Foreigner Reunites: Lou Gramm, Al Greenwood, And Ian McDonald Perform With Band For First Time In 37 Years
Foreigner’s classic lineup took the stage together for the first time in nearly 40 years, and it felt like no time had passed. Rolling Stone posted a video of Foreigner reuniting with three key former members for the first time since 1980 as Lou Gramm, Al Greenwood, and Ian McDonald joined the classic rock band onstage during a long-awaited concert at Jones Beach Theater, Long Island, New York.
Gramm, who was Foreigner’s vocalist from 1976 until 2003, sang lead with the band for the first time in 14 years, while fellow founding members, multi-instrumentalist McDonald and keyboardist Greenwood, returned after last performing with the group in 1980. The trio joined the current incarnation of Foreigner, which only includes Mick Jones from the band’s original lineup, for three of the most famous songs from the band’s late 1970s/early ’80s heyday: “Long, Long Way From Home,” “I Want to Know What Love Is” and “Hot Blooded.” For many Foreigner fans, it was truly the first time to see the original bandmates play together.
Jones said the reunion brought back some great memories, and he teased that the best way to cap off Foreigner’s 40th-anniversary celebrations would be a performance by the entire original band for a potential Rock & Roll Hall of Fame performance next year.
It is unclear if this will be the only reunion performance with the original Foreigner bandmates on the current tour. Foreigner leader Mick Jones previously teased that the band’s 40th-anniversary tour would include former members Gramm, McDonald, and Greenwood on select dates, but he did not elaborate on how many.
“They’re not on the whole tour, but there will be some appearances,” Jones told Billboard earlier this year. “It’s the right time to do this.”
Watch Foreigner reunite with singer Lou Gramm and two other members for first time in 37 years https://t.co/b7cVhygaCM pic.twitter.com/sIOGfXqtys
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) July 21, 2017
Jones also told Billboard he knows he “can’t do this forever,” admitting that he is realistic about the prospects for a 50th-anniversary tour in 10 years when he will be in his 80s. In other words, this may be the last time for Foreigner fans to ever see the classic lineup of the band perform together.
You can see the performance with the reunited Foreigner members in the video below.
Foreigner’s current summer tour with Cheap Trick and Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience is in celebration of the band’s 40th anniversary.
[Featured Image by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]
