After a good 40 years of band history, there are still new challenges even for foreigners. After all, even the Anglo-American success rockers are not on stage every day with over 100 people to present the almost inexhaustible pool of Mick-Jones compositions with orchestral force. In addition to this extraordinary experience, the band boss also talks about the anniversary concerts at which he once again met the original singer Lou Gramm. And in May the band is back on tour in Germany.
Albums and concerts of a rock band with an orchestra in the background are now more common. But one is not always asked whether one wants to celebrate the opening of a concert hall with a 58-piece orchestra and a 60-piece choir. The current Foreigner line-up, consisting of lead guitarist Mick Jones, singer Kelly Hansen, bassist Jeff Pilson, keyboarder Michael Bluestein, guitarist Bruce Watson, drummer Chris Frazier and multi-instrumentalist Thom Gimbel, performed last May at two concerts in Lucerne, Switzerland with the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra & Chorus in the new KKL Hall. Since Jones and Co. didn't know about it months before, the whole thing was knitted with a hot needle and the band sweated enormously. After all, 73-year-old Jones is considered a perfectionist.
eclipsed: "Foreigner With The 21st Century Symphony Orchestra & Chorus" will be released on DVD, Blu-ray and CD on April 27. A big event, not just for your fans.
Mick Jones: When you hear or see the result, it's hard to believe how difficult it was to implement. When we got the offer to perform in Lucerne with a gigantic orchestra and choir, I agreed a little prematurely. Unfortunately, we only had a few weeks to get it all together.
eclipsed: But you can be satisfied with the result, can't you? It works as a live, best-of and rock-meets classic work.
Jones: That was my claim. On the one hand, the hall in Lucerne has a great sound. That makes a lot of things easier, but you would have heard every mistake clearly. As a rock band, you can get your guitar blown up at a normal gig. You can't do that with orchestra and choir.
eclipsed: Some songs sound a bit different than usual. You didn't just replace the keyboards with orchestral wide wall sound, did you?
Jones: That wouldn't have been enough for me either. We had people with Dave Eggar and Chuck Palmer who rearranged my songs for this Group-&-Orchestra-&-Choir-Spetakel accordingly. They did it in record time. After that we had a week to rehearse with everyone.
