In 1976, Mick Jones had to rename his newly-formed band, “Trigger”. What name did he choose?

When the Leslie West Band disintegrated in 1976, member Mick Jones, of the United Kingdom, found himself without a job in New York City. The band’s now-former manager, Bud Prager, gave Jones space in the city to rehearse a band of his own. Jones called some friends and put together a group with the working name “Trigger”.

They cut a demo tape and circulated it among NYC record companies. They all ignored it. By chance, John Kalodner of Atlantic Records saw a tape on his boss’s desk and noticed the band’s name. Having just returned from listening to a band named Trigger perform, he realized that there were two Triggers. He convinced his boss, Jerry L.Greenberg, to listen to this new Trigger outfit, and the two agreed to sign the new band to a contract.

As Jones’ Trigger was the second band of that name, Jones had to quickly come up with a new moniker. After realizing that three of the band’s members, he, Ian McDonald, and Dennis Elliott were British, while Al Greenwood, Ed Gagliardi, and Lou Gramm were Americans. It dawned on him that, no matter where in the world they performed, half of the band would be foreigners in that country. “Foreigner” was born.

In March, 1977, the band released its first album, “Foreigner” and their hits, including “Feels Like the First Time” and “I Want to Know What Love Is”, kept the band in the Top 20 charts for a year. As of 2017, Foreigner had sold more than 80 million records worldwide, 37.5 million of those in the States.