BILLY SHEEHAN: How MR. BIG Weathered Rise Of Grunge In 1990s

In a new interview with Nashville On The Rocks, MR. BIG bassist Billy Sheehan spoke about how the rise of grunge in the early 1990s forced most hard rock bands off the radio and MTV, with album and tour sales plummeting. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We noticed it right away. We went soft in America right away. We didn't have the kind of tours or anything like that. But one thing about the whole grunge movement that people failed to understand is that it was an American thing. So in Japan, they're going, 'Why is everybody dressing up in old clothes and looking sad? We want MR. BIG.' So we actually outsold PEARL JAM 40 to one, was our actual statistic. And this was after 'To Be With You' [MR. BIG's hit 1991 ballad, which reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and topped the charts in 11 other countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, and New Zealand in late 1991 and early 1992], our following records. And I love PEARL JAM, and they're just a great, great band. And I don't say that as any disregard to them. It's just that they didn't get the whole grunge thing [in Japan]. And throughout the rest of Southeast Asia — Indonesia, Thailand, Korea, Philippines, Taiwan. Malaysia, Singapore, all these places we played — so we were still a hot item. We'd have kids in the lobby at the hotel and going crazy. And Europe too, but not quite as much. But still at one point there was five MR. BIG copy bands in Italy; they would go out and just play MR. BIG songs. So we had a great run. You may not know it if you only stayed in America and saw suddenly bands like us disappear from MTV and another bunch come in. But we did really, really well during all of that. And it was because we had great management to develop foreign markets for us. So we could go to Indonesia and just go have an amazing run. We played in some cities in Indonesia no western band ever played."

MR. BIG played the final show of its "The BIG Finale!" tour on February 25 at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. Earlier that same month, the band played three other shows: on February 14 at the Bloomverse Festival in Meghālaya, India, on February 16 at the Bloomverse Express in Bengaluru, India, and on February 22 at the Osaka Music Hall in Osaka, Japan.

MR. BIG played the last show of its "The BIG Finish" farewell tour on August 23, 2024 at the Way Too Far Rock Festival in Bistrița, Romania. After the concert, Sheehan took to his social media to share a picture from the gig and he included the following message: "Romania!!! Crowd was a little bit light, but they made up for it in enthusiasm! The last MR. BIG show (not MY last show, goddammit!!).

"What a great run we've had since 1988. We made Great memories and millions (literally) of friends all around the world. My unlimited love and respect to all who listened, watched, purchased records, tickets and T -shirts. — without you we would have been nothing. Fact. Moving on now to other adventures, but never forgetting this amazing experience."

MR. BIG's tenth studio album, "Ten", was released on July 12, 2024 via Frontiers Music Srl. The LP featured 11 new original tracks written by singer Eric Martin and guitarist Paul Gilbert, along with André Pessis and Tony Fanucchi. "Ten" was produced by Jay Ruston and MR. BIG.

When MR. BIG announced "The BIG Finish" tour in 2023, the bandmembers said that it was "time to mark the end of this chapter of their legacy" after drummer Pat Torpey lost his battle with Parkinson's disease in 2018. The first leg kicked off in Japan and Southeast Asia in July and August 2023, where the band performed for hundreds of thousands of loyal fans at 11 sold-out shows including Budokan in Tokyo, Japan.

MR. BIG's last-ever live album release was "The BIG Finish Live", which came out on September 6, 2024 via the Evolution Music Group.

"The BIG Finish Live" was a brand-new live album and concert film of MR. BIG's "The BIG Finish" farewell tour, where the band played their million-selling "Lean Into It" album in its entirety, plus additional MR. BIG classics.