THE BAND

released. The first awards with both Guitar World magazine and Guitar For
single, “Wait”, The Practicing Musician magazine.
was released on In August 1989, White Lion released their third
June 1, 1987, album, Big Game, a musically eclectic follow-up to
but did not make Pride that featured the singles “Little Fighter”, “Cry
waves for nearly for Freedom”, and a cover of Golden Earring’s “Radar
seven months. Love”. The album quickly went gold.
After two years of writing and recording, the
Success
new album, Mane Attraction was released. During
The Pride tour
the recording sessions for this album, their record
started in July
company allowed the band to make exactly the album
1987 as White Lion
they wanted to. This according to many was their best
opened for Ace
album and though the grunge revolution was making
Frehley’s 80s band
waves it managed to hold its own with huge hits such as
Frehley’s Comet.
‘Farewell to you’, ‘You are all I need’ and ‘Till death do
The next year and
us part’. This was the last we were to hear of them.
a half was filled
with constant The split
touring, opening Greg D’Angelo and James LoMenzo left the band soon
for such bands after the album’s release, citing “musical differences”,
as Aerosmith, but White Lion carried on with bassist Tommy T-Bone
Ozzy Osbourne, Caradonna and drummer Jimmy DeGrasso (Megadeth,
Stryper, KISS and Alice Cooper, Suicidal Tendencies, Y&T, Fiona). After
in January 1988 briefly touring in support of Mane Attraction, Tramp
White Lion landed and Bratta decided to call it a day.
the opening slot Unlike most bands of their genre, White Lion
for AC/DC on recorded occasional songs that addressed social or
their Blow Up Your political issues such as apartheid (“Cry for Freedom”)
Video American and the effect of divorce on children (“Broken Home”).
tour. While touring The song “Little Fighter” was about the Rainbow

n
with AC/DC, the Warrior, a ship owned by the environmental group

L i o
Pride album and Greenpeace that was illegally destroyed by French

t e
“Wait” single terrorists. This concern for political and social issues

W h i
White Lion is a band which needs no introduction with
over 12 million copies sold worldwide and countless of
no 1 hits, this band has done what it knows best, rocked
the fans. It was formed in New York City in 1983 by
Danish vocalist Mike Tramp and guitarist Vito Bratta.
White Lion was active in the 1980s and early 1990s; the
band achieved double platinum status till it suddenly
disbanded in 1991 only to resurrect again in 1999.
The Beginning
After moving from Denmark to New York in 1982, vocalist
Mike Tramp (ex-Mabel, ex-Studs) met Brooklyn guitarist
Vito Bratta (ex-Dreamer) and decided to form a band.
Within a year of him forming White Lion they started
playing in the local club circuit and became a rage with
its fans. So it came as no surprise when White Lion was
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 #8
on the singles chart, while Pride hit #11 on the album
charts. Pride would remain on the top 200 Billboard
signed by Elektra Records in 1983 and recorded their
album charts for a full year.
debut Fight to Survive. However, Elektra was unhappy
In August 1988, the album’s second single “Tell Me”
with the final recording, and after refusing to release
hit #58. Around the time this single was released, White
the album, terminated their contract.
Lion played at the Ritz club in New York City. Like Guns
But this did not deter the spirit of Mike Tramp who
N’ Roses before them, White Lion’s show at the Ritz was
with the reformed line up came up with an album Fight
filmed and later aired on MTV.
To Survive which was eventually picked up by RCA and
The Pride album’s third single, a gentle acoustic
released in Japan in 1984. The small US independent
ballad titled “When the Children Cry”, made it all the
label Grand Slam records finally released Fight To
way to #3 with heavy MTV rotation, making Pride one
Survive in the US on November 9, 1985.
of about 20 hard rock albums to ever have multiple top
In early 1986, White Lion, with a fictitious “female”
10 hits.
member, had a brief part in the Tom Hanks/Shelley Long
The success of “When the Children Cry” would
movie The Money Pit.
eventually push sales of Pride over the two million
Early in 1987, the band was signed by Atlantic
mark. In addition, Vito Bratta was recognized for his
Records (which ironically is a sister label to Elektra) and
instrumental talents by racking up Best New Guitarist
on June 21, 1987, their breakthrough album, Pride, was
was also hinted at in the cover art to their album Big
Game, which featured a lion’s head hidden in tall grass
with the White House in the background.
Return of the lions
But with continued airtime in the radio circuit and the
re-emergence of good old rock, the demand for white
lion was getting stronger everyday so Mike and the guys
who believed in the love and appreciation of the fans
came back with the return of the White Lion. Over the
years Mike had gone solo and come out with quite a few
successful solo albums but the call of the fans made
him realize that this was what he wanted to be.
White Lion has been touring regularly with sold
out shows in America and also in Europe and Australia.
Recently band appeared at Rocklahoma in Pryor, Ok on
July 13, 2007 with Poison, Ratt, Quiet Riot, Slaughter,
Y&T, Gypsy, Dirty Penny, Greg Leon Invasion and
Zendozer, Warrant and Steelheart. After this they also
toured the US. A new studio album entitled “Return of
the Pride” was released on March 14, 2008 which has
been critically acclaimed by both the critics and fans
alike.
As the band says about its hard core fan following
‘you are all I need’.

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