Mick Jones could be excused for feeling a little bitter about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ignoring Foreigner for more than two decades of eligibility. But now that the group will be part of the class of 2024 this October, Jones – who formed Foreigner in 1975 in New York – says he feels “the exact opposite”.
“I think it means more to me now than maybe 20 years ago,” Jones says. Advertising sign exclusively, via email due to a struggle with Parkinson's disease that he revealed in February. “I've had a great career, and this is like the icing and the cherry on top. It is something I will enjoy over the years. It is a great honor to be counted among all these great artists who have joined over the years.
Jones, 79, adds that despite Foreigner fans' very vocal dismay at the band's exclusion, he has maintained a measured outlook on the prospects. “Sometimes it might get in my head,” he says. “I'm certainly not over-consumed by it. Every year it was the same thing, so in the end I wasn't really worried about it. My dear friend Peter Frampton had come to grief over the years. I don't think he's too consumed by it.”
Foreigner finished third in this year's Rock Hall fan voting, behind Dave Matthews Band and Frampton, with more than 527,000 total votes. This was helped in part by a video campaign by Jones' son-in-law Mark Ronson, who enlisted musical friends such as Paul McCartney (“Alien? Not in the Hall of Fame? Who the f–k?!”), Dave Grohl O Slash, Jack Black, Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and others who expressed their disbelief that the band was not yet.
“I'm very grateful for the time and effort Mark put into this,” says Jones. “I wasn't fully aware of the extent to which he dealt with this. He reached out to many people to post their support on social media. I had a good laugh when I saw Paul's Instagram post.”
Jones isn't the only one, of course, celebrating Foreigner's impending introduction. Rick Wills, who was Foreigner's bassist from 1979-1993, says Advertising sign, “We are more than excited. It's been over 20 years since we've been waiting for this day. I guess we were disappointed, to be perfectly honest, but we tried to hide it as best we could because we didn't want to look like sad people. (laughs). I mean what else could you do other than what we've already done with our music and what people have appreciated and enjoyed? We didn't understand why we didn't get this recognition.”
And original frontman Lou Gramm said Advertising sign last month that he was “resigned that we would ever be considered” but would gladly serve if elected. “I didn't feel good that it was our peers years ago and we were completely neglected … I didn't think about it anymore, to be honest with you, so (the nomination) was a big surprise to me.”
Gramm recently brought up past issues with Jones over songs and financial issues, but he's looking forward to being with the band and performing at the Oct. 19 induction ceremony in Cleveland. And Jones says Gramm, with whom he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013, will be welcomed with open arms.
“On a personal level I have no hard feelings about Lou,” says Jones. “We've been performing together in concert for 40 years. It's been so many years since Lou left Foreigner. I like to think that those bad feelings are a thing of the past. There is strength in letting go of difficult feelings and moving on with your life. Why carry the burden of hard feelings? It serves no purpose in the long run. I plan to attend,” adds Jones. I'm sure my whole family will be there. Whether I will get up on stage and perform has not been decided yet. In a way it might be nice just to be there to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the introduction.”
Jones says he deals with Parkinson's disease “on a daily basis. To keep my chin up and make the best of everything. Fortunately, my Parkinson's is not as debilitating as it is for some people. My friend Michael J. Fox has been such an inspiration and advocate to find a cure for this disease. I hope they find the answer soon. Like any disease, it's a matter of quality of life. “With all the research my family and my assistant have done, I've been able to follow a healthy lifestyle and exercise program that I think is helping to slow the progression of Parkinson's.”
He's also allowed to continue working — not onstage with Foreigner, of course, but there may be new material in the future. “There are a lot of songs that are demos that I wrote with Lou,” says Jones. “Some of it is very promising. Some written with Marti (Frederiksen) are lying around. I've gone through demo tapes. some I think don't deserve to see the light of day.” Jones adds that he has also finished mixing and mastering a solo album, shelter from the storm, that it hopes to release “sometime soon.”
Foreigner, meanwhile, is in the midst of an open-ended farewell tour that will likely extend into 2025 and may even include occasional shows or residencies after the road work is complete. And Jones confirms he's still comfortable with that decision. “It is expected that all good things must come to an end. When Foreigner retires it is because the guys in the band have given so much of themselves and have reached a time in their lives where they want to have an easier life and spend more time with their families. There are so many demands to be in a successful rock band.”
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/foreigner-mick-jones-rock-hall-fame-1235662157/