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Kiss bassist Gene Simmons has spoken out about late musicians Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse, saying that their dying 'doesn't make them icons' and they didn't release enough material.
His controversial comments came in an interview with Team Rock Radio, in which he was originally speaking about the current state of the music industry and discussing the relationship major labels have with their artists.
Simmons criticised the internet for making it difficult for new bands to survive, and lambasted the use of file sharing websites, saying: "There won't be another Beatles or another Prince or another Kiss because there isn't that support system, there's no record companies because kids have decided they can download and fileshare and bypass paying the artists what they rightfully should be getting."
The bassist, 64, also claimed that there haven't been any true music legends since 1984: "Let me see - Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, The Who and just on and on. And through the '70s - Aerosmith, Kiss, Led Zeppelin. Now from 1984 until today, name one superstar that's bigger than their music, and not just somebody that's recorded one or two records, but another Queen or another AC/DC? None, you can't name one."
The rocker then insisted that Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse, who are often hailed as musical legends, were not icons, saying: "Kurt Cobain - no, that's one or two records, that's not enough. Amy Winehouse - that's one or two records, that's not enough. What, just 'cause you died that makes you an icon? No, no."
Nirvana recently released a 20th Anniversary Edition of their final and seminal album, In Utero. Drummer Dave Grohl has spoke out, urging fans to listen to the album 'without thinking of Kurt dying'.
Below: Kurt Cobain - the life of a legend
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