Forget the 90,000 pink cowboy hats and feather boas flooding into Wembley Stadium. While Harry Styles was whipping a generation of youngsters into a frenzy next door, supported by none other than Shania Twain, can you actually believe that? We, the rock rebels, the mums who still know every power chord from our mis-spent youth, were filing into the OVO Arena for a masterclass in unadulterated rock and roll. Foreigner didn’t just play a gig; they reminded me exactly why they remain one of the best live rock bands I have ever seen.
Yes, there’s always that question: with Mick Jones as a beloved talisman rather than a touring member, is this really Foreigner? The moment they tore into Double Vision and Head Games, every doubt evaporated. This was a smashing concert from the first beat, a band that knows how to deliver rock and roll in its most joyful, life-affirming form. It’s the soundtrack of my life, played loud and proud, and for the next two hours the years simply melted away.
New frontman Luis Maldonado is a human firework. He’s learned the rock-star moves from the best playbook going and he threw every single one at us. The jury might be out for some, but for me he’s a dynamo who honoured those sacred songs with lungs and legs to spare. When Cold As Ice filled the air and the entire arena lit up for Waiting For A Girl Like You, I wasn’t a mum juggling packed lunches and laundry, I was eighteen again, lost in a sea of waving arms and phone torches, heart absolutely full.
And then Feels Like The First Time. That title says it all. It genuinely did. At that point, the band could do no wrong, and I scribbled a mental note that this was already shaping up to be one of the best Foreigner performances I’d ever witnessed. They even threw in a couple of “surprise” deep cuts, Blue Morning, Blue Day and That Was Yesterday proving they’re as in love with their own catalogue as we are.
Did they take a moment to strip things back with Bridge Over Troubled Water? Yes, and while it was a curveball, it showed a band unafraid to step out of the comfort zone. Urgent snapped the energy straight back, complete with a keytar sax solo that was wonderfully bonkers, and any fears of a lull were washed away. Sure, there were keyboard and drum moments that let the musicians shine, this is a proper band of top-tier players, after all, but the hits kept coming like an unstoppable jukebox.
When Juke Box Hero arrived, we were one massive, euphoric choir, and the encore of Long, Long Way From Home had even the seated mums bouncing out of their chairs. Then came the choir for I Want To Know What Love Is, a moment so epic and emotional I may have shed a glitter-free tear. Hot Blooded closed the night in a glorious blaze of rock ‘n’ roll abandon.
As we spilled out onto Wembley Way, sharing the pavement with teenagers in Harry Styles merch heading for the tube, I felt nothing but immense gratitude. In a topsy-turvy world where Shania Twain opens for a boy-band icon next door, Foreigner are still here, still delivering the songs that shaped us. They are the soundtrack of my life, and on this night they proved they’ve lost none of their power. Smashing? Absolutely. One of the best live bands you could ever see? Without a shadow of a doubt. Rock rebels forever.
Monica Costa founded London Mums in September 2006 after her son Diego’s birth together with a group of mothers who felt the need of meeting up regularly to share the challenges and joys of motherhood in metropolitan and multicultural London. London Mums is the FREE and independent peer support group for mums and mumpreneurs based in London https://www.londonmumsmagazine.com and you can connect on Twitter @londonmums
