l. to. r.: Foreigner’s Mick Jones and Lou Gramm, and Billy Joel, at Madison Square Garden 1-11-18
When the audience for Lou Gramm’s concert on Saturday (Dec. 29) in Schenectady, NY arrived, little did they realize they would be witnessing his farewell solo performance. But the former Foreigner lead singer told the crowd at Proctor’s: “You’ve got to be smart enough to know when to walk away from it and I feel it’s that time for me.”
The Schenectady concert was not part of a tour. We’re frankly not sure if Gramm is suffering from double vision because he has several 2019 dates on his calendar, performing with other acts. (See here.) It’s thus likely that he’s referring to his days leading his own band. Gramm turns 69 on May 2, 2019.
Foreigner was one of the biggest bands to emerge in the late ’70s as their 1977 debut effort for Atlantic Records yielded the future classic rock hits “Feels Like the First Time” and “Cold as Ice.”
As the years followed, so did the radio-friendly singles “Hot Blooded,” “Double Vision” and “Urgent.” Those were followed by their two highest-charting hits “Waiting For a Girl Like You” (#2) and “I Want to Know What Love Is” (#1).
Related: The inside story of how Foreigner signed with Atlantic
Gramm initially left Foreigner in 1990 and returned occasionally. In 2017, the band’s co-founder Mick Jones announced that Gramm and fellow former members Ian McDonald and Al Greenwood would appear on select dates of the band’s 40th anniversary tour.
The first such appearance was July 20, 2017, when fans finally got their wish as the trio joined the current band members for three songs at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, NY.
Related: Gramm joins Foreigner for July 2017 concert
Thanks to all those hits, Foreigner has sold a reported 50 million albums.
“It’s been a ball; I love you guys very much,” Gramm told the Schenectady crowd.
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