’90s Rock Band’s Farewell Tour Begins

Classic ’90s rock band Mr. Big has officially kicked off their farewell tour. The band started The Big Finish world tour in China on July 16. It was Mr. Big’s first performance since 2018, according to Ultimate Classic Rock. It was also the band’s first concert without founding drummer Pat Torpey, who died of complications related to Parkinson’s disease the same year. The band began pondering the prospect of a final world tour after Torpey’s death. Nick D’Virgilio, who has played with legends such as Genesis and Tears for Fears, is now handling drumming duties.

Earlier this year, Mr. Big singer Eric Martin confirmed that he and the band’s two other original members, guitarist Paul Gilbert and bassist Billy Sheehan, were planning a final tour. “I hope the people who come see our shows get to feel what it’s like when musicians get together and really play and sing the songs they wrote,” Sheehan said in a press release, per UCR. “We want the audience to be one with us and feel our evening together was a magical and beautiful event.”

“I love playing with these guys. And if I’m being honest, I don’t want it to ever end,” Martin added. “I’m the guy who just knows we still have that special spark together, and I always want to keep the torch burning. But if it really is the end, then I want us all to have a happy ending together. We’re a great live band. I want everybody to come out and see us, because we want to blow you away and have you all think as you’re leaving, ‘Mr. Big really is the real thing.’”

Sheehan, Gilbert, Torpey, and Martin formed Mr. Big in Los Angeles in the late ’80s. They released their debut self-titled album in 1989, but it was their sophomore album, Lean Into It, that propelled them to stardom. That record featured the band’s biggest hit, “To Be With You,” a catchy ballad that shot to the number spot of many charts and earned the band platinum status. 

Mr. Big went on to record seven more studio albums, with their last being 2017’s Defying Gravity. The band had also released a number of live albums, some of which include cover songs from artists such as Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens and The Who. Mr. Big has indicated they will soon announce more concert dates for their final world.