Lou Gramm, the original singer of Foreigner, currently has concert dates scheduled through November, but he has confirmed that this will be his last year of touring.
The 73-year-old singer is the voice on such timeless Foreigner classics as “Feels Like the First Time, “Cold as Ice,” “Hot Blooded” and “I Want to Know What Love Is.” He left Foreigner in 2003, returning as a guest during live shows in 2017 and 2018.
Gramm, who has battled a myriad of health issues, has continued to perform as a solo act, and will be joining Bret Michaels on the Poison singer’s “Parti Gras 2.0 Tour” this summer. He is also slated to play a number of his own Lou Gramm All Stars shows, currently scheduled through November 9th in Tulare, California. Tickets to several of his upcoming gigs are available here.
“This is my last year,” Gramm told radio personality Lee Richey in a new interview (watch below). “I’ve been doing it, jeez, for almost 50 years, and I would like to turn my attention to my family and my muscle cars, and just enjoy myself knowing that when I lay down at night, it’ll be in my own bed.”
He added, “This is gonna be it. I’ve been putting it off and putting it off. And I still enjoy performing, but when you’ve been doing it for as long as I have — the travel is the worst. It really takes its toll. And that’s a sign that you’re getting old.”
Foreigner are currently nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and if they do get inducted, Gramm says he’ll be there to perform with his former bandmates at the ceremony. “I’ve heard that we’re going to play a song or two [if we’re inducted],” revealed the singer. “And I was told that I would be singing.”
Meanwhile, original Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones, who is still a member of the band, revealed recently that he is battling Parkinson’s disease, and won’t be joining Foreigner on their upcoming co-headlining tour with Styx (pick up tickets here).
Watch Lou Gramm’s interview with Lee Richey below.