With ten multi-‐platinum albums and sixteen Top 30 hits, Foreigner is universally hailed as one of the most popular rock acts in the world with a formidable musical arsenal that continues to propel sold-‐out tours and album sales, now exceeding 75 million. Responsible for some of rock and roll’s most enduring anthems including “Juke Box Hero,” “Feels Like The First Time,” “Urgent,” “Head Games,” “Hot Blooded,” “Cold As Ice,” “Dirty White Boy,” “Waiting For A Girl Like You,” and the worldwide #1 hit, “I Want To Know What Love Is,” Foreigner continues to rock the charts more than thirty years into the game.
At Foreigner’s core is founder and lead guitarist Mick Jones, the visionary maestro whose stylistic songwriting, indelible guitar hooks and multi-‐layered talents continue to escalate Foreigner’s influence, along with lead vocalist Kelly Hansen, bass guitarist Jeff Pilson and multi-‐instrumentalist Tom Gimbel.
Founded in 1976, Foreigner’s debut album produced the hits “Feels Like The First Time,” “Cold As Ice” and “Long, Long Way From Home.” The album Double Vision followed, as did a string of hits like “Urgent,” “Juke Box Hero” and “Waiting For A Girl Like You.” Those songs helped give Foreigner’s next album, 4, its impressive run at #1 on the Billboard chart. At the zenith of 80’s sound, Foreigner’s fifth album, Agent Provocateur, gave the world the incredible #1 global hit,” I Want To Know What Love Is.” This musical milestone followed the record-‐breaking song “Waiting For A Girl Like You.”
Foreigner’s 2002 hiatus ended with the arrival of Kelly Hansen who inspired a new chapter in the history of the band. Selected by Mick Jones for his astonishing vocals and vibrant stage presence, Kelly joined Mick to lead the group in a re-‐emergence of astounding music that speaks to long time Foreigner fans and younger generations. With renewed energy and direction, Foreigner hit the Billboard charts again with the 2005 release of their live greatest hits album, Extended Versions. Can’t Slow Down followed in 2009, and entered the Billboard chart in the Top 30, driven by two Top 20 radio singles, “In Pieces” and “When It Comes To Love.” To follow was the release of the band’s 3-‐disc set, Feels Like The First Time, which included an acoustic CD with an intimate and unique re-‐interpretation of many Foreigner classics, studio re-‐records by the new lineup and a live performance DVD showcasing the group’s exceptional live energy.
Foreigner’s relevance continues with several of their hits featured in films such as Rock Of Ages, Anchorman 2, Magic Mike and Pitch Perfect, and video games including the mega hit “Grand Theft Auto V”. “I Want To Know What Love Is” is the end title in the season finale of Orange Is The New Black. Foreigner is one of the biggest YouTube heritage artists with weekly viewings of their songs frequently approaching the one million mark (Source: Next Big Sound).
Juke Box Heroes, a new compilation of digitally recorded Foreigner hits, spent over thirty weeks in the Billboard Top 200 in 2013/2014. In September 2013, it hit #4 in the Nielsen SoundScan Top 200 Catalog chart, an astonishing feat that allowed Foreigner’s catalog sales that week to eclipse those of AC/DC, Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, Queen, Van Halen and most of their Classic Rock peers (Source: Nielsen SoundScan Top 200, September 15, 2013).
In June 2013, Mick Jones was inducted to the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. A multi-‐talented and multi-‐ dimensional “musician’s musician,” Jones has also written songs such as “Bad Love” with Eric Clapton and “Dreamer” with Ozzy Osbourne, and produced records for others including Billy Joel’s Storm Front and Van Halen’s 5150. A Grammy and Golden Globe-‐nominated songwriter, Jones is the winner of the prestigious British Ivor Novello Songwriter Award for “The Flame Still Burns”, the soundtrack music for the film Still Crazy.
In May 2014, Atlantic Records Chairman Craig Kallman presented Mick Jones with RIAA gold and platinum digital awards for six Foreigner songs. These awards signify 500,000 and 1,000,000 downloads of Foreigner hits. That is more individual awards than any other heritage rock band, and an illustration of Foreigner’s resonance in the digital era.
Foreigner made headlines again in the summer of 2015 by joining with Kid Rock on a tour that rocked amphitheatres across the United States. The tour sold more tickets than any other Live Nation summer amphitheater presentation and Foreigner gained legions of new fans as part of this legendary partnership. Foreigner also rocked Detroit with a once-‐in-‐a-‐lifetime private acoustic show supporting the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund) at The Ford Motor Company Conference & Event Center, and is donating royalties from the upcoming album recorded that evening – “The Hits Unplugged and Live” to this worthwhile cause.
The year 2015 also brought Foreigner’s partnership with Ford’s Drive For UR School campaign, where Ford joined Foreigner’s successful high school choir promotion in several markets, donating funds and allowing winning choirs the chance to join Foreigner onstage.
