Mandy Lion

Mandy Lion is a heavy metal singer. He is the frontman of WWIII, besides other bands.

Mandy Lion
GenresRock, Metal, Gothic rock
Occupation(s)Singer
Years active1983-present
LabelsHollywood, Elektra, Pony Canyon, Sony, Reality Entertainment
Associated actsWWIII, Wicked Alliance, Mandy Lion Band

Biography

Lion is the creator of the extreme power vocal which combines a Lemmy Kilmister-style rasp with a Rob Halford-like range while still retaining melody and diction. He moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1986 and formed World War Three, where he caught the attention of manager Don Arden, who signed a contract with him; soon, 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, Vinny Appice, and Joe Floyd, who had played with Warrior; at the time, Floyd had other obligations and Tracy G was chosen to fill Floyd's spot. In 1990 WWIII released their debut CD on the Hollywood Records label and soon thereafter WWIII began extensive touring.

Things were going along smoothly even though changes would occur once and again. Vinny Appice was replaced with James Kottak (Scorpions, Kingdom Come), who would in turn be later 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 which caused Lion to rebel against the label. 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. 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 (which he produced, wrote, and arranged), Lion had reformed his previous band, WWIII. WWIII signed with Sony Records and Reality Entertainment, and on October 30, 2003 released their first album in 12 years, When God Turned Away. The band hosted a release party for the album 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 in Bakersfield, California on October 30, 2004.[5]

On April 19, 2008, the original line-up of WWIII reunited.[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

In the spring of 2006, Lion headlined the Nikstock Festivals in Los Angeles, California and Binghamton, New York.[7]

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.[8] On June 1, Lion announced the line-up for his touring band. It was himself, Rick Plester, Jon Purpura, and Pete Holmes.[9]

Discography

Solo
  • Mandy Lion (2002)

World War Three (WWIII)
  • World War III (1990)
  • The Unreleased Demos (2000)
  • When God Turned Away (2003)

Wicked Alliance
  • Twisted Beauty (2002)

Guest appearances

Singles

World War Three (WWIII)
  • "Love You To Death" (1990)
  • "Time For Terror" (1990)

Solo

References
  1. "WWIII: Album Release Party Photos Posted Online". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2003-11-10. Archived from the original on 2008-05-25. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  2. "APPICE, BAIN To Jam With WWIII At Hollywood Gig". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2004-03-16. Archived from the original on 2008-05-25. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  3. "APPICE, BAIN Rejoin WWIII, Live Dates Planned Later This Summer". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2004-07-22. Archived from the original on 2008-05-25. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  4. "WWIII Announce First Show With Original Lineup In 10 Years". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. August 11, 2004. Archived from the original on May 26, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  5. "WWIII Schedule Bakersfield Date". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2004-10-14. Archived from the original on 2008-05-26. 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. Archived from the original on 2008-04-22. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  7. "MANDY LION To Headline NIKSTOCK Festivals". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2006-01-30. Archived from the original on 2008-05-25. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  8. "MANDY LION: U.S. Tour Dates Announced". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2007-05-29. Archived from the original on 2008-05-25. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  9. "MANDY LION Reveals Touring Band". RoadrunnerRecords.com. Blabbermouth.net. 2007-06-01. Archived from the original on 2008-05-25. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
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