Foreigner founding member and guitarist Mick Jones will publish the band’s first official biography, “A Foreigner’s Tale”, in 2017.
The project tells the story of Jones’ early career with UK band Nero And The Gladiators as a teenager in the 1960s, his work as a songwriter and session musician in France with Sylvie Vartan and Johnny Hallyday before teaming up with Gary Wright, and a stint in the Leslie West Band.
Jones also played guitar on Peter Frampton’s 1972 album, “Wind Of Change”, and George Harrison’s 1974 record, “Dark Horse.”
The guitarist and producer formed Foreigner in New York in 1976 via a series of jams that saw him connect with keyboardist Al Greenwood, multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, drummer Dennis Elliott, bassist Ed Gagliardi and vocalist Lou Gramm.
1977 saw the release of Foreigner’s self-titled debut, which reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 on its way to US sales of more than 5 million copies thanks to the Top 10 hits “Feels Like The First Time” and “Cold As Ice.”
A series of multi-platinum albums followed, including 1978’s “Double Vision”, 1979’s “Head Games” and 1981’s “4”, helping the group flourish with 16 Top 30 hits while going on to sell more than 75 million albums worldwide.
“A Foreigner’s Tale” will see Jones share rare and candid photos from the band’s career alongside Foreigner artwork and memorabilia from his personal archives.
The book will be sold exclusively online at Foreignerbook.com via Rocket 88 Books; fans can register at the site for updates and the chance to have their name printed in the biography.
Foreigner just launched the “Hits Unplugged” tour, which sees the band deliver stripped-down, acoustic-based versions of their classic songs.
The band will mark their 40th anniversary with a world tour in 2017 with their current lineup of Jones, vocalist Kelly Hansen, bassist Jeff Pilson, guitarists Thom Gimbel and Bruce Watson, keyboardist Michael Bluestein and drummer Chris Frazier.
See also:
Foreigner teams with Stereocast to benefit Grammy Foundation
Foreigner announce European tour
Foreigner to record live unplugged album at charity event
Original Foreigner vocalist Lou Gramm expands North American tour
Search Foreigner at hennemusic
