When management heard that Atlantic A&R scout Jason Flom was headed to Florida to check out a band called Mannequin, at a show at which White Lion were the support, they sent Flom a limo with a fully stocked bar. The band then made a version of Pride which they themselves scrapped. Several bassists and drummers came and went, although the band’s success in Japan was enough to nurture the faith of mainstays Tramp and Bratta. Their debut album, Fight To Survive, had been recorded for Elektra Records, who shelved it but returned the rights to the band, leading to a deal with US indie label Grand Slamm. In early ’87, White Lion needed another break – and fast. “The second time it happened, Michael Wagener told me that even though we didn’t have a label deal, he was taking us to his studio in Los Angeles to make a record.” “I had only done so once before, and the voice on the other end of the line was Kelv Hellrazer, which led to White Lion’s first exposure in Europe,” the singer says. To this day, Mike Tramp has no idea what compelled him to jump off the stage and pick up the receiver. Given that the band’s managers George and Michael Parente also co-own the building, most incoming calls are business-related. Somewhere in the empty L’Amour nightclub in New York City, a phone rings incessantly during a White Lion rehearsal.
