Kelly Hansen Explains Why He’s Leaving Foreigner After 20 years

After 50 years in the business, and the last 20 of them as frontman of Foreigner, Kelly Hansen is starting to think about the next phase of his life… just don’t call it “retirement.”

“I’m trying not to use the word retirement. I don’t even know what that means,” he told PEOPLE exclusively. “I’m not looking for future work. I’m so fortunate to be able to make that choice.”

In May, Hansen, 64, announced on The Voice that he would be leaving the classic rock band. In truth, he’d been thinking about it long before, particularly during COVID. During the lockdown, the former Hurricane frontman, who was newly married at the time, saw all four seasons at his Los Angeles home for the first time. 

“I started to have the sense of being home. I started to say, ‘Wow, this is something I haven’t had in my life for a very long time,” he recalled. “I had this feeling of what it’s like to be home and also with a sense of, I feel I have some kind of stability financially and otherwise, where I could start thinking about making a choice that’s different than what I’m doing. Although I love what I do, I’ve been in this business nearly 50 years, and I put in my time.”

From there, Hansen and his bandmates determined the best course of action, and discussions even arose about disbanding the group, which had formed in 1976. Soon though, the “Juke Box Hero” hitmakers looked inward and decided that guitarist Luis Maldonado could take the helm after Hansen’s departure on Oct. 11 following a last show in New Jersey. 

“I think that Americans, in a way, have a work ethic that says, work till you die, and I thought to myself, I’ve traveled the world, I’ve seen a lot of places, I’ve seen a lot of cultures and I’ve experienced how other people in other countries approach living and the style of living,” he says. “I said to myself, I want to enjoy and live my life. I have many other passions and pursuits.”

While there has been speculation about whether health is a factor, Hansen denies that, indicating he’s “completely healthy.” He admits, however, that “physicality plays a part because these songs are really difficult to do at the level and the standard that I will accept.”

Mick Jones is the only founding member still with the band, although he doesn’t tour with them as a result of his Parkinson’s disease. Current members include Maldonado, Bruce Watson, Michael Bluestein, Chris Frazier and Jeff Pilson.

When Hansen takes that stage for the “Cold as Ice” creators for the final time, he knows it won’t be business as usual. Then again, he’s also built “mechanisms” in his mind to use when he’s getting “emotionally overwhelmed.”

“I don’t want to not acknowledge the weight of this for me, and I’m not even going to assume what the weight is like for anybody else,” he said. “I want it to be joyous, and I want it to be memorable, and I want it to be fun. I’ve been telling the audience that I’m taking mental snapshots because this year is different than the 20 years prior, because the 20 years prior were the blur of being in the thick of it. Now I’m poking my head out of the forest, and I’m seeing the pasture ahead, and I’m not just fighting the trees every day. I’m seeing the sun, the pasture in front of me.”

After five decades on stage, Hansen is looking forward to his post-Foreigner life, which involves cooking and tinkering with cars and mechanics. 

“I really am not troubled by living a smaller life. I really am not. I mean, I’ve lived, my whole life has been loud music and bright lights and a lot of s***, and I spent a lot of my time trying to avoid f****** landmines, and I don’t want to have to do that,” he said. “I just want to live my life with my friends and my family and just dig it.”

Hansen’s final show is set for Oct. 11 at the Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena in Atlantic City.