BIOGRAPHY
As a one time member of Samson and First Strike, Mick White had played most of the UK’s premier venues at the age of eighteen. He’d supported 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, Slaughter and Shy plus also had a wealth of writing and recording experience for someone so young.
Like many musicians of the time the Grunge movement that came in the early nineties found Mick struggling to fit in with the new sound and so a move to studio and session work was preferred. 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.
« Something’s Got to Give is your classic rock album with crunching guitars and melodic harmonies! »
– Mick White
The Future
After a busy year, Mick decided to release a new AOR album he had started writing during the covid shutdown – and ‘White Skies’ was formed!
White Skies was formed by ex-Samson/First Strike vocalist Mick White, ex Ya Ya guitarist Ray Callcut and ex Double Cross / Dante Fox keyboard player Pete Lakin. Their debut album Black Tide was written and recorded throughout the world pandemic and is an album that encompasses a broad spectrum of the melodic rock genre over the twelve tracks.
After completing the album in the spring of 2022 the band were very quickly offered a deal by German rock label ‘Pride and Joy Music.’ Adding drummer Daz Lamberton ex Red White & Blues and bass player Rob Naylor ex Blood Red Saints the band released three singles / videos ahead of the album which was released on the 4th November 2022.
The album has received rave reviews from the rock press across the UK and Europe including Classic Rock Magazine, Fireworks Magazine, Powerplay Magazine, AOR Heaven and Crossfire Metal to name a few. The singles have also received extensive airplay throughout the world and the band is now ready to take the next step into the live arena.
« White Skies is your classic rock / AOR band with riffing guitars and melodic undertones! »
– Mick White
From Then to Now
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. Enlisting the talents of guitarist Luke Hatton and drummer/producer Carsten Enghardt work began on the writing for the album Something’s Got To Give. White and Hatton quickly found they had a natural songwriting partnership and alongside a handful of reworked songs from White’s back catalogue the album was soon written and ready to record.
Due to the world pandemic all the parts were recorded remotely with the vocals, guitars, bass and keyboards recorded in the UK and drums were then added in Germany where it was also mixed and mastered by Enghardt and Ulrich Hilbel.
The album has a mix of styles ranging from eighties classic rock to power metal to AOR but the production and sound is very contemporary. The first single Emergency On Planet Earth came out in October 2021 with an accompanying video shot by James Ross Heron from Carriage Returns Media which has been viewed over thirty thousand times across social media and has also been a huge streaming hit especially in Germany. This was followed by second single Sometime Superman in February 2022 with another striking video from Heron which also introduced bass player Ian Edwards who is now part of the Mick White Band live set up.