A legendary rock singer from Upstate New York joined his former band for a surprise concert performance over the weekend.
Lou Gramm reunited with Foreigner for two songs during an encore Saturday night in Clearwater, Florida. Gramm, the original voice of Foreigner, helped current lead singer Kelly Hansen perform classic rock hits “I Want to Know What Love Is” and “Hot Blooded,” according to fan videos.
Watch Lou Gramm perform with Foreigner:
Gramm, 74, is currently set to retire this year. His final concert is expected to be a hometown show with the Lou Gramm All-Stars at Batavia Downs on Aug. 1.
Gramm, a Rochester native who currently lives in Webster, N.Y., was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Foreigner in October. Foreigner, which has no original members left in its touring lineup, is on its own extended farewell tour, including an Aug. 7 show at the Erie County Fair in Hamburg.
Despite being relatively close to Webster, neither act has given any indication of another reunion at the Erie County Fair. Gramm recently said that he doesn’t want to tour “with another band that calls themself Foreigner,” citing “Kelly’s ego” and disagreements over which songs he’d get to perform.
“There are particular songs that are my trademark songs and if I can’t sing them, I don’t want to be out on the road,” Gramm told SiriusXM in November. “It’s frustrating, but I don’t want it to be frustrating. I’ve been thinking about it for about a month, that’s when I found out that I couldn’t sing my own favorite songs on the tour. So I think I’m just going to tell them I’m not interested.”
Hansen has led Foreigner since 2005. Original guitarist Mick Jones is still considered a member, but no longer performs due to Parkinson’s disease.
