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Friday, September 30, 2022

"Little Fighter" by White Lion

Song#:  3941
Date:  06/24/1989
Debut:  94
Peak:  52
Weeks:  14
Genre:  Hard Rock, Glam Rock


Pop Bits:  White Lion hit it big with their second album, 1987's Pride. It would be a #11 double-platinum seller thanks to a pair of Pop Top 10s including the #3 power ballad "When the Children Cry." They would return in '89 with their follow up LP Big Game. This first single was issued out and it would do well at Rock getting to #12. At Pop it stopped just shy of the halfway mark, which was a bit of a disappointment following the success of the singles from Pride. Still, the album made it to #19 and quickly went gold.

ReduxReview:  I liked the sentiment behind the song (see below) and that the band didn't necessarily tell a story. The lyrics certainly reflected their inspiration, but were vague enough where someone could interpret them in their own way. That little fighter could be something or someone different for everyone. The song itself was nicely done, but it didn't quite fully bloom into a memorable arena rock anthem. It needed to be a bit stronger to break through in a bigger way and stand up against the other hair metal hits of the day.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  White Lion was a bit different from the run o' tha mill hair metal band in that some of there songs touched on social or political issues. "Little Fighter" could be consider among those. The lyrics were based on the bombing of the Greenpeace boat The Rainbow Warrior. That boat was originally a UK trawler called Sir William Hardy that was launched in 1955. After 22 years of service, the boat was sold to Greenpeace, an international organization that focuses on environmental issues. In 1978, the boat was rechristened The Rainbow Warrior and it would be used for research along with campaigns on various issues. In 1985, it seems the boat's lead participation in a protest over nuclear testing near French Polynesia didn't set well with some folks. On July 10, 1985, while the ship was docked at the Port of Auckland in New Zealand, two explosive devices were attached to the boat's hull. First device was detonated just before midnight and was most likely meant to scare the crew off the boat. Most left, but a few remained onboard to figure out what was going on. A member of the crew who was a photographer happened to go below deck thinking he could save his film equipment. At that time, the second explosive went off. The crew up top either evacuated or were thrown in the water from the blast. However, the explosion crippled the boat and it quickly sank along with the one crew member. After the dust was settled, it was discovered that the bombing was done by the French foreign intelligence services. It was a major scandal for France because the event was state sponsored. Arrests and court proceedings would follow. In the end, France would pay Greenpeace $8.1 million (US dollars) and would also dole out money to the family of the crew member who was killed. Greenpeace would later have two more boats named The Rainbow Warrior.

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