Biography
Mike Tramp, a Danish rock & roll singer and songwriter, first gained recognition as the lead vocalist of 1970s Euro-rock outfit Mabel, 1980s metal act White Lion, and 1990s hard rock group Freak of Nature. His initial solo effort arrived with Capricorn in 1998, after which he assembled a fresh lineup of White Lion in 2004; that configuration delivered the studio album Return of the Pride in 2008. Originally conceived as another White Lion project, 2009’s Mike Tramp & The Rock ’N’ Roll Circuz was instead taken by Tramp as his own release, effectively concluding the band’s run. Stand Your Ground, credited to Mike Tramp & The Rock ’N’ Roll Circuz and issued in 2011, contained the charting tribute single “Hymn to Ronnie” honoring Ronnie James Dio, who had passed away the prior year. The 2012 acoustic album Cobblestone Street reached the Danish pop charts. Following solo tours across Europe and the United States, Tramp issued Museum, his second acoustic collection, in 2014, then embarked on worldwide touring that included engagements aboard luxury cruise ships. With the newly assembled Band of Brothers he returned to electric rock on Nomad in 2015. Maybe Tomorrow, released in 2017, marked the first solo album to secure a transatlantic release. Stray from the Flock appeared in 2019, while 2020 brought Second Time Around, a set of re-recordings drawn from 2009’s The Rock ’N’ Roll Circuz, issued alongside the career-spanning Trampthology. In 2021 Tramp put out Everything Is Alright and submitted its title track to the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix; Songs of White Lion followed in 2023 and Songs of White Lion, Vol. 2 in 2024.
Born Michael Trampenau in Copenhagen, Tramp and brothers Dennis and Kim were raised by their mother alone. He began performing at Vesterbro Ungdomsgård, a local youth club, and made his first recorded appearance with the group on the 1974 album Vi Lever På Vesterbro. After adopting the surname Tramp he became lead singer for Danish rock band Mabel. The group issued several studio albums that charted in both Denmark and Spain. In 1978 Mabel won the Danish Song Contest with “Boom Boom” and represented Denmark at the Eurovision Song Contest later that year. The following year the band moved to Spain and renamed itself Studs. A self-titled album appeared in 1981 to favorable response, yet in 1982 the musicians relocated to New York City and changed their name once more to Danish Lions. After recording demos that failed to attract management or a label deal, the band returned to Denmark, though Tramp chose to stay in America.
In 1983, following a period of struggle, he encountered American guitarist and songwriter Vito Bratta and together they formed White Lion. After laying down demos in 1984 at the outset of the hair metal period, the band recorded Fight to Survive for Elektra, but the label declined to issue the album, deeming it insufficiently upbeat. Japan’s Victor label released it in 1985. The next year American indie Grand Slam Records acquired and issued the record domestically, where it entered the Top 200. Atlantic signed White Lion in early 1987 and released Pride that June. Seven months later the label sent a video for the single “Wait” to MTV; the track entered the charts within a week, while Pride ultimately climbed to number 11 on the album charts. Big Game reached the Top 20 in 1989 and earned gold certification. By the time Mane Attraction arrived in 1991, rock & roll had shifted under grunge’s influence; the album peaked at number 61 in the United States and number 31 in Great Britain. White Lion disbanded after a final support tour.
At the start of 1992 Tramp assembled hard rock and heavy metal outfit Freak of Nature. The band issued two albums—Freak of Nature in 1992 and Gathering of Freaks in 1994—before splitting in 1998. That same year the compilation Outcasts, gathering unreleased tracks, outtakes, and B-sides, appeared. Tramp moved quickly, issuing his debut solo album Capricorn before year’s end. Its hook-driven, anthemic songs, performed by a backing band of former Freak of Nature and White Lion members, emphasized storytelling rock. In 1999 he released Remembering White Lion, featuring newly recorded versions of the band’s classic material. Tramp relocated to Australia for several years to raise his son outside urban pressures. His second solo album, Recovering the Wasted Years, emerged in 2002. The following year he issued More to Life Than This and the double-length live set Rock ’N’ Roll Alive, which blended solo material with selections from his White Lion and Freak of Nature eras. Songs I Left Behind, a collection of unreleased solo tracks, followed.
Tramp had sought to reunite White Lion since releasing Remembering White Lion in 1999, yet the record was withdrawn after Bratta initiated legal proceedings. At the beginning of 2003 he made a final attempt to reassemble the original lineup and publicly announced the effort, but Bratta’s opposition rendered it impossible. Instead Tramp recruited new musicians and formed Tramp’s White Lion. Remembering White Lion was reissued under the new band’s name as The Last Roar. The group toured, released the box set The Bootleg Series, and a year later issued the double-live album Rocking the USA. The 2007 compilation The Definitive Rock Collection gathered original White Lion recordings, and Tramp’s White Lion planned to support it on tour with Poison and Ratt. The promoter removed the band after Bratta again threatened legal action over the name. Following negotiations Tramp secured rights to the White Lion moniker and recorded Return of the Pride, which appeared in March 2008. After a world tour the group released the live DVD Bang Your Head Festival 2005.
Exhausted by years of legal disputes, Tramp entered a phase of professional uncertainty, weighing a return to solo work against continued efforts on behalf of White Lion. He ultimately chose the solo path. In October 2011 he issued Stand Your Ground under the Mike Tramp & The Rock ’N’ Roll Circuz banner; the album reached the Danish Top 20. One single, “Hymn to Ronnie,” paid tribute to Ronnie James Dio, who had succumbed to stomach cancer the previous year.
In 2012 Tramp changed direction with the fully acoustic Cobblestone Street, recorded with co-producer and engineer Soren Andersen on additional guitars and backing vocals. The album climbed to number 21 on the Danish charts. He toured Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States in 2013. Museum, released in 2014 and again recorded acoustically, reached number three in Denmark; Tramp followed with two global tours.
Tramp signed a multi-album deal with Target Records in 2015 and returned to anthemic electric rock on Nomad, performed with the newly formed Band of Brothers. The lineup included Andersen on guitar, Rock ’N’ Roll Circuz drummer Morten Hellborn, keyboardist Morlen Buchholz, and bassist Jesper Haugaar. The album peaked at number 21 in Denmark and became his best-selling solo release to date.
He issued his tenth album, Maybe Tomorrow, in February 2017 and spent the rest of that year and part of 2018 touring Europe. Stray from the Flock, credited to Band of Brothers, appeared in March 2019 and reached number 26 on the Danish charts. In May 2020 Tramp released Second Time Around, comprising ten re-recordings from 2009’s The Rock ’N’ Roll Circuz. In December he marked twenty-five years as a solo artist with Trampthology, a collection of sixteen previously issued tracks and four new songs.
February 2021 saw the single “Everything Is Alright,” which Tramp hoped would allow him to represent Denmark at the Eurovision Song Contest in the same manner Mabel had achieved forty-three years earlier by winning the Danish contest with “Boom Boom.” That outcome did not materialize, but the track became the title song of his 2021 album. In 2022 he recorded his first album of original Danish-language material, adopting a softer approach that incorporated mandolin, trumpet, and pedal steel guitar. The following year he re-recorded White Lion’s major hits with a sextet on Songs of White Lion, which received favorable critical notices and strong fan response. He released his second Danish-language album, Mand Af en Tid, in April 2024, then followed it in August with Songs of White Lion, Vol. 2.
Born Michael Trampenau in Copenhagen, Tramp and brothers Dennis and Kim were raised by their mother alone. He began performing at Vesterbro Ungdomsgård, a local youth club, and made his first recorded appearance with the group on the 1974 album Vi Lever På Vesterbro. After adopting the surname Tramp he became lead singer for Danish rock band Mabel. The group issued several studio albums that charted in both Denmark and Spain. In 1978 Mabel won the Danish Song Contest with “Boom Boom” and represented Denmark at the Eurovision Song Contest later that year. The following year the band moved to Spain and renamed itself Studs. A self-titled album appeared in 1981 to favorable response, yet in 1982 the musicians relocated to New York City and changed their name once more to Danish Lions. After recording demos that failed to attract management or a label deal, the band returned to Denmark, though Tramp chose to stay in America.
In 1983, following a period of struggle, he encountered American guitarist and songwriter Vito Bratta and together they formed White Lion. After laying down demos in 1984 at the outset of the hair metal period, the band recorded Fight to Survive for Elektra, but the label declined to issue the album, deeming it insufficiently upbeat. Japan’s Victor label released it in 1985. The next year American indie Grand Slam Records acquired and issued the record domestically, where it entered the Top 200. Atlantic signed White Lion in early 1987 and released Pride that June. Seven months later the label sent a video for the single “Wait” to MTV; the track entered the charts within a week, while Pride ultimately climbed to number 11 on the album charts. Big Game reached the Top 20 in 1989 and earned gold certification. By the time Mane Attraction arrived in 1991, rock & roll had shifted under grunge’s influence; the album peaked at number 61 in the United States and number 31 in Great Britain. White Lion disbanded after a final support tour.
At the start of 1992 Tramp assembled hard rock and heavy metal outfit Freak of Nature. The band issued two albums—Freak of Nature in 1992 and Gathering of Freaks in 1994—before splitting in 1998. That same year the compilation Outcasts, gathering unreleased tracks, outtakes, and B-sides, appeared. Tramp moved quickly, issuing his debut solo album Capricorn before year’s end. Its hook-driven, anthemic songs, performed by a backing band of former Freak of Nature and White Lion members, emphasized storytelling rock. In 1999 he released Remembering White Lion, featuring newly recorded versions of the band’s classic material. Tramp relocated to Australia for several years to raise his son outside urban pressures. His second solo album, Recovering the Wasted Years, emerged in 2002. The following year he issued More to Life Than This and the double-length live set Rock ’N’ Roll Alive, which blended solo material with selections from his White Lion and Freak of Nature eras. Songs I Left Behind, a collection of unreleased solo tracks, followed.
Tramp had sought to reunite White Lion since releasing Remembering White Lion in 1999, yet the record was withdrawn after Bratta initiated legal proceedings. At the beginning of 2003 he made a final attempt to reassemble the original lineup and publicly announced the effort, but Bratta’s opposition rendered it impossible. Instead Tramp recruited new musicians and formed Tramp’s White Lion. Remembering White Lion was reissued under the new band’s name as The Last Roar. The group toured, released the box set The Bootleg Series, and a year later issued the double-live album Rocking the USA. The 2007 compilation The Definitive Rock Collection gathered original White Lion recordings, and Tramp’s White Lion planned to support it on tour with Poison and Ratt. The promoter removed the band after Bratta again threatened legal action over the name. Following negotiations Tramp secured rights to the White Lion moniker and recorded Return of the Pride, which appeared in March 2008. After a world tour the group released the live DVD Bang Your Head Festival 2005.
Exhausted by years of legal disputes, Tramp entered a phase of professional uncertainty, weighing a return to solo work against continued efforts on behalf of White Lion. He ultimately chose the solo path. In October 2011 he issued Stand Your Ground under the Mike Tramp & The Rock ’N’ Roll Circuz banner; the album reached the Danish Top 20. One single, “Hymn to Ronnie,” paid tribute to Ronnie James Dio, who had succumbed to stomach cancer the previous year.
In 2012 Tramp changed direction with the fully acoustic Cobblestone Street, recorded with co-producer and engineer Soren Andersen on additional guitars and backing vocals. The album climbed to number 21 on the Danish charts. He toured Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States in 2013. Museum, released in 2014 and again recorded acoustically, reached number three in Denmark; Tramp followed with two global tours.
Tramp signed a multi-album deal with Target Records in 2015 and returned to anthemic electric rock on Nomad, performed with the newly formed Band of Brothers. The lineup included Andersen on guitar, Rock ’N’ Roll Circuz drummer Morten Hellborn, keyboardist Morlen Buchholz, and bassist Jesper Haugaar. The album peaked at number 21 in Denmark and became his best-selling solo release to date.
He issued his tenth album, Maybe Tomorrow, in February 2017 and spent the rest of that year and part of 2018 touring Europe. Stray from the Flock, credited to Band of Brothers, appeared in March 2019 and reached number 26 on the Danish charts. In May 2020 Tramp released Second Time Around, comprising ten re-recordings from 2009’s The Rock ’N’ Roll Circuz. In December he marked twenty-five years as a solo artist with Trampthology, a collection of sixteen previously issued tracks and four new songs.
February 2021 saw the single “Everything Is Alright,” which Tramp hoped would allow him to represent Denmark at the Eurovision Song Contest in the same manner Mabel had achieved forty-three years earlier by winning the Danish contest with “Boom Boom.” That outcome did not materialize, but the track became the title song of his 2021 album. In 2022 he recorded his first album of original Danish-language material, adopting a softer approach that incorporated mandolin, trumpet, and pedal steel guitar. The following year he re-recorded White Lion’s major hits with a sextet on Songs of White Lion, which received favorable critical notices and strong fan response. He released his second Danish-language album, Mand Af en Tid, in April 2024, then followed it in August with Songs of White Lion, Vol. 2.
Albums
Songs Of White Lion, Vol. III
2025
Fight To Survive
2025
Songs Of White Lion, Vol. II
2025
Songs Of White Lion
2023
Mike Tramp & The Rock 'N' Roll Circuz
2009
The Ultimate White Lion
2006
Remembering White Lion: Greatest Hits
1999
Singles
