It all started when Mandy, who was still living in the “OLD WORLD”, decided at
the age of 11 to use music as a way to express his feelings and already strong
opinions of the world. With his unusual look, powerful vocals an song writing
ability beyond his age, he was ready to rock Europe. By the age of 13, he had
already become a seasoned lead singer and songwriter with several well known
line-ups. But when band members tried to alter his look and sound to fit the current
trends Mandy decided to start his own project in order to express his vision fully.
The result was a band that shocked the public with its raw intensity, sound and
blatant sexuality. After several years of constant touring, Mandy decided to take
his music to the next level. This required a move from Europe to Los Angeles,
California. He arrived in mid 1986, only to find that bubble gum rock was all the
rage. Regardless of any current trends Mandy took his band “WWIII” to the
streets of LA and rocked a glam dominated scene with the intensity of a German
built panzer.

Within months he went from being a complete musical oddity, to sold out venues
and even breaking Van Halen’s long standing attendance record at the world
famous Gazzaris. It was then that other musicians (like Marilyn Manson, Rob
Zombie, Korn, Static X, etc) started incorporating and often downright imitating
Mandy’s look and vocal style.

Due to the completely sold out shows and street buzz about Mandy Lion,
legendary managing team of Don and David Arden (Black Sabbath, Ozzy
Osbourne, E.L.O, Air Supply, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc) saw Mandy at
one of his shows and signed him to a management contract on the spot. Within
weeks, Mandy Lion was signed to Hollywood Records and auditioning celebrity
players to create a line up, which was to become one of metals all time best.

The first lineup of WWIII consisted of Jimmy Bain (Rainbow, Dio); Vinnie
Appice (Black Sabbath, Dio); and Joe Floyd (Warrior). Joe Floyd was not able to
keep up with the fast pace Don and David Arden set for the band Mandy decided
to give a nameless and at that time down and out guitarist Tracy G a shot. Mandy
Lion’s WWIII produced several videos and toured extensively headlining and
opening for bands such as Iron maiden, Anthrax and so on. Drummer Vinnie
Appice would eventually be replaced by super drummers James Kottack
(Scorpions, Kingdom Come) and Mikkey Dee (King Diamond, Motorhead).