Coming to UK shores this spring is the final tour of American hard rock band Mr Big. Called The Big Finish Tour it’s their way of saying goodbye to the fans that have supported them through hiatus, music industry changes and even deaths. They’ll be playing Lean Into It in full so expect to see tracks such as mega ballads Just Take My Heart and the evergreen favourite To Be With You but also Daddy, Brother, Lover Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song), which is a masterclass in virtuoso performance. And there lies the kicker to the popularity of Mr Big, yes they have rock songs like Addicted To That Rush and radio friendly pop songs like Green Tinted Sixties Mind but they’re all played by a band who are incredible musicians.
Formed when bassist Billy Sheehan left David Lee Roth’s band he hooked up with singer Eric Martin, settling on Racer X shredder for a guitarist and session drummer/writer Pat Torpey, from here they recorded their self titled debut, gaining traction and popularity at that odd time after the 80’s heyday but before grunge. Much of this was due to Martin’s AOR suited vocals and the technical precision of Sheehan and Gilbert, winning over the Shrapnel records crowd with Daddy, Brother… a song that famously is played with electric drills! It was Lean Into It that scored them the most kudos with To Be With You reaching number one in fifteen countries. However by 1997 the band was broken up.
In the early 2000’s they replaced Gilbert with Richie Kotzen (who is now in The Winery Dogs with Sheehan and Mike Portnoy), but by 2002 other projects had taken hold. Sheehan played for everyone, but mainly Steve Vai, Gilbert has released more record with Racer X and plenty of solo outings and Eric Martin went solo and was invited to play with Tobias’ Sammet’s Avantasia too.
2008/2009 saw them reform, ‘one off’ reunion concerts turning into three new albums but by 2017’s Defying Gravity Pat Torpey’s Parkinson’s had started to take hold and he sadly passed away in 2018. The band stated they felt uncomfortable continuing without Pat behind the kit, but have now planned this quite extensive farewell tour with Nick D’Virgilio behind the kit, who can emulate Torpey’s drumming but also his vocal contributions. There’s also talk of a new album.
However this will be the final time to see Mr Big on a live stage, they’ll be playing their most commercially successful album in full and from experience they are force to be reckoned with on the live stage, all that makes it a must see, whether it’s at KK’s Steel Mill on this short first run, with Jared James Nichols in support or as part of Steelhouse Festival in July!
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