Foreigner Co-Founder Ian McDonald of Honey West Reunites with Fellow Foreigner Original Al Greenwood for Surprise Performance
By: Tori Hartshorn Jun. 25, 2018
Friday night in Jones Beach, NY, history was made when IAN McDONALD of HONEY WEST and fellow originalForeigner member Al Greenwood joined the band - Mick Jones (lead guitar), Kelly Hansen (lead vocals), Tom Gimbel (rhythm guitar, sax, vocals), Jeff Pilson (bass, vocals), Michael Bluestein (keyboards), Bruce Watson (guitar) and Chris Frazier (drums) - for an impromptu performance on "Hot Blooded" as part of its North American "Juke Box Heroes" Tour.
McDonald, who co-wrote the Foreigner anthem "Long, Long Way From Home" among others ? and will be celebrating his birthday today(Monday, June 25) ? continues to enjoy renewed acclaim in his own right, 39 years since leaving the group, with his new band, HONEY WEST,and their acclaimed debut album, Bad Old World, to be reissued in early Fall as a special collector's vinyl edition.
McDonald also will join Lou Gramm and the other original band members for the first-ever ticketed concert taking place on August 4, 2018 at The Sturgis Buffalo Chip in Sturgis, SD. Here, McDonald, Gramm, Greenwood, Dennis Elliott, and Rick Wills will join Mick Jones and FOREIGNER to rock through some of the best-selling songs from the band's 10 multi-platinum albums and 40 years of enduring top 10 hits.While FOREIGNER's original members have joined the band for surprise appearances in the past, never before have they announced a ticketed event featuring sets from both the current and original Foreigner where fans can join in for the ultimate soundtrack of summer. For tickets to FOREIGNER's performance on Chip's Wolfman Jack Stage as part of the 9-day annual event known as "The Largest Music Festival in Motorcycling,"® please visit www.buffalochip.com.
Says Mick Jones, "It's been incredible to have Lou, Dennis, Al, Ian and Rick join us for some surprise appearances throughout the past few years. It always brings back special memories. But now, for the first time, we are letting our fans know we'll be making history together at The Buffalo Chip on August 4th with a FOREIGNER reunion concert, and we hope they'll come on down to Sturgis and join us!"
McDonald's summer appearances with his original FOREIGNER bandmates arrive in the midst of select summer tour dates for HONEY WEST. McDonald also a co-founder of King Crimson, is scheduled to make a special guest appearance with the Paul Green Rock Academy Show Band - July 8 at Levon Helm's Barn in Woodstock, NY - to play some Crimson chestnuts with the students. Honey West will be performing on that bill as well. Tickets and complete info HERE. Honey West also is scheduled to play a special extended performance July 15at Havana in New Hope, PA.
The music video for "Bad Old World," the latest Honey West album's title track, produced and directed by Follette Films of Brooklyn, NY (Patty Smythe, Juliana Hatfield, John Doe of X), will be premiering mid-summer.
Since the 1977 release of their first hit "Feels Like the First Time" and their self-titled debut album on Atlantic Records, FOREIGNER has been universally hailed as one of the world's most popular rock acts with 10 multi-platinum albums, 16 Top 30 hits, and worldwide album sales exceeding 75 million.
McDonald was on board for the first three Foreigner albums, Foreigner (1977), Double Vision (1978) and Head Games (1979), as a multi-instrumentalist proficient on reeds, winds, keyboards, and guitar, his primary instrument on stage. Combined with his significant contribution to the landmark King Crimson album, In the Court of the Crimson King, also as a founding member, McDonald has figured prominently on four of the biggest-selling albums of the 10-year period from 1969 through 1979, encompassing two completely different rock genres (pop rock and progressive rock).
With HONEY WEST, McDonald co-wrote, produced and played several instruments on their acclaimed 2017 debut album, Bad Old World(Readout Records), which McDonald maintains is "some of the best work I've done in ages, and maybe ever," will be reissued in early Fall as a special collector's vinyl edition.
Billboard.com, in its exclusive premiere of the groundbreaking lyric video for "Dementia," said, "It merits some attention when Ian McDonald gets excited about something."
Bad Old World also has earned notice from Parade.com, Goldmine, Huffington Post, Modern Drummer, M Music & Musicians, The Vinyl District, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Digital First Media, Premiere Radio Networks, ABC News Radio, and Fireworks Magazine (UK),among others.
Vintage Rock called Bad Old World "a 12-song gem of wry lyrics, live sounding rollicking, and right-in-the-pocket production" and "a lively record from artists who sure know how to bring fun and smarts to rock and roll." Sea of Tranquility, in its four-star review, declared the album "unashamedly good fun [and] classy."
Honey West's next live appearances are:
Sunday, July 8: Levon Helm's Barn, Woodstock, NY (with Paul Green Rock Academy Show Band)
Sunday, July 15: Havana, New Hope, PA
More dates to come!
www.facebook.com/honeywestmusic
Photo: Ian McDonald of Honey West, third from right, reunites with Foreigner at Jones Beach last Friday night. Credit: Karsten Staiger.
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