He’s previously admitted that, by definition, he’s a nepo baby, but now Mark Ronson is turning that perceived parental leg-up on its head by lobbying for Foreigner, the band that includes his stepdad Mick Jones, to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Of course, Ronson is pretty well connected himself, so in order to help his cause, he decided to put together a video listing Foreigner’s considerable achievements and featuring some big-name endorsements.
“We decided to go all out this year,” Ronson told Jimmy Fallon of his quest. “I called in some favours. So there’s some people I’ve met along the way making music myself that I knew were fans of Foreigner, like Jack Black and Dave Grohl and Slash.”
All of the above - plus Josh Homme and Chad Smith - are featured in the video, but Ronson didn’t want to leave it there, and decided to shoot for the moon and ask Paul McCartney for a contribution. The video he received from him, though, isn’t quite what he was expecting: “Foreigner not in the Hall of Fame? What the fuck?” is the former Beatle’s take on the matter.
Ronson debuted the clip on Fallon’s chat show, explaining his surprise at McCartney’s contribution. “I’ve never seen Paul McCartney curse - he’s a knight!,” he said. “I don’t want to be the first person ever to post a video of Paul McCartney, like, dropping an F-bomb.”
Foreigner’s hits include the likes of Cold As Ice, Hot Blooded, Waiting For A Girl Like You and, of course, I Want To Know What Love Is. On learning that they’d been nominated for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, Mick Jones said: “I deeply appreciate the recognition from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame committee. It is wonderful that Foreigner has maintained its presence all these years and brought the music to our fans. Getting this news today is an incredible endorsement of what we have achieved over time. I know I speak for my fellow Foreigner nominees, Lou, Rick, Al, Dennis, and the families of Ed Gagliardi and Ian McDonald.”
Elsewhere in Ronson’s interview with Fallon, the producer played the voice memo of the original demo for I’m Just Ken, the Barbie soundtrack song that’s nominated for an Oscar (What Was I Made For?, Billie Eilish’s contribution to the soundtrack, is also up for the best song award). Ryan Gosling, the ‘Ken’ in question, is heavily tipped to perform the song at the Oscars ceremony on 10 March.
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