Foreigner’s original drummer, Dennis Elliott, has announced he will not take part in the band’s upcoming induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
“Dear Foreigner Fans & Friends, Don’t look too hard, we will not be there,” the rocker began in a message posted to Facebook. “We were finally given the schedule last night, and it is not to our satisfaction. So we are staying home. We have been asking for this for weeks, and they have waited until the very last minute to send it knowing we were all packed and going to bed.”
After further describing the situation as “totally unacceptable,” Elliott closed by expressing well-wishes to the band’s fans. “Hope you have a good time.”
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A social media post on Foreigner’s official account seems to corroborate Elliott’s absence from the Hall of Fame event. The band noted that “original members Lou Gramm, Al Greenwood, and Rick Wills will be there to accept the awards on behalf of the band’s leader and founder Mick Jones and Dennis Elliot, along [with] those of Ian McDonald and Ed Gagliardi who passed away some years ago.”
Foreigner’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Plans
Elliott was behind the kit for Foreigner’s heyday, drumming for the group from 1976 to 1991. His absence takes a bit of the shine off of the band’s much-hyped Hall of Fame induction. Foreigner had been eligible since 2003, but didn’t receive their first nomination until this year.
Of Foreigner’s inductees, only Jones is still a member of the band. The guitarist, who revealed his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis earlier this year, has not performed with the group since 2022.
Slash, Sammy Hagar, Chad Smith, Demi Lovato and Kelly Clarkson have been announced as special guests who will perform at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony to honor Foreigner.
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It’s hard to imagine rock radio without the string of hit singles Foreigner peeled off in the ’70s and ’80s.
Gallery Credit: Jeff Giles