Why was Kiss's Gene Simmons at PMQs? Rocker makes surprise appearance in House of Commons

British politics truly is a bizarre place at times - no more so than when Kiss rocker Gene Simmons made a surprise appearance at parliament to watch PMQs.

The 73-year-old frontman of the iconic American rock band was in attendance for the PMQs session on Wednesday 7 June. He described his visit as "insane", watching as deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden fielded questions, taking the place of Rishi Sunak who is currently on a visit to the US.

The band were in the UK for their End Of The Road tour, which visited Birmingham and Newcastle in the past few days. Simmons was invited to parliament as a guest of DUP MP Ian Paisley, the representative for North Antrim, before the band left to continue their tour in Prague.

The singer said that what he witnessed in the chamber was "controlled choas", as Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner challenged Dowden on a range of topics such as the upcoming Covid inquiry. He said: "It was the clash of wills but respectful – the right honourable so and so, it was fascinating."

Simmons compared the proceedings to that of his home in the US, adding: “In America, it’s like the middle finger is a salute. I think Americans can take a big lesson in civility in how to make democracy actually work and still respect the other side."

Simmons, a former teacher before leaving the profession to tour the world as a rock star, told reporters that he had "taught" UK politics to his students but had never made the trip personally before.

He added: “America is so young and has no sense of history, everything over there is just fast, immediate, instant gratification and there’s no time to sit there and just gaze, I mean, look where you are – it’s insane. We’re standing on, in terms of democracy, hallowed ground.”

Joking that he was due to play a "private concert as a DUP fundraiser", Paisley confirmed that he was able to give the rocker a private tour of the parliament building before heading into the chamber to watch PMQs.

The North Antrim MP said: “Gene is a guest, he’s a real knowledgeable guy about the history of this place, he’s got a genuine interest both in the history and the theology behind all this stuff, and he’s had a private tour and he’s been able to visit Deputy Prime Minister’s question time.

“It’s great to have him here, an honour to have guests here and it’s great when they’re passionate and interested and they can tell the world about the importance of this building and democracy and what it means for people here.”