You may not have been alive in the 1970s, but chances are you’ve heard of Foreigner. The British-American hard rock band is still going strong, and a lot of their career has been put in the spotlight. Despite their continued presence in the public eye, there are still some things that many people do not know about them. With that in mind, here we present our list of 15 things you probably didn’t know about Foreigner. Check out part one below, and stay tuned for part two, coming soon!
Number Fifteen: Before They Were Foreigner, They Were Trigger. The band originally called themselves Trigger, but they were not able to achieve any success with the name. Mick Jones came up with the name Foreigner because of the members’ diverse backgrounds. At any given time, at least three of their members would be foreigners.
Number Fourteen: Their Debut Album Did Really Well. Foreigner’s first album, Foreigner, sold more than four million copies in the United States alone. Not only that – the album was in the Top 20 for an entire year. This is incredibly impressive for a band’s debut album.
Number Thirteen: Ed Gagliardi Left Because He Was Stubborn. Bassist Ed Gagliardi was eventually replaced by Rick wills, and Gagliardi reportedly left because his ideas did not always align with the ideas of the band as a whole.
Number Twelve: Lou Gramm Blames an Album Cover for Low Sales. Foreigner’s album titled Head Games sold fewer copies than their first two albums. Lou Gramm blames the cover for this. The cover features a little girl erasing her number from the boy’s restroom, and it was subsequently banned from radio stations in the more conservative parts of the country.
Number Eleven: Mick Jones Like Having Control. Foreigner co-founders Al Greenwood and Ian McDonald were fired in 1980 because Mick Jones wanted more control over Foreigner’s direction, and he also wanted to write more songs.
Number Ten: They Only Have One Number One Hit. Despite their fame and popularity, Foreigner has only had one number one hit. The hit is “I Want to Know What Love Is,” and it hit number one in 1985.
Number Nine: Mick Jones Was a Producer as Well. Despite the fact that he was busy being involved with Foreigner, Jones was also able to act as producer for well-known albums like Billy Joel’s Storm Front and Van Halen’s 5150.