It seems as though the love fest between ex-Foreigner frontman Lou Gramm and his former band is over and done with. Over the past few years, Gramm and co-founder and leader Mick Jones have made peace, with Gramm and the original members of the band joining the current lineup for a string of special dates — but now Gramm isn't holding back on how he feels about the latest incarnation of the band.
Blabbermouth transcribed some of Gramm's recent chat with RockHistoryMusic.com, in which he spoke very candidly about the band's current frontman, Kelly Hansen: “Kelly is all right. He's a good singer. But I think Mick really told Kelly, when he first got in the band, that he had to study me, because he sings those songs with the same musical innuendos and vocal licks and ad-libs as I have. He's mimicking me. His voice doesn't sound like me, but he's singing the songs the way I would sing them. Some people say, 'Well, take it as a compliment, Lou.' I don't take it as a compliment. You're a singer with a big band like that — use your voice and your style. Don't hang your coat on my hook.”
He went on to say, “I don't think he should sing the songs verbatim like me. Maybe sing a couple of parts. But let his own influences show — show the fans that he's the new singer now, not me.”