The White Lion itch is one that singer Mike Tramp feels the need to scratch every so often, despite the quality of his work with Freak of Nature and more recent stripped down and more personal material. On some of his past solo gigs he has even spoken spoke of how he felt increasingly out of place as a serious singer songwriter in a band lumped in with the glam metal movement, yet every so often he revisits the band who in their short life scaled the heights but dissolved prematurely.

He has released a trio of albums re-recording White Lion songs in as many years, and its obviously not just him as a healthy crowd at the Underworld was present, probably treble the size shows under his own name have attracted. He took the stage looking enviably well preserved for a 64 year old, initially dapper in suit jacket and waistcoat and with hair grown back from when I last saw him.

Unfortunately the set began with the most ordinary of numbers in ‘Out With The Boys’, already filler in the first place and only accentuating the fact that long ago he adjusted his voice to sing in a lower register than in WL’s heyday.

However his phrasing and tone more than made up for any loss of range and a set which dipped fairly evenly into all four albums took a significant upturn with ‘All The Fallen Men’ from debut ‘Fight to Survive’.

It was then the turn of English born guitarist Marcus Nand, whose curly dark hair with a grey streak and waistcoat made him look a little like Joe Perry, played the opening arpeggio to ‘Hungry’. Mike was prowling the stage encouraging us to sing along and Marcus’ equally fluent mid-song solo nail put to rest the question whether he could effectively replace the long lost and mysterious Vito Bratta.

Now, after the false start I found myself firmly into the show and realised how ‘Living On The Edge’ is an underrated anthem while some of Mike’s vocal phasing during the verses of ‘El Salvador’ reminded me of one of the men tattooed on his arms, Philip Lynott, though he left parts of the chorus to Marcus and bassist (and fellow Freak of Nature veteran) Jerry Best.

After joking he’d play a new song, ‘Little Fighter’ had the atmosphere sizzling, even more so during ‘Broken Heart’, so good they had to record it twice, and I was reminded exactly why at the end of the eighties they ran Bon Jovi and Def Leppard close in my youthful obsessions. Meanwhile ‘Lights and Thunder’ provided a heavier counterpoint to those commercial hooks, not least in the powerhouse drumming of the splendidly named Morten Hellborn, even if vocally it fell a little short of the mark.

The band whizzed through the set and there was notably less chat from Mike than during his solo gigs, though as a confirmed Anglophile (and just a bus ride from his beloved Arsenal FC) he reeled off fond memories of previous London appearances. They included the two times I saw White Lion, memorably at the Marquee on the ‘Pride’ tour and later at the Town and Country Club, though the only connection with the Underworld was a Freak of Nature show.

‘Tell Me’ was another with a big singalong, but that was nothing compared to the glory of ‘Wait’- with Mike recounting a record company exec’s comment that if only he could write another ten like that. It was followed by ‘When The Children Cry’, lyrically more relevant than ever in these troubled times and given a bit of a more powerful backing than the original. It seems to have been airbrushed out of history that both those songs were top 10 singles in the USA.

At that point with the set less than an hour in, I found myself wondering what else was left as they had played all of their aces. However I had forgotten the epic ‘Lady Of The Valley’, giving Marcus the chance to shine as he pulled back his whammy bar and unleashed some spectacular solos, and finishing with their cover of ‘Radar Love’, not my favourite normally but in front of another corking atmosphere. It was a shame that the set then ended after an hour and a quarter though Mike seemed to spend almost as long meeting and greeting fans after in friendly fashion.

There is much more to Mike Tramp than White Lion, but this was a night for he and his skilled and well chosen bandmates to take a trip down memory lane and remind us what an underappreciated band they were.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

Album review (The Songs Of White Lion Vol.III)

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