BIOGRAPHY
Where it all began
Singer and songwriter Mick White burst onto the UK music scene during the mid eighties at just eighteen years old, firstly as a member of Paul Samson’s Empire/Samson and following that First Strike. White played most of the UK’s premier venues including supporting Iron Maiden on their mammoth UK trek for the Somewhere In Time tour as well as tours and high profile supports with amongst others Uriah Heep, Giant, Dare, Saraya, Slaughter and Shy. As well as the touring there was much recording including the Samson EP ‘And There It Is’ and album ‘1988’ and First Strike videos for ‘Girls Of The World’ and ‘Nasty’.
Like many musicians of the time the Grunge movement that came in the early nineties found White struggling to fit in with the new sound and so a move to studio and session work was preferred. This included lead vocals on a number of tribute albums to Thin Lizzy, UFO and Slade.
From Then to Now
As the rock scene moved further underground as we entered the new millennium White found no interest in where it was heading and drifted away from the music scene.
Following the reissue of the Samson album 1988 and the release of the First Strike album ‘Just Another Night’ in 2019 White decided to reignite his singing career and record the solo album he had been planning for a number of years. The album ‘Something’s Got To Give’ was released in April 2022 and was preceded by two singles/videos ‘Emergency On Planet Earth’ and ‘Sometime Superman’. Live dates have also been undertaken in 2022 including supports with Cats In Space and Tailgunner as well as some headline shows. Both singles have received extensive worldwide airplay and the Mick White Band will continue to tour the album throughout 2022/23.
« This album has been a real labour of love for us, we wanted to write a collection of songs that would bring to mind and pay tribute to the spirit of the incredible AOR/Melodic rock bands of the early eighties but without being formulaic or derivative. Hopefully there is something for everyone on there and we can’t wait for people to hear the album and to get out and play the songs live. »
– Mick White
The Future
At the same time as White was working on the solo album writing began with Ray Callcut on what was to become White Skies. After inviting keyboard player Pete Lakin to join them the writing and recording stepped up a gear and it was clear that the musicians had something really special with an album showcasing not only the diversity but also the very best that the AOR genre has to offer.