Rhino And Lion Nature Reserve, Kromdraai

White Lion is an American glam metal band that was formed in New York City in 1983 by Danish vocalist Mike Tramp and American guitarist Vito Bratta. Mainly active in the 1980s and early 1990s, they released their debut album ''Fight to Survive'' in 1985. The band achieved success with their No. 8 hit "Wait" and No. 3 hit " When the Children Cry" from their second album, the double platinum selling ''Pride''. The band continued their success with their third album, '' Big Game'' which achieved Gold status and their fourth album ''Mane Attraction'' which included a supporting tour. White Lion disbanded in 1992 and not long afterwards, their first compilation album, ''The Best of White Lion'' was released.

Mike Tramp reformed White Lion with all new musicians in 1999 and again in 2004, following a failed attempt to reform the original line up. The new White Lion released a live album in 2005 and a brand new studio album ''Return of the Pride'' in 2008.

From 2023, Tramp would bring his version of White Lion back with a duo of albums featuring re-recorded versions of White Lion classics, appropriately titled, ''The Songs of White Lion''.

History

''Fight to Survive'' (1982-1986)

After moving from Denmark to Spain and then New York City, vocalist Mike Tramp (formerly of the bands Mabel, Studs, and Danish Lions) met Staten Island guitarist Vito Bratta (formerly of Dreamer) in late November 1982 at L'Amour Rock Club in Brooklyn when Tramp was playing with his band. In March 1983 they decided to put together a new band. At first they had a hard time finding a stable rhythm section, and they tried several different ones including Michael Clayton on drums (who later played in the band Tyketto). After a while, they recruited drummer Nicki Capozzi and bassist Felix Robinson (formerly of Angel) and named the group White Lion.

White Lion was signed by Elektra Records in 1984, and recorded their debut album ''Fight to Survive''. Elektra was unhappy with the final recording, and after refusing to release the album, terminated the band's contract.

The album ''Fight to Survive'' was eventually released by Victor Company of Japan, Ltd, (JVC Records) in Japan in 1985. Philadelphia-based Grand Slamm Records bought the album from Elektra and released it in America the following year, under license by Elektra/Asylum Records. Fight to Survive charted at number 151 on ''Billboard'' 200 and featured the band's debut single and music video, "Broken Heart." A few months after the album's release, Grand Slamm Records went bankrupt.

Felix Robinson had departed the band after they were dropped by Elektra in 1984. He was eventually replaced by bassist Dave Spitz (brother of Anthrax guitarist Dan Spitz). With the Tramp, Bratta, Capozzi, Spitz lineup, the band recorded a round of demos for their second album, and continued to play shows in New York while shopping around for a new record deal. This incarnation of White Lion was hired to play a fictional band in the Tom Hanks/Shelley Long movie ''The Money Pit'', which was released a year later. The soundtrack features the song "Web of Desire" (credited to "White Lion and Robey (portrayed by Louise Robey)), which was demoed that year. The film soundtrack was never officially released, although the song plays in the movie during both of the band's scenes. Nicki Capozzi was subsequently fired due to health issues and was in September 1985 replaced by former Anthrax drummer Greg D'Angelo.

Dave Spitz left at the beginning of 1986 to join Black Sabbath, and was briefly replaced by Bruno Ravel, who left shortly afterwards because he was not allowed to contribute ideas. In March 1986, James LoMenzo was asked to join, and then the band finally was complete.

''Pride'' (1987-1988)

Early in 1987, the band was signed by Atlantic Records. The recording of the new LP took six weeks and on June 21, 1987, their album ''Pride'' was released. The first single, " Wait", was released on June 1, 1987, but did not reach the charts for nearly seven months.

The ''Pride'' tour started in July 1987 as White Lion opened for Frehley's Comet. The next year and a half was filled with constant touring, opening for such bands as Aerosmith, Stryper and Kiss. In January 1988, White Lion landed the opening slot for AC/DC on their ''Blow Up Your Video'' album American tour.

While the band toured with AC/DC, the ''Pride'' album and "Wait" single finally charted, due in no small part to MTV airing the "Wait" music video in regular rotation—nearly seven months after the single's release. "Wait" hit no. 8 on the singles chart, while ''Pride'' hit no. 11 on the album charts. ''Pride'' would remain on the Top 200 ''Billboard'' album charts for a full year, selling two million copies in the US alone and achieving double platinum status.

In August 1988, the album's second single, "Tell Me", reached no. 58. Around the time this single was released, White Lion played at the Ritz club in New York City. The show was filmed and later aired on MTV.

The ''Pride'' album's third single, a power ballad titled " When the Children Cry", made it to no. 3 on the US charts with heavy MTV airplay.

The success of "When the Children Cry" would eventually push sales of ''Pride'' over the two million mark. In addition, Vito Bratta was recognized for his instrumental talents by racking up Best New Guitarist awards with both ''Guitar World'' magazine and ''Guitar for the Practicing Musician'' magazine. "All You Need Is Rock 'n' Roll" was the final single released from the album.

In the end of 1988, the ''Pride'' tour finally ended, and the band released their first video albums titled ''Live at the Ritz'' and ''One Night in Tokyo'' both of which featuring full concerts on VHS.

The band then immediately began work on their next album.

''Big Game & Mane Attraction'' (1989-1991)

In August 1989, White Lion released their third album, '' Big Game'', a musically eclectic follow-up to ''Pride'' that featured the single " Little Fighter" (which peaked at No. 52), in Memory of The ''Rainbow Warrior'', a Greenpeace boat which was destroyed by the French.
A cover of Golden Earring's "Radar Love" (which peaked at No. 59) was released as the second single and "Cry for Freedom", a political song about apartheid in South Africa was released as the third single. "Going Home Tonight" was released as the album's final single. The album quickly went gold, with a peak of No. 19 on the album charts. The band's success continued with more constant touring. They did a European tour, including a string of UK arena shows supporting Mötley Crüe with Skid Row, and also played with Ozzy Osbourne and Cinderella.

After less successful gigs in England and mixed reviews of the new album, the band chose to take a few months off after the turn of the year to focus on writing a new album. Just in time for the late autumn of 1990, they entered the classic A&M studios with a new producer. White Lion released their fourth album ''Mane Attraction'' in March 1991. The album featured the singles "Love Don't Come Easy" which peaked at number 24 on the Mainstream Rock Charts, "Lights and Thunder", which is an eight-minute heavy rock epic with a complex structure inspired by Led Zeppelin's "Achilles Last Stand", and a re-recorded version of the band's debut single "Broken Heart", all of which featured music videos. "Out with the Boys" and "You're All I Need" were released as promo singles and "Farewell to You" featured a music video montage. The album also contained White Lion's only instrumental song, "Blue Monday", a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan, who had died while the band was writing the album. The album's two ballads "You're All I Need" and "Till Death Do Us Part" gained popular airplay in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Greg D'Angelo and James LoMenzo left the band in June 1991 when they came back from the European tour, citing "musical differences," but White Lion carried on with bassist Tommy T-Bone Caradonna and drummer Jimmy DeGrasso (a sideman for Megadeth, Alice Cooper, Suicidal Tendencies, Y&T, and Fiona).

Breakup (1991)

After briefly touring in support of ''Mane Attraction'', Tramp and Bratta decided to fold the group, their last show being held in Boston at the Channel in September 1991. Exactly one year later, in September 1992, the band's first compilation album was released, titled ''The Best of White Lion''.

Tramp has in later interviews told that the band split up due lack of interests from the record company, issues with the band management and above all the entry of grunge music.

A video/DVD album featuring concert footage, behind the scenes interviews and all of the band's music videos was also released, titled '' Escape from Brooklyn''.

When asked what the album would be like if he and Vito Bratta had released another album after ''Mane Attraction'', Tramp said it would have hinted at their growth and evolution, and taken them further away from the '80s sound. He commented:

''Return of the Pride''

A White Lion compilation '' The Definitive Rock Collection'' was released in 2007 and the band was set for a summer tour with Poison and Ratt only to be dropped by the tour promoter after ex-White Lion guitarist Vito Bratta threatened to take legal action over the band name.

In response to the rumors surrounding the White Lion and Poison/Ratt summer tour, Tramp issued a statement explaining that tour promoters Live Nation's decision was not based on any controversy over whether Mike Tramp has the legal right to perform as White Lion. Live Nation's decision was based upon the threatened lawsuit by Vito Bratta. Even though Live Nation believed Bratta's lawsuit to be frivolous and had confirmed that Mike Tramp has the legal right to perform as White Lion, they did not want to spend 'one dollar' on litigation. Faced with the cancellation of a tour that was to begin within weeks, the band's attorneys negotiated a deal with Vito Bratta to drop his threatened lawsuit. However, even with the threat of litigation eliminated, Live Nation did not reinstate White Lion onto the tour. Extremely upset with the decision, Tramp acknowledged the many fans across the United States who were also disappointed by Live Nation's decision.

Despite the threatened legal action and the band's removal from the Poison/Ratt tour, White Lion continued touring and fulfilled their many headline shows in the U.S. that were scheduled between the Poison shows, including the Rocklahoma festival with Poison, Ratt, Quiet Riot, Slaughter, Y&T, Gypsy Pistoleros, Dirty Penny, Greg Leon Invasion and Zendozer. Tramp also confirmed to MelodicRock.com that the band had just finished recording its new studio album and the CD would be mixed by Dennis Ward and titled ''Return of the Pride''.

The new studio album entitled ''Return of the Pride'' was released on March 14, 2008, and the band was now once again simply known as White Lion. The band did a world tour to support the album. White Lion toured India and played to 42,000 at Shillong, Meghalaya, and a 30,000 plus crowd at the Dimapur stadium in Nagaland. The band was invited to India by the head of the Tripura Royal Family Maharaja Kirit Pradyot Deb Burman. The album featured the singles "Dream" and "Live Your Life".

A live DVD was released on December 5, 2008, entitled ''Bang Your Head Festival 2005''.

White Lion: final activities and Songs of White Lion

Following the release of ''Return of the Pride'', Tramp faced a tumultuous time of professional indecision as he tried to decide between continuing his solo career or pouring his energy into White Lion.

With White Lion ultimately put on hold again, Tramp continued with his solo career and in 2013 announced in several interviews that there would no longer be a White Lion of any kind, including the new White Lion or any possible reunions. In 2014, Tramp once again confirmed there would be no more White Lion.

In 2023 Mike Tramp announced bringing his version of White Lion back with the upcoming release of ‘Songs of White Lion’, via Frontiers Music Srl on April 14, 2023.
As the title implies, the new album sees Tramp re-imagining select cuts from White Lion's catalog. A re-recorded "Cry for Freedom" was released as the first single, followed by a reworked take on " Little Fighter".

In August 2024, ''Songs of White Lion Volume 2'' was released, featuring Tramp re-imagining ten more select cuts from White Lion's catalog
Volume 2 includes the new single and music video for the re recorded "Lights and Thunder" and the reworked "Lonely Nights", "Out With the Boys", "The Road to Valhalla" and "Till Death Do Us Part" were also released as singles featuring visualizer music videos. Tramp will embark on an extended tour supporting ''Songs of White Lion Volume 2'' starting in mid-August 2024 with European and US dates, followed by Australia in 2025.

Band members

Current members

*Mike Tramp – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1983–1992, 1999–2009, 2023–present)
* Marcus Nand - lead guitar (2023–present)
*Claus Langeskov - bass (2004–2009, 2023–present)
*Kenni Andy - drums (2023–present)

Former members

*Vito Bratta – lead guitar, backing vocals (1983–1992)
*Nicki Capozzi – drums (1983–1984)
*Felix Robinson – bass (1983–1984)
* Joe Hasselvander – drums (1983)
*Dave Spitz – bass (1984–1985)
* James LoMenzo – bass, backing vocals (1985–1991)
*Greg D'Angelo – drums (1984–1991)
*Jimmy DeGrasso – drums (1991–1992)
*Tommy T–Bone Caradonna – bass (1991–1992)
*Kasper Damgaard – lead guitar (1999–2003)
*Nils Kroyer – bass (1999–2003)
*Bjarne T. Holm – drums (1999–2003)
*Dan Hemmer – keyboards (1999–2003)
*Jamie Law – lead guitar (2004–2009)
*Troy Patrick Farrell – drums (2004–2009)
*Henning Wanner – keyboards (2004–2009)

Timeline

Social issues

Unlike most bands of their genre, White Lion recorded occasional songs that addressed social or political issues such as apartheid ("Cry for Freedom"), the war in El Salvador ("El Salvador") and the effect of divorce on children ("Broken Home"). The song "Little Fighter" was about the '' Rainbow Warrior'', a ship owned by the environmental group Greenpeace that was destroyed by the French government.

Discography

See also

* Pop rock
* List of Danish bands

References

External links

*
Mike Tramp Official Website

{{Authority control

1983 establishments in New York (state)
Atlantic Records artists
Glam metal musical groups from New York (state)
Hard rock musical groups from New York (state)
Heavy metal musical groups from New York (state)
Musical groups established in 1983
Musical groups disestablished in 1992
Musical groups reestablished in 1999