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"And who's the one, who claimed my liberty robbed my soul of freedom?
And how long, must I put up with the unholy sound of your gun?
Tell me brother..."
"Who's the One?"

Winger is an American rock band that combines elements of Glam Metal and Progressive Metal. While chiefly known amongst the general public for being mocked on Beavis and Butt-Head in the form of a "wussy" Butt-Monkey character, the band have had a solid career (aside from an enforced break caused by the initial rise of Grunge) since 1987.

Winger have released six albums.

  • Winger (1988)
  • In the Heart of the Young (1990)
  • Pull (1993)
  • IV (2006)
  • Karma (2009)
  • Better Days Comin (2014)

Tropes associated with the band:

  • Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better: Kip commented during their spat with Metallica that they "couldn't play what we play, they couldn't do it, they literally — technically — couldn't do it. And I'll challenge those chumps to that any day of the week, but we could play their music with our hands tied behind our back. And so, I was a little teed off about that, but in the end, none of that shit matters..."
  • Darker and Edgier: The Pull album was a significant departure sonically and lyrically from their first two albums with socially conscious songs such as "Who's the One" dominating.
  • Deal with the Devil: "Deal With the Devil", with a bit of Heavy Meta thrown in.
  • Genre Roulette: A very unconventional mix of Glam Metal and Progressive Metal, later changed to more traditional Metal mixed with Progressive.
  • Egocentric Team Naming: Named after the lead singer/bassist and principal songwriter Kip Winger. According to one interview this wasn't meant to be the case; they were originally going to be called Sahara (the word is semi-hidden in the artwork for their first album), but shortly before the album's debut they learned that another band had dibs on the name. Forced to come up with a new name at the last minute, they blurted out "Call us Winger" and that, as they say, was the way it is.
  • Intercourse with You: The first two albums had quite a lot of this.
  • Long-Haired Pretty Boy / Mr. Fanservice: Kip certainly qualifies as this.
  • Perma-Stubble: Kip, during their heyday, somewhat unusual for a Glam Metal singer.
  • Real Men Wear Pink: Kip, a life-long ballet dancer.
  • Rock Me, Amadeus!: Kip Winger's never been shy about his classical influences. After the end of Winger, he embraced it and has produced a fair amount of actual classical music.
  • Take That!: On the receiving end from Beavis and Butt-Head in the form of the nerdy character Stewart (who wore a Winger T-Shirt), and Metallica whose drummer Lars Ulrich was briefly shown putting darts on a picture of Winger's frontman, Kip in their "Nothing Else Matters" video.
    • Kip himself is pretty guilty of returning the favor, many times criticizing the musicianship of Metallica, when compared to that of his band.
  • Uncommon Time: Used liberally, even on the band's more pop-oriented tracks.
  • Title-Only Chorus: "Headed For A Heartbreak" from Winger (1989).

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