The rock revival of Mick – the singer from Penkridge who hopes his debut album hits the mark

Now former heavy metal band member Samson is preparing to release his debut solo album, Something’s Got To Give.

The first single, Emergency on Planet Earth, has already reached the Spotify streaming platform and has been released around the world on a regular basis since its release.

Classic rock singer Mick, who lives in Penkridge, says it’s written from the perspective of a father who wants the world to be a better place for his child in the future.

“It’s something very close to my heart. I wrote it from the perspective of a father looking at the world and how hopeless it all seems. It is a statement about what is happening with climate change and how we have to wake up because we are running out of time. A lot of people said it was a rallying cry about what’s going on in the world.

“It’s an exciting time – the single has performed really well so far, especially in Europe. We’ve had over 7,000 streams on Spotify. The single has been played on radio stations over 400 times around the world since its release and we’ve had 15-16,000 views of the video, ”he adds.

The video, which includes scenes shot in Penkridge, was directed and produced by James Ross Heron and features Mick’s son Jake.

“James is an absolute genius. We did a lot with green screens, which I had never done before, so it was a lot of fun. We toured a lot around Penkridge, along the canal and in the center of the village. We have my son Jake, who looks a lot like me as a kid, playing a younger version of myself in the video. He did a fantastic job. We’re really happy with the video and it got an incredible response from viewers, ”says Mick.

The musician was just a teenager when he supported Iron Maiden on their massive trek to the UK for the Somewhere In Time tour while he was in Samson.

After leaving the group, he formed First Strike and continued to write, record and tour across the UK, notably with Uriah Heep, Giant and Dare.

The future looked bright with interest from a major record company and an impending management deal with a major American company until the grunge movement occurred and virtually changed the musical landscape overnight.

After the split from First Strike, Mick discovered that his talents were in high demand in the studio and he spent the next five years working in session at various studios in London. Towards the end of the 90s, White began to write again and was offered a contract with the American record company Domo records. It became the group Seven Days which then released two singles recorded in London and mixed by Kip Winger in his studio in Sante Fe.

At the start of the new millennium, Mick decided his musical career was over. “Grunge came in and killed the style of music that I loved. Rock music was going in a different direction. I thought I had had my time and moved on, ”he says.

But it looked like the industry had other plans for Mick. In 2019, he was approached by Steelheart Records to finally organize the release of the First Strike album. Just Another Night was greeted enthusiastically by rock radio and fans in October with three sold-out CD presses and a digital release in early 2020 equally well received.

Later, Mick was the guest of a track called Better Be Strong written by German songwriter Marty Punch. Drummer Carsten Enghardt also performed on the song and, upon hearing the vocals, immediately knew he was the man his band Endfield was looking for. Phone calls were made and after agreeing to join the band, Mick added lyrics and melodies to the tracks over the next few months.

As the global pandemic struck, Mick found time to start working on a number of projects, including a collaboration with former Ya Ya guitarist Ray Callcut and former Dante Fox keyboardist Pete Lakin called White Skies.

And he’s also started work on the solo album Something’s Got To Give, due out early next year, drawing on the talents of guitarist Luke Hatton and his Endfield mate Carsten.

Mick says he couldn’t be happier with his return to the music industry and relishes the chance to go on tour next year.

“The music industry is what it is, if you get there you are very lucky. You just have to manage your expectations. To be back to make records and have another chance is an incredible gift. ”

Something’s Got to Give will be released on April 15, 2022 via Edel Records. See facebook.com/mickwhitevocalist