Mr. Big ended his Big Finish farewell tour at the Way Too Far Rock Festival in Romania on Friday, leaving the band members in a grateful and thoughtful mood.
“Romania!!! The audience was a bit sparse, but this was made up for by enthusiasm! The last Mr. Big Show (not My last show, damn it!!),” bassist Billy Sheehan wrote on Instagram. “What an amazing time we’ve had since 1988. We’ve made great memories and millions (literally) of friends around the world. My boundless love and respect to everyone who listened, watched, bought records, tickets and t-shirts. We would have been nothing without you. Fact. We’re moving on to other adventures now, but we’ll never forget this incredible experience.”
Guitarist Paul Gilbert added: “What an adventure! Mr. Big finishes over a year of touring! Thank you all! I’ll be home just in time for my son’s 10th birthday. I hope he remembers who I am! And a special thanks to Ibanez Guitars for getting me beautiful instruments after my touring guitars were stolen.”
Drummer Nick D’Virgilio, who joined the band in 2023, also expressed his gratitude for the experience. “I got to rock ‘n’ roll with the guys all over the world and I will be forever grateful,” he wrote. “Big love to Mr. Big!”
READ MORE: Paul Gilbert says “To Be With You” gave Mr. Big two weeks of fame
Mr. Big says goodbye to more than three decades of rock
It’s been a long and eventful road for Mr. Big, who formed in Los Angeles in 1988 and initially consisted of Gilbert, Sheehan, singer Eric Martin (who is still in the band) and the late drummer Pat Torpey. The band’s 1989 self-titled debut was a modest success, reaching number 46 on the Billboard 200. But their biggest success came with their second album, 1991’s Lean inwhich sold over a million copies in the US and spawned the chart-topping ballad “To Be With You” and the top 20 hit “Just Take My Heart”.
Mr. Big’s popularity declined as grunge overtook hard rock and glam metal, but they continued to release albums throughout the ’90s and early 2000s before disbanding in 2002. They reunited in 2009 and embarked on a reunion tour of Japan. Several albums and tours followed, but the band went on hiatus after Torpey died from complications of Parkinson’s disease in 2018.
Watch Mr. Big’s final show with “Just Take My Heart”
They confirmed in 2023 that they would launch another reunion tour. Mr. Big released their 10th studio album, aptly titled Tenin July. A live album from their farewell tour entitled The grand finale livewill arrive on September 6th.
Martin recently told Brazilian radio station Kiss FM (via Blabbermouth) that the Big Finish will be the final end of Mr. Big’s touring activities. “When we say ‘the Big Finish,’ it’s not like we’re giving Motley Crue more power or when Kiss would have continued. We really stand by our word,” he said. “That’s it. We’re not touring anymore. That’s it. We’re putting out a new record. We’re not even going to tour with it. We’re going to play some songs from it over the course of the tour. I mean, it’s going to end in August. And we’re putting out a live album. But that’s it. That’s it.”
25 artists who haven’t toured in the last 10 years
More and more of rock’s biggest stars have said goodbye to touring.
Gallery credit: Matthew Wilkening
