You can go ahead and add Foreigner to the list of Classic Rock bands who have announced that their days of being on the road are over. But audiences around the world will have plenty of chances to see the group, as the officially-dubbed “Historic Farewell Tour” will run through the end of 2024.
Still, while it’s a bittersweet announcement, lead singer Kelly Hansen says it definitely was not a rush to judgment, or something concluded without reason.
Foreigner in 2023: Bruce Watson, Michael Bluestein, Kelly Hansen, Jeff Pilson, Luis Maldonado and Chris Frazier. Mick Jones not pictured.
Photo by Karsten Staiger
“It’s important that we go out when we’re sounding good and performing these songs well and don’t get into a place where we’re being less than we should. We don’t want to cheat the audience that’s supported us for so many years,” he says.
“The decision was well thought out. I took my time thinking about it and I have other things I want to enjoy in my life. And I’m not getting any younger. There’s a fair amount of reasoning that makes it logical.”
Houston audiences will get a chance to hear Foreigner’s parade of hits, including “Juke Box Hero,” “Double Vision,” “Urgent,” “Feels Like the First Time,” “I Want to Know What Love Is,” “Dirty White Boy,” “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” “Head Games,” and the opposite-ended temperatures of “Hot Blooded” and “Cold as Ice” when they perform at the Woodlands Pavilion on August 12.
Opening the show is Loverboy, an act with a similar string of radio hits and MTV anthems (“Working for the Weekend,” “Hot Girls in Love,” “Turn Me Loose,” “Lovin’ Every Minute of It”).
The 62-year-old Hansen has been Foreigner’s front man since 2005. His path to that spot on stage was no overnight anointment. Since 1985, he’d been steadily playing and recording with bands including Hurricane, Air Pavilion, Unruly Child and Perfect World—none of which ever broke through.
In fact, in the early ‘90s heyday of grunge when he says his “kind of voice was not popular,” Hansen concentrated on a different side of the music biz with songwriting, producing, engineering and A&R work.
But the itch to sing returned. And when Hansen found out that Foreigner co-founder/guitarist Mick Jones was doing a charity show with rumblings of starting the group’s engine again after a hiatus, he made overtures.
Jones send him a tape of five Foreigner classics—with the vocals wiped off—and asked Hansen to record himself on the tracks. He got the gig. “It was serendipitous we found each other,” the vocalist says.
And while memories of original singer Lou Gramm’s voice are burned into the ears of listeners from all those hits, Hansen wasn’t going to ape the voice of his predecessor. But neither was he looking to radically transform the tunes.
“I think that there’s an innate uniqueness to anyone’s voice. But I’m trying to sing the songs the way the fans learned to love them. That’s the way I want to hear a song when I go to a concert,” he says.
“My groove or cadence, naturally, are going to be different. But I’m not here to give you ‘The Song Stylings of Kelly Hansen.’ No one wants to hear that. I’m here to give you Foreigner songs. And I know what my job is.”
When asked if there were any numbers the band has never played live he would like to take a crack act, Hansen immediately spouts out two deep cuts: “Heart Turns to Stone” and “Stranger in My Own House.”
Foreigner is a bit different than other Classic Rock bands still out there (outside of Lynyrd Skynyrd) in that it does not regularly include any player actually performing on any of the classic hits. In addition to Hansen, the current full-time lineup includes Jeff Pilson (bass), Michael Bluestein (keyboards), Bruce Watson and Luis Maldonado (guitars) and Chris Frazier (drums).
But Mick Jones will—as he’s done in past years—make occasional drop-ins as his health permits, similar to what bassist Chuck Panozzo does with Styx.
“We always want him to be there whenever possible. Mick is still the architect of this band, and is there whenever he can be there,” Hansen says. “And any past member is also welcome to come on and jam with us. We’re kind of making a statement about the legacy and history of this band.”
Indeed, that is not an unprecedented thought, as a few years ago Foreigner played a series of dates and events featuring the current lineup and every surviving original member switching in and out at various times.
To hardcore Foreigner fans—and even casual ones—it’s a thorny issue that this band which started in 1976 is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, nor has even been on the ballot for consideration. And while Hansen knows that if it were ever to come to fruition, the inductee list would likely include only original or classic members and not him, he makes the case as a fan.
Kelly Hansen
Photo by Krishta Abruzzini
“As an entity, I find it unusual that a group of people can have an arbitrary standard from which they decide who is in this substantial sounding-titled Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” he says, voice rising.
“They cite as one of their criteria as ‘influence.’ Well, how many people have picked up a guitar and tried to learn ‘Cold as Ice’ or ‘Hot Blooded?’ Or sing ‘I Want to Know What Love Is’ in a karaoke bar?’ This band has sold 80 million plus records. And that’s real records, not streams or downloads! That is the definition of influence!”
As for performing in Houston, Hansen has the same distinct recollection as a lot of musicians over the years. And it has nothing to do with music.
“I know that every time we play Houston it’s…boiling hot! And it’s much more humid than other places in Texas!” he laughs. “But there are great rock fans there. Real ‘American Rock’ fans. And there’s only a few cities in the country where you can really say that.”
Hansen says that after the end of the road comes for Foreigner late next year, he’ll look forward to spending more time with his fairly new “lovely, beautiful, and talented” wife and family, as well as pursue other interests in and out of music. He doesn’t shut the door on producing any new Foreigner material.
“Look, I’m incredibly grateful and understand how unbelievably fortunate I’ve been to be in this business for 46 years,” Hansen sums up.
“I see way too many people who choose continuing to make money over living life. At this point, my time is worth more than money. It would be a mistake to just keep on touring until I die on stage. I’ve been in a noisy, complicated, busy, chaotic business for a really long time. And I like the idea of having a smaller life and enjoying the beautiful things.”
Foreigner and Loverboy play at 7 p.m. on Saturday, August 12, at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, 2005 Lake Robbins. For information, call 281-364-3024 or visit WoodlandsCenter.org. $29.50-$449 plus fees.
For more on Foreigner, visit ForeignerOnline.com