Features
Lou Gramm Hospitalized, Will Miss Foreigner ‘Then And Now’ Gigs
Charles Sykes / Invision / AP – Mick Jones and Lou Gramm of Foreigner
Songwriters Hall of Fame induction and awards gala, Marriott Marquis Theatre, New York City
Original Foreigner lead singer Lou Gramm has been hospitalized at Unity Hospital at Park Ridge in Rochester, N.Y., with a severe respiratory infection, dehydration and fatigue, according to a statement, and will miss upcoming Foreigner “Double Vision: Then And Now” gigs. The shows will go on without him.
“I’m very disappointed about not being able to perform at the FOREIGNER Double Vision: Then & Now shows for all the fans,” Gramm said in a statement. “My doctor insists if I pushed myself to perform, I would be in big trouble. So doctor’s orders, I ride the bench. Rock on!”
Fellow original band member, songwriter and guitarist Mick Jones, added in a statement, “We will all miss Lou at our upcoming shows and we join all his family, friends, and fans in wishing him a speedy recovery.”
Double Vision: Then and Now dates run Oct. 3-13 with stops at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., Hard Rock Hotel in Atlantic City, Black Oak Casino in Tuolumne, Calif., and Ilani Casino Resort in Ridgefield, Wash. The dates have included sets with both singer Lou Gramm and Kelly Hansen, who joined Foreigner as regular lead singer in 2005.
“Getting together naturally made me feel a little awkward, about how the original guys would feel about doing it, but they really savored it and they gave a lot,” Mick Jones told Pollstar for a February feature on the band. “Lou and Kelly hit it off really well, that was my main worry. It did something to me, I almost transformed back into a 22-year-old rocker,” Jones says. “I really got the feel of those early days, and we plan on doing a few more here and there, and the audience seemed to love it. We’ll see how many we can put together this year.”
With other projects including the “Juke Box Hero” musical, charity work including with the Shriners children’s hospitals and contests benefiting high school music education programs, the band remains inspired and busy. Foreigner has an upcoming residency at the Venetian in Las Vegas in January, as well as dates with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra.