Rock legends Foreigner have sold more than 80 million records worldwide and remain one of the biggest live draws in the United States. The band has garnered numerous mega-hits including “Urgent,” “I Want To Know What Love Is,” “Hot Blooded,” “Juke Box Hero,” “Cold As Ice,” and many more.
Since the early 2000s, founding guitarist Mick Jones has been the only original member of the band, and health issues have forced him to miss certain live dates resulting in the band sometimes performing with none of the classic/original lineup. The band did, however, perform select “Double Vision: Then And Now” concerts with original singer Lou Gramm, drummer Dennis Elliott, keyboardist Al Greenwood, bassist Rick Wills and guitarist/saxophonist Ian McDonald. But a full-scale reunion wasn’t in the cards.
Earlier this week, Foreigner announced that a summer tour next year will be their last. The band is set for a number of dates with ’80s hitmakers Loverboy.
Jones said: “Many years ago, I wrote a song called ‘Feels Like The First Time’, and today we are launching one last worldwide tour. We will be presenting a show that I know will have the same enthusiasm as our very first appearances.”
“The tour will start this summer in America and we hope to get to every place that we have played over the last several years. While I’m sure our fans will have mixed feelings about the end of the road for the band, I know our shows are going to delight audiences everywhere.”
Current Foreigner singer, Kelly Hansen, who has fronted the band since 2005 added: “The time has come. We have more or less lived our lives on the road for almost eighteen years. We have always strived to give you our best and we intend to finish this the same way.”
“Foreigner has a brilliant and increasingly demanding catalogue of songs to sing and I refuse to give them less than they deserve. So, we’re going to finish strong. I want to make it very clear how grateful and appreciative we are to our audiences all over the world who have supported this band. I’m sure there may be occasions when we’ll do some special appearances, but I think the time is coming for us to live off the road. Thank you all so much!”
Gramm recently criticized Hansen for copping all of his stage moves and singing style.
“I think he’s a good singer,” Gramm told Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM. “And he sings those songs okay; he sings them good. But he mimics my style right down to the ad-libs, and I’m offended by that… I just think that if he’s gonna sing the songs, he could sing the melodies that are familiar, but when it comes to the ad-libs and all the little things that set me aside as a vocalist when I sing them, he should make his own up. He should have his own ad-libs that are his own; he doesn’t have to mimic me.”
Shockingly, Foreigner have not yet been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, making them one of the biggest snubs from the often-criticized institution.
