Foreigner Jones reveals his health hell truth

Foreigner mainman Mick Jones has revealed that his year off, officially blamed on a heart condition, was actually the result of a “virtual nervous breakdown.”

He found himself incapable of playing guitar for several months – and only fought back after his brother offered him some tough love.

And he’s admitted to regrets over the way his relationship with classic-era singer Lou Gramm collapsed.

Jones, who didn’t appear for full shows on many of Foreigner’s 2014 tour dates, tells CBS: “I’d had a virtual nervous breakdown, brought on by a bad prescribing of medication.

“It was a very dark time for me. I literally didn’t know where I was. I didn’t know who I was. I honestly never though I’d play on stage again.”

He adds: “I lost the ability to play chords for a couple of months. My brother brought a guitar over and said, ‘You play guitar. Play it. You’re a guitarist.’”

Asked how he fought back from a position he described as “terrifying,” Jones says: “You just somehow try and hold on.” The 70-year-old believes he’s back on track and reflects: “Sometimes I think, ‘What a gift to have regained.’”

He and Gramm settled their differences when they received a songwriting award together in 2013. But looking back on the disagreements that caused the singer’s departure ten years earlier, Jones says: “I can’t have been easy to work with in those days. I knew what I wanted. I was pretty domineering.”

When they met again, he says, “We hugged. I think it dawns on both of us that, wow – we did do something pretty great together.”

In September the pair announced plans to record together in 2015. The current lineup of Foreigner released a live album, The Best Of Foreigner 4 & More, earlier this month.

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.