The Dead Daisies Return With a Reshaped Lineup and New Single “Lift Me Up”
There are reunions, and then there are reunions that span decades and entire careers. For guitarist Doug Aldrich and vocalist Kelly Hansen, the last time they shared a stage was thirty-five years ago as members of Hurricane. Now, that partnership has been revived under the banner of The Dead Daisies, a hard-rock outfit that has just dropped a brand new single and video titled “Lift Me Up.” This track marks Hansen’s debut as the band’s frontman and offers the first taste of a full album currently in the works.
The year 2026 was relatively quiet for The Dead Daisies, save for the Glenn Hughes-fronted offshoot The Purple Daisies. But the main band has since undergone a significant lineup shakeup. Hansen, who spent two decades leading Foreigner, now joins Aldrich on lead guitar, David Lowy on rhythm guitar, and Tommy Clufetos behind the drum kit. Jimi Crutchley steps in on bass, replacing Michael Devin. When Hansen left Foreigner, he made it clear that his musical journey was far from over. “This project allows me to stretch out with some new melodies, a new vibe and fresh energy,” he explains. The deep history he shares with Aldrich gives them a natural chemistry, but both men are focused squarely on the songs they are creating right now, not the ones they made decades ago.
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“Lift Me Up” was born from what Aldrich describes as a simple guitar riff paired with a heavy groove. That bedrock propels a melodic hard-rock track whose lyrics unfold a more intimate scene than the title might imply. There is a spinning room, a pair of shaking hands, a late checkout, and a taxi waiting outside. Two people share a brief connection, fully aware that parting is imminent. Neither attempts to stretch the moment or offer a grand explanation, which gives the song its understated emotional pull. The chorus asks to be lifted high, if only for a minute, before being gently brought back down. Aldrich sees that fleeting feeling as a reflection of something larger: “It’s very melodic, and the lyric reflects positively and a vibe to lift us up in these crazy times.” The song finds its optimism in the temporary, avoiding the pretense that everything can be fixed. Its guitar-driven momentum keeps the sentiment from tipping into sentimentality.
The accompanying music video leans heavily on live performance footage, capturing the swagger and energy that have always defined The Dead Daisies. Rather than following a scripted narrative, the clip is a direct, performance-focused introduction to Hansen’s presence at the microphone. This straightforward approach suits a band whose catalog—including tracks like “Long Way to Go” and “Mexico”—remains central to its hard-rock identity. The Dead Daisies plan to complete the new album during the remainder of 2026 before launching a global tour in 2027. European and UK dates kick off March 4 in Bochum, Germany, with The Quireboys and The Gems as special guests. The US leg begins April 30 in Lititz, Pennsylvania, with BulletBoys and The Fell featuring Billy Sheehan. For Aldrich and Hansen, the new material and scheduled shows represent their first real opportunity in decades to build a future together onstage.
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Andrew Gesner
HIP Video Promo
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Why it matters: The Dead Daisies are betting on both nostalgia and renewal, reuniting a classic Hurricane pairing while introducing a new vocalist and fresh material. For fans of melodic hard rock, this lineup shift signals a return to the band’s core sound and a tour that will test whether the chemistry holds up on the road.
