In a new interview with VRP Rocks, the Foreigner rocker Lou Gramm recalled the record deal that stood them out from other bands. During the chat, Gramm also remembered being ignored by all the record labels they signed for. He said:
“The record labels called our manager and came to see us rehearse, they wanted to see what we sounded like live and I think there were about seven record companies that came and heard us. They all passed on us.”
Well, it wasn’t the end of the road for the band. Gramm then explained the deal they got from the former A&R executive John Kalodner. Apparently, Kalodner realized the potential Foreigner had and it was something other bands did not have:
“John Kalodner about 15 minutes later came back and he said, ‘I really want to talk to you guys. I think your songs are great right down the line every one of them is different from the other. They have a great style, a great cohesiveness, and they’ve got a uniqueness about them that is missing from a lot of bands that are out there today.’”
Foreigner Had Trouble Securing The Deal
You might remember the incident Queen had about their hit song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ Queen was told that the song was too long and it was supposed to be no longer than three minutes. However, Freddie Mercury did not agree to shorten the song, and today it is one of the most popular songs both on and off radio.
Foreigner faced a similar experience too. When the band went to secure a record deal, they were told the same words as Queen. In the same interview, the singer recalled:
“He says, ‘The problem is the demos and the songs you played live for us and probably everybody else averaged about between six and a half and eight and a half minutes. You could never get that blade on the radio. Let’s get about four of the songs and trim them down to 3 minutes and 15 three, and a half minutes. So we’ll cut out some fat and we’ll condense them into very potent powerhouse songs.’”
Ultimately, the rockers found a way to sign the deal with Atlantic Records:
“Once we played the the edited version of the songs for Jerry Greenberg and he loved the other songs, he just didn’t know what to do with them, because they were too long. So he had a contract with him that day. He pulled out the contract and our manager called his attorney and we did business that day. We signed a deal and within two weeks.”
You can watch the interview below.