LOU GRAMM On His Upcoming Retirement From Performing: 'I'm Sure I'm Gonna Miss It Initially'

In a new interview with Billboard, original FOREIGNER singer Lou Gramm spoke about his decision to retire after his 2024 tour dates. He said: "I've been doing it for years now, and I've thought about [retiring] a few years ago, and a few years before that. I still enjoy playing but I can't stand the travel anymore. I'm sure I'm gonna miss it initially, but I have a lot of memories, fantastic shows performed all over the world. I'm not becoming a reclusive person, but I value my time on my own, and when I'm out there, I don't have that, and I don't like that anymore."

Gramm previously addressed his retirement plans while speaking to Lee Richey. He said: "I've been doing it — Jeez — for almost 50 years, and I would like to turn my attention to my family and my muscle cars and just enjoy myself knowing that when I lay down at night, it'll be in my own bed."

He added: "This is gonna be it. I've been putting it off and putting it off. And I still enjoy performing, but when you've been doing it for as long as I have — the travel is the worst. It really takes its toll. And that's a sign that you're getting old."

Gramm also revealed that he is planning to release a new studio album this year. "It's song ideas and bits and pieces from my recording of my first [solo] album, second [solo] album and SHADOW KING [project]," he explained. "Now, what I mean is when you put an album out and you have 10 songs, you might record 13 and pick the best 10. So then you've got three songs that you don't know what to do with. And the years go by. Or maybe they're not complete songs. Maybe you have 10 songs on your album and there's a couple songs that you started and once the album was released, you just forgot about them. So when I was looking to put out a new album, I had freshly written songs too, but I just started going through the tapes in my tape closet and listening to these things that were 25, 30 years old, and the ideas were awesome. So I started them that long ago and I finished them about two years ago."

Back in December 2018, Gramm announced that he was retiring from performing as a solo artist. But he later clarified that he wasn't completely walking away from performing live.

SHADOW KING was a collaboration between Gramm and current DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell. The group released a self-titled album in 1991 and performed live only once, at the Astoria Theatre in London, England on December 13, 1991.

By the time Gramm left FOREIGNER for the first time in 1990, he had already released two successful solo albums: the aforementioned "Ready Or Not" and "Long Hard Look". He went on to launch LOU GRAMM BAND, which released an all-Christian rock album in 2009. He followed it up with "My Baby" in 2015.

The now-73-year-old Gramm left FOREIGNER for good in 2002 and has battled health issues in recent years, including the removal of a non-cancerous tumor. He told the Democrat & Chronicle in 2018 that he was planning to retire, but still reunited with FOREIGNER for several shows that year to celebrate the band's 40th anniversary.

Gramm was the voice on FOREIGNER's biggest hits, including "Feels Like The First Time" and "Cold as Ice" from the band's eponymous debut in 1977, and later songs like "Hot Blooded" and "I Want to Know What Love Is".

FOREIGNER replaced Gramm with Kelly Hansen in 2005. Guitarist Mick Jones, the only remaining original member, suffered from some health issues beginning in 2011, eventually resulting in heart surgery in 2012. More recently, Jones revealed that he has been battling Parkinson's disease.