls. You’re going out on tour with us.'”

It all worked out well in the end!