Mick Jones pictured and Lou Gramm of Foreigner say that new musical 'Jukebox Hero' is a way for them to earn a living in a changing industry. As Mick Jones tells it, the origins of a jukebox musical featuring the songs of his band Foreigner date back over 40 years, when he found himself stranded in an airport lounge in Atlanta with none other than Diana Ross.
Yes, the name of the musical is spelled differently than the song. Jones says he toyed over the years with the idea of a musical or movie using the songs that he and sometimes lead singer Lou Gramm wrote.
Both Jones and Gramm will attend the Toronto opening night, where the two are scheduled to join the cast for an encore. At certain shows, the current Foreigner lineup performs first, followed by a reunion of the original band, including Gramm. No grueling bus tours. Casinos have beautiful rooms with the best acoustics, and we could perform a week or 10 days.
Last year, the modern Foreigner released a live album, on which they were joined by an orchestra for updates of older material. So there is talk about him and I working on those songs again. He was on the side of the stage, and he was living the dream. You've never heard from him since, but there's currently a search to find him.
No one has stepped up and said, "It was me? I stood outside in the rain for five hours and you brought me backstage and onstage"? Jones : Yeah, but I haven't heard much about it to tell you the truth. Would be kind of cool [to find him]. How do you start on a project like this? Do you say, "Here is our catalog"? Did you talk to them about what the lyrics were about? Jones : I had known Dick, and Ian was a personal friend of mine. We got into the songs a bit, trying to build the big picture of where it was going and what the story would try and portray.
It wasn't the verbatim story from the song. It was taken into another area. It felt in some way that it really represented us and they were sensitive to that. I knew them quite well and socially and they'd known me. Do you like musicals? The rock world and the musical theater world are quite separate.
Jones : I go occasionally. I went to see Rock of Ages ; there was something about it that exaggerated too much, trying to get reactions. Gramm : I saw that too. I saw Phantom [ of the Opera ] and it was spectacular. Did you have parameters? Don't make our songs too "show tuney. Jones: Yes or the interpretation of the actor who is singing. All those things go into account. I'm sure as [the show] proceeds — and hopefully it gets a life of its own — that will develop even more.
There's quite a lot of dialogue in it too. The music is the principal. Mick, you were born in Portsmout [UK], which was an industrial town and naval port.
Sting has his musical out now in Toronto, The Last Ship, about the demise of the shipbuilding industry. Does the story of a dying steel factory resonate with you and your family background? Jones : Yeah, a lot of my family were working class people. And I keep aware of things. I see what's happening in America, for example, what's happening all over the world. There's a tremendous amount of unemployment and nobody seems to have the answer to it.
You've got people that have worked 35, 40 years in the job that is their family, and suddenly it's torn apart at that point in their lives when they deserve to be enjoying it. They're victims of corporate greed, the whole capitalist corporate thing that we live in. We've never been a political band. We've never written protest songs [but] I think it's important. Jones : There's been song additions. She's a great writer and lyricist. And as soon as the script-writers and the producer heard it, they said, "It's gotta be in the show.
It's a very poignant part of the show now. Jones : Obviously, that would be a dream come true. I hope it's going to resonate with people. From what I've seen already, it seems to be accepted. Boy, if it hits Broadway, even Off-Broadway, I'm open to that. Log in now to tell us what you think this song means. Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. Log in. Lyrics Artists add. Jukebox Hero Foreigner 28 Comments 0 Tags. Jukebox Hero song meanings.
Add Your Thoughts 28 Comments. General Comment This song is actually a true story, The band showed up to the concert running late because of bad weather and got off their bus at the back of the venue and there was a kid standing in the rain with his head up against the wall listening to the opening act.
The band went in and Lou Gramm the lead singer stopped and felt sorry for him because he was so dedicated to hear the concert that he took him in the building and put him in the front row right in front of the stage Afterwards they took him backstage and the kid said how he wanted to be a rockstar so bad.
The song was written right after. The part about buying the beat up six string were just referring to him saying he wanted to be a rockstar someday coty84 on November 20, Link. No Replies Log in to reply. There was an error. General Comment He heard one guitar! Makes my hairs stand on end medavid on September 06, Link. General Comment this song kicks ass, and the song, as to what i think is about a dude that loves rock and roll, and his 1st time at a concert he decides to be a rock star.
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