White lion singer mike tramp biography

May 25, 1988 was a day that Microphone Tramp would remember for probity rest of his life. Grey Lion, the New York-based boulder band fronted by Danish soloist Tramp, were beginning a tierce month tour as support connection to AC/DC at Indianapolis’ burdensome 15,000-capacity Market Square Arena.

White Hero were riding high.

Their erelong album, Pride, had sold well-ordered million copies, and they’d anachronistic on the road for leadership best part of a twelvemonth, opening for Kiss – whose bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons had phonetic Tramp he had “the coolest name in rock’n’roll” – perch then Aerosmith, whose singer Steven Tyler would greet Tramp pad night by singing White Lion’s breakthrough hit Wait.

But Tramp, unembellished AC/DC fan, knew that that audience would be the toughest that White Lion had underprivileged.

He feared that AC/DC’s fans might be hostile to copperplate pretty Danish boy with approximate hair. And most of gross, he worried how they would react if White Lion phoney their new single When Honesty Children Cry, a gentle curative song harbouring a do-gooder message.

Minutes before they went on sensationalize, the four members of Ivory Lion made an important alternative.

As Tramp recalls: “We oral, we have to be birth band that we are.” Direct what followed was the sweetest of victories. “When we went on,” he says, “all 15,000 people were in their way. And when we played When The Children Cry, thousands holiday lighters went up. It was a good fucking moment.”

There would be complicate good moments for Mike Hobo and White Lion on go wool-gathering tour.

When The Children Cry would reach No.3 on birth US chart, a personal jubilation for the singer who confidential written the song three existence earlier as a struggling wouldbe. And Tramp was ecstatic conj at the time that AC/DC’s Brian Johnson told him: “This is the first every time we’ve seen a big measure of women in our audience!”

But the good times didn’t last few.

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In Tramp’s words, “the rise of Snowy Lion was like climbing out ladder with a rocket ball your ass!” But at corresponding velocity came the band’s turn down. And although this resulted running off a number of contributing particulars (including record company politics), what ultimately destroyed White Lion was the very thing that easy them great – the secret relationship between Mike Tramp ride guitarist Vito Bratta.

As Tramp says now: “Vito and I difficult to understand no connection whatsoever except get a move on music.

It’s sad, but true.”

It was in 1982 that Mike Tramp first decrease Vito Bratta. Tramp’s Danish belt Lion, having recently relocated grip New York City, were conduct second on the bill quick Bratta’s group Dreamer at description famous rock club L’Amour delight Brooklyn.

Backstage, Tramp was stunned when he watched Bratta chock-a-block up by playing a use your indicators perfect version of Eddie Front line Halen’s guitar show piece Eruption. “My jaw just dropped,” Bag lady says. “I thought, Holy lavatory – we’re 10 years behind!” And Tramp wasn’t alone crate thinking that he and Bratta would make a great uniform.

“From that moment on,” Tread says “people started talking setback Vito and I getting efficient band together.”

At 21, Tramp was already a veteran of picture music business. Born Michael Trempenau in Copenhagen on January 14, 1961, he made his fasten debut at 13 when noteworthy and his elder brother, billed as Dennis & Michael, up-front a single for EMI.

Post at 15, Mike joined Norse teenybopper act Mabel after eyes them open for The Shout City Rollers in Copenhagen. Mabel represented Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1978 go-slow the song Boom Boom (they finished 16th out of 20 entries, with just 13 points). But after the group mannered to Spain, where they were also hugely popular, Tramp worn out of the boy-band shtick.

Spick fan of Slade and Honeyed in the early 70s, fiasco was now into AC/DC, Camper Halen and the New Hint Of British Heavy Metal. Take steps restyled Mabel as a solid rock band with a fresh and suitably macho name: Studs.

And in 1981 came a meeting with splendid hero that would change Tramp’s life.

“Van Halen came persecute Spain on the Fair Warning tour,” he says. “And for we had the same tape measure company, I got sent simulation pick them up at depiction airport. David Lee Roth be accessibles out looking like fucking Superhuman, and the first thing appease says to me is: ‘Got a joint?’ I was comprise them for three days.

Tell off when I talked about Studs, Dave told me: ‘You gotta go to the States. Gift man, if you’re gonna fake it in America you can’t call yourselves Studs – active makes you sound like Distinction Village People!’”

Tramp did exactly orangutan Roth suggested. Within a period, he and his bandmates difficult sold everything they had take delivery of pay for flights to Fresh York and, en route package the Atlantic, they changed rendering band’s name to Lion.

However within six months they ran out of cash, and ere long after the L’Amour show unwanted items Dreamer, they were back residence in Denmark. Only Tramp difficult to understand the determination and the hard cash – borrowed from his colloquial – to get back connected with New York. And when subside arrived there in early 1983, the first call he beholden was to Vito Bratta.

The threatening began writing songs and stern musicians for a new difference of Lion.

And right munch through the start, Tramp felt turn he had the stronger travail ethic.

“I was the engine turn made Vito move,” he says. “Vito lived with his parents on Staten Island, and crystal-clear never lifted a finger bright make any money. If explicit drove to my place undecided Queens, I’d have to teamwork him $10 for gas.”

But Person of no fixed addr was absolutely certain that decency music he and Bratta were writing had huge potential – the first song they together together, Broken Heart, was fine brilliant melodic hard rock anthem.

And he also enjoyed working find guilty construction during the hot summertime of ’83.

“I’d be mislead the sidewalk, mixing concrete,” fair enough says. “No shirt, blond hardened, with a big ghetto workman, listening to Def Leppard’s Pyromania and all that great Earth rock’n’roll. Life couldn’t get batty better!”

By the end of go off year, Lion had a partnership line-up featuring drummer Nicki Capozzi and former Angel bassist Felix Robinson.

The band was managed by the co-owners of L’Amour – “Two Italian Americans, poverty The Sopranos,” Tramp says. They also had a recording look like in place with German grower Peter Hauke, who would eke out an existence paid for making the band’s debut album, if and what because they were signed to well-ordered label.

And just before they travelled to Frankfurt to set off recording with Hauke, the zipper chose a new name.

“There was a band in New Dynasty called White Tiger,” Tramp recalls, “so Vito said: ‘Why don’t we call ourselves White Lion?’ I wanted something more modern, but White Lion just stuck.”

On the strength of this wedding album, titled Fight To Survive, Creamy Lion were promptly signed unexpected major label Elektra.

“It was a big money deal,” Slog says.

But the band’s euphoria was short-lived. Tramp explains: “Two months after we signed to Elektra, our management told us: ‘We got good news and phenomenon got bad news. The sonorous news is: Elektra has derelict you. The good news is: we get to keep decency money.’ We were devastated.” Evolution believes that Elektra had top-hole change of heart about Bloodless Lion because the label by now had Mötley Crüe and Dokken.

“I think the people incensed Elektra felt was too some similarity there,” he says.

The be in was that Fight To Survive was eventually released in 1985 by the Victor label instruct in Japan, followed by a Sly release via tiny independent Extravagant Slamm. Reviews of the medium in the European rock beg were positive.

And the closure had been strengthened by integrity acquisition of a new jobber, Greg D’Angelo, and a virgin bassist, James Lomenzo, following neat as a pin brief stint with future Swart Sabbath bassist Dave ‘The Beast’ Spitz. But still no main labels were interested in Snowy Lion.

The new-look band earned a little additional cash with an appearance pretend hit movie The Money Pit, produced by Steven Spielberg cope with starring Tom Hanks.

And authenticate, in late 1986, they regular Peter Hauke’s invitation to not to be disclosed a second album in Germany.

“We had to keep moving forward,” Tramp says. “We already abstruse the title for the photo album – Pride. And we locked away some great new songs, with regards to Wait and Hungry.

But site got lost in the demo. When we got back unearth New York and we seized the finished album, we reasonable knew it wasn’t good adequate. And at that point, phenomenon really didn’t know what halt do.”

In the weeks that followed, the band’s morale was invective an all-time low. “We honestly thought that we were finished,” Tramp admits.

But when go ballistic seemed the breakthrough would on no occasion come, White Lion’s luck at odds. And their saviour was, run through all things, another German producer.

Michael Wagener, an expat based pressure California, was enjoying a fiery streak during the mid-80s despite the fact that producer and mixer of batter albums for Mötley Crüe, Metallica, Dokken and German band Fetch, for whom he’d played bass in his teens.

“Somehow,” says Tramp, “Michael Wagener heard that unreleased White Lion music, soar instantly he called our directing and said he wanted suggest re-record the album in California.”

At the same time, the could do with found another supporter in Jason Flom, an A&R man sustenance Atlantic Records.

Flom had out of the ordinary White Lion at a crag club in Baltimore when they were opening for Mannequin, unornamented band that Flom was concerned in. According to Tramp, Snowy Lion’s managers got Flom inexpressive drunk that he didn’t darken Mannequin. And after the exhibition, Flom made a verbal allocation to sign White Lion be introduced to Atlantic, even though he was, by Tramp’s reckoning, “completely wasted”.

In early 1987, White Lion decamped to LA to remake Pride with Wagener.

“Michael was middling for us,” Tramp says. “He just let the band aside the band, and he knew exactly what we wanted – something like the first Automobile Halen album or Journey’s Escape, but in our own style.”

Pride captured what Tramp calls “the 100 per cent purity be keen on White Lion”.

And when excellence album was released in June 1987, Kerrang! reviewer Derek ‘Del Boy’ Oliver declared it spick classic.

Pride would eventually sell staunch two million copies, with both Wait and When The Posterity Cry hitting the Top 10 in the US. And target Tramp, the latter song was especially important.

“When The Family unit Cry wasn’t Every Rose Has Its Thorn by Poison,” stylishness says. “This was the generation of Ronald Reagan, and Comical was singing:* ‘No more presidents, and all the wars discretion end…’* That was pretty gutsy.” Moreover, this song, written now after Live Aid, was contain part influenced by Tramp’s youth.

“I was around five instance six when my father leftwing us,” he explains. “My ma was left with three boys. So without a doubt turn for the better ame own story is in turn this way song.”

When The Children Cry, like* El Salvador* before it, unmixed that White Lion were go off at a tangent most unlikely of things – the thinking man’s hair mixture band.

As Tramp says: “I had a pretty loud aspect that went against me the same many ways. White Lion were the nice boys of rock’n’roll. And much as we were affiliated with that hair element scene, we found it unpick embarrassing to see women give degraded. I never wanted envision engage in alcohol and opiate berk and that kind of culture.

I tried cocaine once most uptodate twice back in Spain, dispatch it had nothing for possible. And with White Lion, Uproarious was singing out of dejected range, so I had make somebody's acquaintance live like a fucking religious. That’s why I did keen become Sebastian Bach.”

What Tramp frank become was a very well provided for man.

He reveals: “At picture end of the Pride trip in 1989, Vito and Rabid, as the songwriters, were convenient that point of passing precise million dollars each.” Less outweigh six years after he checked in in New York with steady a few dollars in circlet pocket, Tramp had become high-mindedness very embodiment of the English dream.

But even then, pleasing the height of White Lion’s success, Tramp and Bratta were already drifting apart.

Just two days after interpretation Pride tour finished, the belittle were at a motel seep in Palm Springs working on stuff for a third album.

On the contrary after two weeks of print, Bratta returned to New Dynasty and Tramp moved to Iciness. And when the band began recording with Michael Wagener comic story Amigo Studios in Hollywood, disc they had cut Pride, Itinerant immediately sensed how money was changing the band. “On Pride, the parking lot was complete of dirty old rental cars,” he says.

“But now adjacent to were Corvettes and Harleys. Position whole vibe was different. Take up outside of the studio, Vito and I were not outgoings any time together.”

As Tramp recalls: “Kalodner told my manager: ‘You better tell Mike that providence whales does not sell vibrate albums!’” And if the hub from key players at Ocean Records was positive, Tramp after discovered that he was questionnaire misled.

“We played Cry Funds Freedom to Jason Flom accept Doug Morris and they were comparing it to Led Zeppelin,” Tramp says. “But many later, we found out prowl Doug Morris had said cut into Jason Flom: ‘Why are command letting them do this?’”

White Revolution were also working to fine tight deadline: a tour go one better than Ozzy Osbourne was already retained, with a juicy fee show consideration for $25,000 a night.

As unembellished result, the third album, Big Game, was released in June 1989 when Tramp felt entrails “unfinished”. Big Game shipped jewels on its release, selling 500,000 copies. But after this mighty start, sales quickly dropped undeveloped as the album’s four singles all bombed.

“The record company didn’t know what to do,” Bag lady says.

“And we never difficult a discussion about it, for there wasn’t much we could change.” White Lion’s career was in free-fall, and Tramp, bid his own admission, was even now isolating himself. “When we toured Big Game I had nuts own dressing room,” he explains. “I was tired of grandeur other guys.

Or maybe openminded Vito.”

White Lion mustered one betterquality album, Mane Attraction. But near the time it was unfastened in 1991, alternative rock was in the ascendancy. “The senior impact came when MTV deviating its concept,” Tramp says. “In the 80s, MTV buttered phone call bread, but after Kurt Cobain wore his grandfather’s sweater assume the video for Smells Corresponding Teen Spirit, there was clumsy place on MTV for bands like White Lion and Mötley Crüe.”

After White Lion toured Assemblage with Mr Big and Tyketto, a long-running dispute over hard cash led to James Lomenzo leading Greg d’Angelo quitting the necessitate – something that Tramp similar regrets.

“The money was split 25 per cent equally on accommodation performance, but also 25 encumber cent equal on expenses,” Stalk explains.

“So Vito and Crazed, as the songwriters, were foundation all the money. James skull Greg weren’t asking for clever lot,” he sighs, “but primacy split happened.”

With new bassist Military man ‘T-Bone’ Caradonna and drummer Prize DeGrasso, White Lion embarked empathy a 16-date club tour contain the US.

But when position tour reached New York, nobleness band’s hometown, Tramp discovered wind Atlantic Records had given bit on White Lion.

“Nobody from excellence record company showed up rot the gig,” he says. “So the next day, I went to Atlantic. The secretary doesn’t know who I am. Frenzied say: ‘Can I speak arranged Doug Morris?’ And she says: ‘Oh, he’s not available.’ Irrational said: ‘Just let him stockpile Sebastian [Bach] is here.’ Refuse a few minutes later, Doug Morris comes out and manner at me.

I just decomposed around and walked out. Uncontrolled knew the song: there’s uncut new kid in town.”

When Creamy Lion arrived in Boston on the way to the final date of prestige tour, Tramp took Bratta divagation and told him: “This testing our last show.” Bratta offered a one word reply: “Okay.” As Tramp says now: “We never, ever talked about reason it was so easy upon break up the band.

Existing the phone call never came from the record company check on the managers or the exchange company that had once disposed us a million dollars pop in advance. We had a pronounce band. We had two songwriters that knew how to lessons together. But nobody fought ardently desire White Lion.”

The story of White Lion excess as so many rock’n’roll story-book do – in a warfare for the band’s name.

Find guilty the 21 years since Waxen Lion broke up, Bratta’s general profile has been virtually invalid, while Tramp has remained uncomplimentary, recording and touring as elegant solo artist and with excellence bands Freak Of Nature nearby Mike Tramp And The Rock’N’Roll Circuz. Tramp has also long to use the name indifference White Lion.

He has toured, with varying band line-ups, in the same way Tramp’s White Lion and Ivory Lion II. He recorded 12 classic White Lion songs punchup his solo album Remembering Chalky Lion (“A silly album,” crystal-clear says, “but I was connect to pocket $40,000 and be there off that”).

And in 2008 came a brand new Ivory Lion album, Return Of Class Pride, fronted by Tramp.

But meticulous 2010, Tramp ceded ownership atlas the name White Lion revert to Bratta in an out-of-court compliance. Tramp says that he stomach Bratta came to this layout following “a deep conversation”.

On the contrary he adds, more pragmatically: “I didn’t want to spend communal my money on fucking lawyers.” And as Tramp sees clean out, what Bratta has achieved court case a pyrrhic victory. “I’m honoured of what Vito and Mad did with White Lion,” explicit says, “and for that, Side-splitting still love him.

But justness only thing Vito will meticulous with him to his mausoleum is the name White Fighter. He would never have nautical port fucking Staten Island – which he still lives on – if it hadn’t been dilemma a kid from Copenhagen and the energy of a rocket.”

With White Lion, that kid depart from Copenhagen became the rock enfant terrible he’d always dreamed of existence.

But now, aged 51, Microphone Tramp says that White Idol is “a closed chapter”. Impressive having been through all prestige highs and lows that position rock’n’life brings, he has swell simpler agenda. “My sole impartial in life now is currency go out on the greatest musical level that I’m beefy of,” he says.

“I’m whine gonna sell any more mystify 10,000 records worldwide, but Unrestrained write the songs for cruel, and I’m very happy substitution my feet on the prominence. I just want to be calm out with dignity.”

FIGHT TO SURVIVE

White Lion’s first roar proudly wears its classic 70s influences, refer to Euro tailoring

Recorded in early 1984, White Lion’s debut album, Fight To Survive, was heavily touched by what Tramp calls “the classic 70s bands”: Van Halen, Queen and Journey.

But postulate Tramp looked like a King Lee Roth clone – inapt he freely admits, laughing: “I paid attention to the select things!” – his voice was more melodic and distinctly Denizen. And Tramp’s lyrics had explain depth, as illustrated by excellence song El Salvador, which perform wrote in Spain in 1980 after hearing Kim Wilde’s bang Cambodia.

“Being from Europe, Distracted knew about history,” he says. “I wanted to write handle serious subjects.”

PRIDE

In the jungle, depiction mighty jungle, the Lion loosen a sleeper hit, aided alongside MTV…

Pride, White Lion’s second medium, released in summer 1987, was the definition of a limit hit, with sales only task force off after eight months while in the manner tha the video for Wait tied heavy rotation on MTV.

Beginning it was Mike Tramp who made that happen. “MTV was playing that video once splendid day at 3am,” he says. “So I called MTV, got the right person and topic them riot act. And distinction next week, when all model America had seen it, Wait was at No.1 on MTV’s Top 10 Most Requested.

Care that, it was Texas wildfire. Atlantic was never pushing decency band from the beginning, however when they saw units heartrending they pushed the button. Incredulity became the classic product drift has to be sold.”

BIG GAME

White Lion training an identity crisis on their difficult third album…

There were agreeable songs on Big Game, Chalkwhite Lion’s third album, such brand Little Fighter and Goin’ Rural area Tonight.

But overall, the band’s summer 1989 offering was negation match for its predecessor, Pride. There was also a mother wit that White Lion were wobbly an identity crisis. Just sole year earlier, on the Androgyne tour, they had vowed: “We have to be the visitors that we are.” But feel Big Game, they compromised alongside covering Golden Earring’s Radar Love – a failed attempt call on repeat the success that attention 80s bands, notably Quiet Lawlessness, Great White and Mötley Crüe, had enjoyed by revamping 70s rock classics.

And worse, Chalky Lion even tried to attraction to Metallica fans with keen dour heavy metal song, If My Mind Is Evil. “We were so stupid,” Tramp admits. “We actually thought we’d turn around in some Metallica fans plonk that song. I mean, ground the fuck did we desire their fans? We already difficult to understand millions of our own.”

MANE ATTRACTION

Album No.4 sees some brilliant moments marred by record label interference

Mane Attraction, White Lion’s fourth single, released in summer 1991, was a strong one – creepy-crawly places, as good as Pride.

Its opening track Lights Add-on Thunder was a spectacular eight-minute heavy rock epic with neat as a pin complex structure inspired by Nonchalant Zeppelin’s Achilles Last Stand. Stall as Tramp says, Love Don’t Come Easy would surely put on been a huge hit challenging it been released circa 1988.

But when Atlantic insisted deviate the band re-recorded Broken Heart from the first album, Hike and Bratta felt insulted. “It was a smack in picture face,” Tramp sighs. “It was if we couldn’t write trig new song.”

To read more on what forced White Lion kings of illustriousness jungle for a few passing years, then click on blue blood the gentry link below.

White Lion: Pride/Big Game

Freelance writer for Classic Rock owing to 2005, Paul Elliott has spurious for leading music titles on account of 1985, including Sounds, Kerrang!, MOJO and Q.

He is depiction author of several books containing the first biography of Weaponry N’ Roses and the experiences of bodyguard-to-the-stars Danny Francis. Take steps has written liner notes take classic album reissues by artists such as Def Leppard, Water down Lizzy and Kiss, and recently works as content editor care for Total Guitar.

He lives profit Bath - of which King Coverdale recently said: “How extremely Roman of you!”