Foreigner coming
Florence Kerr remembers a time when as a heartbroken teen US rockers Foreigner helped ease the pain.
It was 1999. I was in fifth form and I had been invited to kissing rock on the corner of Clyde and Kindergarten in the wholesome town of Tokoroa.
He was seventh form and I was naive.
We had kissed at kissing rock, and no one – NO ONE – invites someone to kissing rock to just talk.
Until that day in 1999.
He ended it. He had fallen for an older woman – seventh form – whose breasts were much larger than mine.
How dare he break up with me at the rock? Our rock.
The walk home was excruciating. He broke my heart and then had the nerve to walk part of the way home with me waffling on about how excited he was that his mum was buying a DVD player – at this point, only one person in Tokoroa had a DVD player. It was a big deal.
I walked the rest of the lonely route home, and thought seriously about stuffing my bra with toilet paper. I wished my parents had money to buy a DVD player.
I locked myself in my room, put on my illegal pink transonic CD, the one with stolen hits. The stolen hits hid the sobs.
For the next two weeks, Foreigner’s I Want to Know What Love Is was my jam.
It was summer and through the eyes of a heartbroken teen, the world was tinged with an autumn hue. And Foreigner was the soundtrack.
Foreigner sound like an autumn world.
Today, kissing rock, a big old gray monolithic slab, is gone. Nineteen years have passed since the break-up and, like the seasons, feelings change and things that appeared to be traumatic can now be viewed with humour.
This November, my autumn band are coming to Hamilton. I’m going. I have to. Foreigner’s hit song still haunts me – grocery shopping, in waiting rooms, I even heard the song at a funeral.
Who is this band that has followed me through my life? Stalked me while I decide which toilet paper to purchase this week?
I go to Tom Gimbel for the answers. He plays rhythm guitar, keyboard, sax and flute and joined the band in 1992. He left and went back to Aerosmith, then in 1995 reunited with Foreigner, where he has been ever since.
The most astonishing fact about Gimbel is he played for Aerosmith. It begs the question – who leaves Aerosmith for Foreigner?
Gimbel does and he has zero regrets.
‘‘I did two world tours with Aerosmith from 1989 to 1990. It was called the Pump tour. Then 1993 to 1994 was called the Get a Grip tour. Obviously, we went everywhere.’’
He doesn’t linger on his time with the amazing Aerosmith. His focus is on Foreigner.
The band have 10 multiplatinum albums and 16 US Billboard Top 30 hits. They were a formidable ’80s love band.
And their hits, Cold as Ice, Urgent, and Waiting for a Girl Like You are just a few of the favourites.
But none of those are Gimbel’s favourites?
‘‘I would say my most favourite song is the one that [Foreigner founder] Mick Jones has not written yet. It’s in the future,’’ Gimbel said.
‘‘As far as the present tense, I love to play Urgent because I get to get my hands on that saxophone and do that brilliant piece of saxophone work and I just completely lose my mind. It’s like clocking out and waking up after it’s over and saying – what happened?’’
Gimbel says he doesn’t have a song he hates playing. I call bull on that. I have stories I hate writing – insert classic cat up a tree yarn.
‘‘We are really fortunate there aren’t any clunkers,’’ he reckons.
Despite that, the songs still strike a chord with middle New Zealand and 16-year-old me.
He’s excited about rocking out, in a sensible fashion, in Hamilton.
‘‘We did a tour in New Zealand with Heart and Three Dog Night about three years ago. I was amazed how beautiful it was. I had been to Australia many times, but never New Zealand. The people and the countryside – it was stunning.’’
I ask Gimbel to tell me one thing about Foreigner that no one knows. I’m excited. Will he talk about the drugs, sex and rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle?
‘‘We like to iron,’’ he says. Iron?
‘‘Before the show, you want to get your clothes just right. We’ll pull out the ironing boards. It’s very relaxing.
‘‘Mick Jones, leader and founder of Foreigner, you can find him with an iron in his hand. It’s not the most rock ‘n’ roll titbit but maybe it’s something most people don’t know.’’ ●➤ Foreigner will perform at Claudelands Arena on November 1. Tickets are available from ticketek.co.nz
‘‘I would say my most favourite song is the one that [Foreigner founder] Mick Jones has not written yet. It’s in the future,’’ Gimbel said.
Tom Gimbel