In a recent Heavy Interviews episode, Billy Sheehan reflected on Mr. Big’s farewell tour. He pointed out how many bands that claim to have a final tour end up reuniting later, which he sees as a ‘lack of integrity.’
“We had a great run, and our whole philosophy of this farewell tour was, I’d rather run across the finish line than be wheeled across,” he said. “And no offense to any band, because every band should be working as long as they want under any conditions they care to. But I do see a lot of bands out there that it’s not up to speed of what I know they did or could have done.”
He added: “I’m still their fan, and I still love them, and I’ll still go to the show, and so will thousands of other people. But, for me, we wanted to end on a high point. Get across the finish line, as I said, running instead of crawling. And also, I think there has to be some integrity to it, too. I know some bands do a farewell tour every two years, but this is really a farewell.”
Mr. Big announced their farewell last year. The rockers decided to say goodbye to their fans in a special way: by releasing not one but two albums.
First up is their tenth studio album, ‘Ten,’ which dropped on July 12. Their final live album, ‘The BIG Finish Live,’ will be released on September 6 via Evolution Music Group.
‘The BIG Finish Live’ is a new live album and concert film from their farewell tour, where they performed their million-selling album ‘Lean Into It’ in full, along with other classics. Filmed in 4K at the Budokan in Tokyo on July 26, 2023, the performance will be available in several high-quality formats.
‘The BIG Finish’ began on July 20, 2023, in Nagoya, Japan, and took them across Southeast Asia. The remaining tour dates started on July 13 in Bulgaria and will continue through August 23 in Romania.