For Foreigner, Rock Hall Induction Will Be ‘Cherry on Top’

Foreigner’s Kelly Hansen. Credit: Courtesy of John Lappen

Eligible for induction into the Rock Hall for several years, the ’70s hard rock act Foreigner often made the list of “snubs” that critics would publish on a yearly basis. But with the announcement that the band will be inducted this year, the group is no longer on that list, something that pleases both the original and current members.

“Everyone is happy that after all this time and all this back and forth that it finally happened,” says singer Kelly Hansen, who joined the band in 2005, via a TransAtlantic call from England, where he has a home. Foreigner performs with Styx and John Waite at 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday, June 12 at Blossom. “There are a lot of thoughts about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, especially for the original guys, but it is the cherry on the top of a really wonderful career. My feeling is that if any of the criteria is based on influence, then I think a lot of these bands [not yet inducted] influenced a lot of people to pick up a guitar or play the piano or sing a song. That is the definition of influence. I think a lot of those bands fit the bill.”

A professional musician who fell into singing accidentally when he joined his friend’s band in the late 1970s, Hansen toured with the hard rock act Hurricane in the ’80s, an experience he says prepped him for the constant touring that takes place for Foreigner, which now no longer includes any original members when it plays live.

“As a singer, it takes time to learn how to take care of yourself properly on the road, so you can sing challenging songs every night,” says Hansen, who started singing R&B and pop before joining Hurricane and getting pegged as a hard rock guy. “Hurricane was my first experience with any kind of hard music. After that, people only wanted to me sing heavy stuff.”

In the early 2000s, Hansen had essentially stopped singing and turned his attention to producing, songwriting and engineering. But the music business was changing, and budgets for production had diminished, so he began exploring other musical opportunities. He had heard about a charity show that Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones was playing in Santa Barbara. He found out that Jones was looking for a singer, and Hansen was looking for a band, so things worked out nicely.

“It was kind of serendipitous,” says Hansen. “Mick and I have always had similar beliefs about performance and how things should be done.”

As far as taking over for original singer Lou Gramm, Hansen says he realized he had big shoes to fill.

“I think the thing to do is bring your own shoes,” he says. “I wasn’t trying to be anyone else. Although, I have to say that if you’re singing really classic songs that are basically standards that people know note for note, it’s my job to sing those melodies and lyrics the way they were written and learned to be loved. It’s not for me to put my own footprint all over it. I want the songs to be true to be what they are. I try to do that every day.”

The set list for the tour, which the band has said will be its last, includes power ballads such as “I Want To Know What Love Is” and hard rock anthems like “Hot Blooded” and “Juke Box Hero,” classic tracks that were staples on commercial radio in the 1970s and 1980s.

“They are all such great songs,” says Hansen. “There is a constant revolving door of favorites, and I never have one favorite. It’s a great problem to have — to have so many great songs that sometimes you have to ask how you can leave one out. There was an era in that window of time in the ’70s and ’80s when bands were allowed to develop, and all kinds of musical styles were on the same radio station together. Foreigner wrote great songs and had great arrangements and had great performances on their records. Those songs really permeated the culture and psyche of this country and everywhere else around the world.”

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