Winger (band)

1980: Early use of the name Winger The first release under the name Winger was a Denver Rainbow Music Hall live recording of the song "Wizard of the Key" on the KAZY Thunder on the Mountain compilation in 1980. The lineup featured brothers Kip, Nate, and Paul Winger and their friend Peter Fletcher (later a member of L.A.'s Pigmy Love Circus). Members Paul Taylor and Kip Winger met while recording and touring for Alice Cooper. 1987–1994: Main career and breakup The band's 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". Their third studio album, Pull, produced by Mike Shipley, was recorded in 1992/1993 as a three-piece 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 The Mob. 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. 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. 2020–present: Seven and farewell tour Winger continued to tour theaters and clubs across the United States into the 2020s, though were forced to slow down during the year of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with one of their own shows being cancelled in 2021 due to cases of the virus across the band's touring party. According to a 2021 interview with guitarist Reb Beach, Winger's seventh album was in the recording process. On March 10, 2023, they announced a new album, Seven, releasing on May 5, and released a new single from the album, "Proud Desperado". Winger launched their farewell tour in 2025. The tour concluded on August 31, 2025, at the Rainbow Bar and Grill in Los Angeles. Despite completing their farewell tour, Winger have announced several shows for 2026. ==Style and influences==

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." ==Legacy==

Winger has often been described in the context of losing momentum due to grunge. 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 Winger jokes. Judge 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 show's original run on MTV during the 1990s as well both of its revivals in 2011 and 2022. Characterized as a wimp who looked up to Beavis and Butt-head, he wore the t-shirt in an attempt to emulate the duo, whose t-shirts had the logos of AC/DC and Metallica. Kip Winger said in 2014 that he communicated by email to Judge in 2011 to clear the air; Winger had never sued MTV over the parody representation. Winger said about the cartoon, "It certainly didn’t help us, I’ll tell you that. But it was a funny show and Mike’s a funny guy." In 2013, Corey Deiterman of The Houston Press placed Winger at the top of his list of "The 10 Worst Metal Bands of the '80s", in which he told readers: "Don’t, under any circumstances, be this guy." In 2023, Kip Winger said the 1990s backlash against his band spurred him to start composing classical music, for which he received a Grammy nomination in 2016. ==Members==

Current members • Kip Winger – lead vocals, bass, acoustic guitar, keyboards • Reb Beach – lead guitar, backing vocals, harmonica • Rod Morgenstein – drums, percussion, backing vocals, piano • Paul Taylor – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals • John Roth – guitar, backing vocals, bass, keyboards Former members • Cenk Eroğlu – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals Touring substitutes • Donnie Wayne Smith – guitar, backing vocals, bass • Howie Simon – guitar, backing vocals ; Timeline ==Discography==

;Studio albums • Winger (1988) • In the Heart of the Young (1990) • Pull (1993) • IV (2006) • Karma (2009) • ''Better Days Comin''' (2014) • Seven (2023) ==Notes==