Lou Gramm takes aim at Mick Jones over songwriting credits and musical direction

Former Foreigner frontman Lou Gramm has spoken about his troubled relationship with guitarist Mick Jones in a new interview with VRP Rocks.

In one section, the singer reopened claims that he should have received writing credits – and payments – for the band’s biggest hit ‘I Want to Know What Love Is’.

He said: “It's very difficult, because we worked our tails off together, writing most of those songs. And I think we were the focal part of the band too, so the live show was very important and stuff.

“And I thought we had a very good friendship during most of those years. But after that 'I Want To Know What Love Is' (disagreement) happened, it was different.”

Watch: Foreigner - 'I Want to Know What Love Is'

Gramm has previously said that he made significant contributions to the song, which were not acknowledged.

He continued: “We barely spoke to each other on tour even. I knew that what he did to me, he was wrong and he was dishonest.

“And he made a fortune and I made nothing. And I got no credit from my peers or anybody. 'It's that Mick Jones magic touch. Look, he did it again’. ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’.'"

Elsewhere in the interview, Gramm spoke about the growing tensions within the band, including disagreements about their musical direction.

Asked what prompted his eventual departure from Foreigner, Gramm said: "It was mostly because I didn't like the direction at the band had been going for the last couple albums.”

Watch: Foreigner - 'Urgent'

He added: “Mick seemed to be incredibly enamoured with all the new keyboards that had been coming out. He went out and bought all the modern new keyboards and would stay up nights playing with the sounds, thereby the songs he wrote were keyboard songs.

“I told him face-to-face, 'We're gonna lose our rock audience.' A lot of our keyboard songs were ballads; after we had a hit with 'Waiting For A Girl Like You', next album was 'I Wanna Know What Love Is'. Those albums were laced with ballads and mid-tempo songs that could pass for ballads. I started to dislike being involved in the band.”

Foreigner are currently in the running for the 2024 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Gramm said that he had not yet spoken to any of his former bandmates but said: “I’m sure Mick and I will touch base.”

Gallery: Whitesnake, Foreigner and Europe rock Cardiff, 2022

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