If I said that a top 100 all time rock group rolled through Calgary this week you might be left thinking, who was it? Duran Duran? The Police? Starship?… The concert was so entertaining that it forced Mary to Google and remember just how big these guys really were in their heyday. We agreed that they were BIG-TIME.
Billboard Top 100 artists of All-time
Foreigner came and went through Calgary on Wednesday night and left the packed crowd at the Jubilee raving about their energy and 40 years of hits. We were entertained by the classic Canadian 80’s hair band, Honeymoon Suite, in the opening act. These guys are personal favorites of Mary’s and myself and have been known to carry its own concert in this city. They shredded their way through their biggest hits, still nailing the hard notes while throwing a lot of energy into rousing the crowd up. Although this group will not make anyone’s top 100 artist list, they were a significant player on the Billboard charts from 1983-86 and their hits still get your attention on classic rock stations around the world.
The crowd was ready for Foreigner and they hit the stage hard with a rousing rendition of Double Vision and the energy never stopped all night. Over 90 minutes, we heard hit after hit with this partially reconstituted group and we loved every minute. Mary and I struggled to narrow our favorite 5 songs from the night, to make this list.
- Urgent – Foreigner
Reaching #1 in Canada in 1981, this crushing song and beat made the entire night for me . The saxophone solo that was played in the studio version was masterfully replicated on stage with amazement to us all. When you listen to the song on radio, you lose the passion that goes into that solo and the compliment that the sax plays to the overall song. Plus who hasn’t sung the words “urgent, urgent…..emergency” in this shower singing life?
2. Love Changes Everything – Honeymoon Suite
This hit reached #9 in Canada in 1988 and the beat and lyrics bring you right back to that date. This is a classic Canadian rock song with everything you want in a fast beat, hard guitar song. Put it on in your car and feel the 80’s again. You also better prepare for the amazing 80’s hair in this video.
3. Jukebox Hero – Foreigner
Simply put, one of the best rock ballads of all-time. This classic song which reached #2 on the Billboard charts may be better known to younger kids from it’s difficulty to play on Guitar Hero. To us grey beards, it is one of those songs that 100 years from now, future rock cyborgs will play this songh and still chant the slow chorus “JUKE BOX HERRRRRRRO!”
4. Wave Babies – Honeymoon Suite
You know the line. “Waaaaaaaaaave Babies when they’re lying on the sand”. It’s one of those songs that even non-Suite fans hear on the radio and immediately know the tune of the chorus. In 1984, this was a massive Canadian hit which made Honeymoon Suite relevant on the US charts as well. You won’t mind the classic 80’s beach body video that celebrates its arrival.
5. I Want to Know What Love is – Foreigner
This was the only #1 hit that Foreigner ever had and it is a classic through and through. “I’ve got to take a little time, a little time to think things over….” You know that you know every word in the first stanza and you can yell the chorus. That’s what makes this one of the all-time greatest love songs sung between dudes with huge hair and girls who think said dudes are still awesome, even though the 80’s are long gone. Refresh yourself on the greatness
Mary and I continue to knock off our list, classic band after another. Stay tuned for the next one.
Marco