Winger disbanded in 1994. In 2001 they reunited and have since conducted several successful tours. In 2006, the band's 1993 touring line-up (minus Paul Taylor but including John Roth) reunited to record the band's first studio album in over 13 years, IV, and toured in support of the album into 2008.
In 2009, the band released their fifth album, Karma. As of 2013, Winger was performing on mini-tours, festivals and private events. Their most recent album, Better Days Comin', came out in 2014.
History:
Main career and break-up (1987–1994).
The debut album, Winger, was released on August 10, 1988 on Atlantic Records. The record was a success, achieving platinum status in the United States, and gold status in Japan and Canada. On February 11, 1989, the album peaked at number 21 on the Billboard 200, and was in various places on the chart for 63 weeks. Radio and MTV hits from the album included "Madalaine", "Seventeen", "Headed for a Heartbreak" and "Hungry". In 1990, the band was nominated for an American Music Award for "Best New Heavy Metal Band".
Shortly after that tour, Winger released its second album In the Heart of the Young, which went 1-and-1/2 platinum in the U.S. and gold in Japan. Hit radio tracks and MTV videos included "Can't Get Enuff", "Miles Away" and "Easy Come Easy Go".
Winger followed the release of its second album with a 13-month world tour, playing over 230 dates with Kiss, Scorpions, ZZ Top, Extreme and Slaughter. Paul Taylor left the band after the tour, citing exhaustion after years of touring. Their third studio album, Pull, produced by Mike Shipley, was recorded in 1992/1993 as a three-piece band. It was originally to be called Blind Revolution Mad, after the opening song. Reportedly, Kip Winger, anticipating that critics would dismiss the album out of hand, renamed it Pull as a tongue-in-cheek reference to the CD being used by critics as a skeet-shooting target. The album was not as successful as the previous albums sales wise, but gained solid reviews. On the following tour, John Roth was called in to replace Paul Taylor on rhythm guitar. The album coincided with the rise of grunge, which swept aside the brand of melodic pop metal that Winger represented.
In the 1990s, Winger was subject to mockery from MTV's animated series Beavis and Butt-head. Series creator Mike Judge later revealed that he had been incorrectly informed that Kip Winger had asked the network not to make jokes about the band on the series, which led to further jokes about the band, but later learned from Winger himself that he had never made any such stipulation. “Stewart”, an early character from the TV show, wore a Winger t-shirt during the shows original run on MTV during the early 90s.
After disbanding in 1994, bassist/lead vocalist Kip Winger went on to a solo career, guitarist Reb Beach went on to touring projects with artists Dokken, Alice Cooper and has held a permanent guitar spot in Whitesnake since 2002. The band's other members pursued or resumed careers as session musicians.
Reunions (2001–present)
In 2001, it was announced that all original members of the band would return to the studio to record the song "On the Inside" for The Very Best of Winger. In 2002, all five members embarked on a reunion tour of the U.S. and Canada on a bill with Poison. According to Kip Winger, in a 2008 interview with rock and roll comic C.C. Banana, it was important to include all five members because "it was the big, long-awaited reunion so I wanted to include everybody who had ever been in the band." In 2003, it was confirmed that activity had been halted due to Reb Beach's touring commitment with Whitesnake as well as his solo album "Masquerade" and involvement with "super-group" project The Mob with King's X frontman Doug Pinnick and Night Ranger drummer Kelly Keagy.
On July 16, 2005, it was announced that Kip Winger would perform as the lead singer for the Alan Parsons Live Project at the Common Ground Music Festival in Lansing, Michigan. In May 2006, it was confirmed that Winger had reformed without one of its original members Paul Taylor, to record another album and tour Europe. The album, IV, was released in Europe in October and the nine-country "Winger IV Tour" ran in the last two weeks of the same month.
On February 25, 2008, the band performed in Providence, Rhode Island, as part of a benefit for survivors of the Station nightclub fire. The concert, along with other artists was debuted on VH1 Classic on March 23, 2008. In late 2009, it was confirmed that Winger would record a fifth album Karma, with a tour to support it. Most recently, John Roth became the guitarist for Giant and would appear on their forthcoming album Promise Land then set for release in February/March of 2010.
Winger released their sixth studio album titled, Better Days Comin' in April 2014, after teasers were published on Kip Winger's website and on the official Winger Facebook page as well.
As of late 2018, Winger was playing club dates. They were scheduled on Dec 29, 2018 in Westland, Michigan.
Style and influences.
The band's musical style combines elements of glam metal and progressive metal. Kip Winger, in description of the band's musical ability and style, said, "Our band was known to musicians, and a lot of musicians showed up to see me play — watching, trying to figure out how I'm playing. We were like the 'hair band' (version of) Dream Theater."
Hangin On
Winger Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The howling down inside is crying out for your touch
The last time to walk away, last time if you think of saving yourself
Don't say all my love was in vain, don't say I'm the stranger again
It's just not fair that I can't see you anymore
I still want you, I still need you, I can't let go
I can't keep from hangin' on, hangin' on
I know yesterday is over, but in here the flame is burning on
Burning a hole in my heart, where I still believe, I'm still hoping
You closed the door, again and again
I still want you, I still need you, I can't let go
I can't keep from hangin' on, I can't stop, no I'm not that strong
I can't keep from hangin' on, hangin' on
Oh no, I can't let go
I can't keep from hangin' on, I can't stop, no I'm not that strong
I can't keep from hangin' on, hangin' on
I can't keep from hangin' on, I can't stop, no I'm not that strong
I can't keep from hangin' on, hangin' on
I can't let go
You keep me hangin' on
You keep me hangin' on
The song "Hangin" by Winger is about a man who is completely captivated by his love for someone and cannot let go, even though they have decided to walk away. The lyrics express his loneliness and pain as he struggles to come to terms with the end of their relationship. Despite his rational understanding that the past is over and that his love is in vain, he is unable to let go of his feelings, and they continue to consume him. He longs for intimacy with his love and can still feel the flames of his passion burning in his heart, even though the door has been closed repeatedly.
The song opens with the singer telling his love to "try to understand" just how much he thinks about her. He expresses his longing for her touch, as he is unable to ignore the howling inside of him. The bridge of the song highlights his fears of losing her, as he is unwilling to let go and doesn't have the strength to do so. He acknowledges that yesterday is over, but his love for her is still burning inside of him, and he hopes to rekindle that love. The chorus is an echo of his inability to let go of his love and still desires to cling onto to her.
The message portrayed by Winger in "Hangin'" conveys the struggles of letting go of love once it has ended, even when there is a rational understanding that it's time to move on. The song also highlights the idea of how challenging it is to lose something that was once so close to our hearts, and the desperation that follows when we try to hold on to an already dying flame.
Line by Line Meaning
My love, try to understand me, I can't stop thinking about you
I love you deeply and cannot stop thinking about you, no matter how hard I try.
The howling down inside is crying out for your touch
The intense pain I feel inside is yearning for your physical touch to ease it.
The last time to walk away, last time if you think of saving yourself
If you need to leave for your own well-being, this is the last chance to do so.
Don't say all my love was in vain, don't say I'm the stranger again
Please don't tell me that all my love for you was meaningless and that I'm once again a stranger to you.
It's just not fair that I can't see you anymore
I feel it is very unfair that I can no longer see you.
I still want you, I still need you, I can't let go
Despite everything, I still love and need you and cannot let you go.
I can't keep from hangin' on, I can't stop, no I'm not that strong
I am unable to stop holding on to you and I'm not strong enough to do so.
I know yesterday is over, but in here the flame is burning on
I understand that the past is behind us, but the flame of my love for you still burns inside me.
Burning a hole in my heart, where I still believe, I'm still hoping
The intensity of my love is causing a deep pain in my heart, but I still believe and hope for us.
You closed the door, again and again
You have repeatedly closed the door on our relationship.
Oh no, I can't let go
I cannot bring myself to let you go.
You keep me hangin' on
Despite everything, you continue to keep me hanging on.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: B. HILL, K. WINGER, R. BEACH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind