Mandy Lion

Mandy Lion
Genres Rock, Metal, Gothic rock
Occupation(s) Singer
Years active 1983-present
Labels Hollywood, Elektra, Pony Canyon, Sony, Reality Entertainment
Associated acts WWIII, Wicked Alliance, Mandy Lion Band

Mandy Lion is a heavy metal singer. He has sung for numerous bands, most notably World War Three (WWIII). He is also the lead singer of the Mandy Lion Band. He has sung for numerous bands, most notably the Mandy Lion band and World War Three (WWIII) which featured Black Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice and Jimmy Bain of Rainbow and Dio fame.

He has performed in versions of the Mandy Lion band with James Kottak (Scorpions), Jimmy Bain (Rainbow, Dio), Michael Devin (Whitesnake), Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath, Dio), and Joe Floyd (Warrior), Mikkey Dee (Motörhead), Pete Holmes (MSG, Ted Nugent, Ian Gillan). In the band Wicked Alliance with Jake E. Lee (Ozzy Osbourne). Currently in the Mandy Lion Band with Lez Warner (The Cult), Dan McNay (Montrose) and Roy Z (Halford, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden).

Biography

Early years

Lion first got his start in the music business when he was 11 years old. At that time he had chosen to use music as a way to express his feelings and already strong opinions of the world.

After two years, he had already been the lead singer and songwriter in several popular bands in Germany. But the members tried time and again to alter his style to fit the current trends. Lion therefore took matters into his own hands and decided to start his own band in order to be able to express himself fully.

After a few years of constant touring, Lion decided to take his project onward which required a move, with the blessings from his mother, from Europe to Los Angeles, California. He arrived in mid-1986, only to find that glam rock was in style at the time. He did what he had done all his life, he took World War Three (WWIII) to the streets of Los Angeles.

World War Three (1986 - 1989)

At the age of 16, Lion worked and by the end of 1986 - early 1987, he formed World War III. With his new band, Lion took his band, World War Three (WWIII), to the streets of Los Angeles and within months was playing to sold out crowds. The bands success continued even though WWIII had gone through various line-up changes during the first three years.

Lion and WWIII were a force on the Sunset Strip. They played venues such as Gazzari's, famous since the 1960s, where WWIII broke Van Halen's attendance record. They put on concert sets with songs like "Rock & Roll Machine", "Go Down", and "Call Me Devil".

Lion's popularity grew and caught the attention of manager Don Arden (Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Air Supply, etc.) who made several attempts to see Lion and WWIII shows but could not get in, due to the shows being sold out. As quoted by Lions in a September 2000 interview on Jake E. Lee's website, "My future manager Don Arden had trouble getting in to see me and when he finally did he saw, liked, and took me under his wings."

World War Three (1990 - 1994)

Arden signed Lion immediately to a management contract after seeing his live performance. Then, within months, Lion was signed to Hollywood Records and with the help of Arden started auditioning celebrity players to create the line-up of the new World War III.

The chosen line-up was Jimmy Bain (Rainbow, Dio), Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath, Dio), and Joe Floyd (Warrior). Unfortunately, at that time, Floyd was unable to fully give WWIII the attention that it required, due to Floyd just starting Silver Cloud Recording Studio.

At that point, further auditioning took place for a few unknown players and Tracy G, an unknown at that time, was picked and made a name for himself by Lion choosing him to see if he could fill in for Floyd. In 1990 WWIII released their debut CD on the Hollywood Records label and soon thereafter WWIII began an extensive tour. They opened for famous bands like Iron Maiden and at times did the headlining themselves. WWIII toured huge arenas and many famous clubs such as the Whiskey A Go Go, in January 1991. They also made two music videos for "Love You to Death" and "Time for Terror", both of which were from their debut release.

Things were going along smoothly even though changes would occur once and again. Vinny Appice was replaced with James Kottak (Scorpions, Kingdom Come). Later, Kottak was replaced by Mikkey Dee (Motörhead). Things changed when Steve Jones, the A&R Director for WWIII, tried to depict an image on the band as Nazis and this later caused label failure. Heavy friction and disagreements between band members began when he started a side project with George Lynch (Dokken, Lynchmob), on Elektra Records. These problems weighed heavily on Lion and eventually caused him to step back and put WWIII on hold.

Wicked Alliance (1994 - 2003)

Lion wasted no time, and in 1994 began a new project and set out on the road to tour with Jake E. Lee (Ozzy Osbourne, Badlands) as Wicked Alliance. After a few years on the back burner, Wicked Alliance joined a record label that represents them. Wicked Alliance's Twisted Beauty CD that Lee and Lion worked on finally came to the light in late 2002 or early 2003 on the Pony Canyon record label.

World War Three (2003 - present)

Besides working on his solo project doing the producing, writing and arranging, Mandy Lion has resurfaced his band WWIII. WWIII signed on with Sony Records and Reality Entertainment and Lion and WWIII released, their first album in 12 years, When God Turned Away on October 30, 2003. The band, hosted a release party for When God Turned Away at Club Vodka.[1]

On April 18, 2004, Vinny Appice and Jimmy Bain had a jam session with Lion during WWIII's concert at the Key Club in West Hollywood, California. The session was video taped and some of the scenes were placed in the music video for "Walk With Me".[2] In the summer of 2004, original members, Vinny Appice and Jimmy Bain rejoined the band.[3] WWIII performed at the Metal Sludge concert number nine in Tarzana, California on September 18, 2004.[4] The newly reformed WWIII with Appice, Bain, Lion, and Scaria, performed at Vinnie's Bar in Bakersfield, California on October 30, 2004.[5]

On April 19, 2008, the original line-up of WWIII reunited for a jam session at Harper's Bar and Grill in Northridge, California.[6]

Mandy Lion is currently writing with George Lynch (Dokken, Lynchmob) on a full-length album. The current line-up consists of Dan McNay (Montrose), Lez Warner (The Cult) and Toni Aleman. Guest appearances include Sin Quirin (Ministry), Mitch Perry (Edgar Winter, Cher), Roy Z (Halford, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden) and others.

Solo work

On June 24, 2005, Lion performed with former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke at Club Vodka in West Hollywood.[7] The performance was his second at the club that year.[8] In July 2005, Lion invited fans to appear in his next music video that would be filming at the Roxy Theater in Los Angeles,[9] which was filmed on September 23.[10]

In the spring of 2006, Lion headlined the Nikstock Festivals in Los Angeles, California and Binghamton, New York.[11]

In May 2007, Lion announced a 16-day U.S. tour, with stops in Syracuse, New York, Binghamton, New York, Stamford, Connecticut, West Springfield, Virginia, Allentown, Pennsylvania, Nichols, New York, and Las Vegas.[12] On June 1, Lion announced the line-up for his touring band. It was himself, Rick Plester, Jon Purpura, and Pete Holmes.[13]

In early July 2007, Lion was in the middle of writing the next WWIII album.[14] On July 26, 2007, Lion issued a statement regarding the death of former manager Don Arden, who died just five days prior.[15] It was announced in July 2007, that Lion would be releasing his new album in October of the same year.[16] The album released was however pushed back. On October 27, 2007, Lion performed with the 'Mandy Lion Band at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood, California, with Moni Scaria, Jon Purpura (Driven By Hate), and Pete Holmes (MSG, Ted Nugent, Ian Gillan). It was the first time Lion performed songs from the soon-to-be-released new Mandy Lion CD.[17] In November 2007, Lion announced that he was wanting to put together a "bare-bones rock 'n' roll" band, the likes of AC/DC, or "old" Whitesnake.[18]

In March 2008, Lion began working on a full-length DVD that contains videos, live footage, and interviews with all past and present musical partners.[19] That same month, he released a cover of the Prince song "Kiss".[20]

Mandy Lion is currently writing with George Lynch (Dokken, Lynchmob) on a full length album. The current line-up consists of Dan McNay (Montrose), Lez Warner (The Cult) and Toni Aleman. Guest appearances include Sin Quirin (Ministry), Mitch Perry (Edgar Winter, Cher), Roy Z (Halford, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden) and others.

Discography

Solo

World War Three (WWIII)

Wicked Alliance

Guest appearances

Singles

World War Three (WWIII)

Solo

Personal life

As noted by some of the videos he has posted on his official YouTube channel, Lion is an ardent canine lover and supporter. He has spoken out multiple times against animal cruelty and on people blaming most dog attacks on fighting breeds, which is statistically untrue.[21] Lion also has a love of martial arts which he has written about in his MySpace blog.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "WWIII: Album Release Party Photos Posted Online". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2003-11-10. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  2. ↑ "APPICE, BAIN To Jam With WWIII At Hollywood Gig". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2004-03-16. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  3. ↑ "APPICE, BAIN Rejoin WWIII, Live Dates Planned Later This Summer". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2004-07-22. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  4. ↑ "WWIII Announce First Show With Original Lineup In 10 Years". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. August 11, 2004. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  5. ↑ "WWIII Schedule Bakersfield Date". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2004-10-14. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  6. ↑ "MANDY LION Says WWIII Reunion With VINNY APPICE, JIMMY BAIN Is 'An Absolute Possibility'". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2004-04-18. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  7. ↑ "MANDY LION, GILBY CLARKE To Perform In Hollywood". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2005-06-20. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  8. ↑ "MANDY LION Schedules Hollywood Date". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2005-01-31. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  9. ↑ "MANDY LION Invites Fans To Take Part In Video Shoot". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2005-06-26. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  10. ↑ "MANDY LION Prepares For Video Shoot". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2005-08-27. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  11. ↑ "MANDY LION To Headline NIKSTOCK Festivals". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2006-01-30. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  12. ↑ "MANDY LION: U.S. Tour Dates Announced". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2007-05-29. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  13. ↑ "MANDY LION Reveals Touring Band". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2007-06-01. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  14. ↑ "WWIII Vocalist MANDY LION: In Writing Mode". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2007-07-17. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  15. ↑ "MANDY LION: 'DON ARDEN Represented Everything This Industry Should Be About But Rarely Ever Is'". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2007-07-26. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  16. ↑ "MANDY LION To Release New Album In October". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2007-07-31. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  17. ↑ "MANDY LION: Band Lineup For Hollywood Gig Revealed". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  18. ↑ "MANDY LION Looking To Form 'Bare-Bones Rock 'N' Roll' Side Project". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2007-11-12. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  19. ↑ "MANDY LION Working On Full-Length DVD". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2008-03-04. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  20. ↑ "MANDY LION Defend His PRINCE Cover: 'I Can't Please Everybody So I Won't Even Try'". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2008-03-31. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  21. ↑ Mandy Lion (2008-03-28). Mandy Lion speaks about B.S.L. and misunderstood dog breeds. (YouTube). Mandy Lion. Retrieved 2008-07-10. The current witch hunt against pitbulls and other related breeds is born from ignorance and hatred without reason. Mandy Lion is an authority on the so called fighting breeds and here he tries to shed some light on some very important issues regarding these misunderstood breeds.
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