White Lion is an
American/
Danish 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, the band achieved double platinum status with their #8 hit "
Wait" and #3 hit "
When the Children Cry". White Lion disbanded in 1991, but was reformed again by Tramp in 1999 with all new musicians. After moving from
Denmark to New York in 1983, vocalist
Mike Tramp (ex-Mabel,ex-Studs) met Brooklyn guitarist
Vito Bratta (ex-Dreamer) and decided to form a band. The two 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
Fight to Survive. However, Elektra was unhappy with the final recording, and after refusing to release the album, terminated their contract. Both Capozzi and Robinson soon left the band. Nicki Capozzi was replaced by former
Anthrax drummer
Greg D'Angelo, and Felix Robinson was replaced by bassist
Dave Spitz (brother of Anthrax guitarist
Dan Spitz). Within a month of joining, however, Dave Spitz left to play bass with
Black Sabbath and was replaced by
James LoMenzo. The album
Fight to Survive was eventually re-recorded with new line-up & picked up by RCA and released in Japan in 1984. The small US independent label
Grand Slam records finally released
Fight To Survive in the US on
November 9,
1985. A few months later, Grand Slam records went
bankrupt.
Video klip White Lion :