historycal music: History Mr.Big

Formation

After bass player Billy Sheehan left David Lee Roth in 1988,he began piecing together a new band with the help of Mike Varney from Shrapnel Records, a label specialized in the shredding genre. He recruited Eric Martin, of the rock-oriented Eric Martin Band and also soul-leaning solo artist, and soon thereafter added guitarist Gilbert and drummer Torpey. Gilbert was already a well-respected guitarist who had released two albums with his Los Angeles-based band Racer X. Torpey came to California from Arizona, and toured with a number of high-profile artists, most notably Robert Plant.

Breakthrough

The newly formed band hired Herbie Herbert, the former manager of Journey, Europe, and Santana, to be their manager. By 1989, they signed with Atlantic Records and released their self-titled debut the same year. The record did not gain the band a mainstream rock audience stateside, but was a success in Japan.In June 1990, the group toured in America opening for Rush.

Mr Big's second album, 1991's Lean Into It, was a major commercial breakthrough, especially two ballads, "To Be with You" (number one song in fifteen countries) and "Just Take My Heart", and "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind". They toured the UK in April and May 1991 and again in 1992, releasing a live album, Mr. Big Live, in 1992. For three nights, they opened for Aerosmith at London's Wembley Arena.

In 1993, another ballad, a cover of Cat Stevens' "Wild World", (from their third album, Bump Ahead) peaked at #27 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band also contributed the soundtrack to the Sega Mega CD release of The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin.

They released Hey Man in 1995. The song "Take Cover" was included on the soundtrack to the cartoon series Mega Man.

Although the band never replicated its earlier success in the US market, their popularity continued to soar in Japan; they also gained a stabler following in newer Southeast Asian markets such as Thailand and South Korea.In Japan and in the rest of Asia, on the other hand, they continued to sell out tours, resulting in a number of live releases for the Japanese market.

Live At Budokan was one of those live release intended for the Japanese market only. By the time that album appeared the group had been put on ice as the individual band members became more engrossed in other projects; the band temporarily broke up in 1997.

Return in 1999

Gilbert left the band in 1997, and eventually reformed Racer X. Richie Kotzen, another Shrapnel artist and former guitarist for Poison, was brought in as a guitar player. Two studio albums were released by this lineup: Get Over It in 2000, and Actual Size in 2001. Get Over It was released on September 1999, in Japan, and yielded "Superfantastic," a multi-platinum number one hit in Japan. Mr Big performed a twenty-date tour of Japan followed by a New Year's Eve 1999 show with Aerosmith at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo. Get Over It' was released in the US in March 2000, followed by a short club stint at "Roxy", California.

In 2001, Mr Big released Actual Size in Asia. The CD sat on the charts in the number three spot and "Shine", the first single, was number one. The song was also used as the ending theme for the animation series Hellsing.

However, tension had developed between Billy Sheehan and the other members, and the band broke up in 2002.

Reunion

On February 1, 2009, a radio announcement for "Koh Sakai’s Burrn Presents: Heavy Metal Syndicate" contained a short message from Mr Big announcing the reunion in Japan to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of their debut album. A press conference in Japan in February generated much excitement,and a tour of the country starting in June was announced, with shows in ten locations (including the Budokan). They held their first reunion concert outside Japan at Tallinn (Rock Cafe), Estonia on September 2009 continuing their tour.

Warner Music Japan released remastered copies of their four studio albums, as well as a greatest hits CD and DVD. There are two new songs on the album, "Next Time Around", and "Hold Your Head Up".