Ever since we heard about the passing of drummer Pat Torpey in the winter of 2018, there has been a question mark in the minds of whether Mr. Big would continue on the music scene. Judging by their occasional statements after the incident, they really wanted to continue, but we didn’t see them doing so. In a recent interview with Sunshine Cantu, Billy Sheehan said that the band intended to play together again, at least to bid a proper farewell to Torpey.
On February 7, 2018, the rock music community was shocked by the news that drummer Pat Torpey had passed away from complications of Parkinson’s disease at the age of 64. His last performance with Mr. Big took place at the Wulfrun Hall in Wolverhampton on November 23, 2017, and to honor his memory, the band organized a memorial show on May 23, 2018. Since then, Mr. Big’s fate has been very uncertain. Let’s give a brief flashback of the events and what the band members told us about the act’s future.
In an interview with Friday NI Rocks in October 2018, lead singer Eric Martin announced that the band was in the process of planning their next, and potentially, final album. He stated that they would disband once they had fulfilled their commitments, as it felt uncomfortable to continue without Pat Torpey. However, plans for a new album never materialized, and the band went into an unofficial hiatus, with each member focusing on their individual projects.
Billy Sheehan spoke to the media again in January 2021 and confirmed that the band was still together, but they didn’t have any plans for the future. In August 2022, Sheehan revealed that the band was ‘strongly considering’ playing shows. However, they didn’t yet.
When asked about the rumors of Mr. Big reuniting to tour and potentially recording new material in 2023 in past November, Eric Martin confirmed that the band would definitely tour. Still, he remained unsure about the recording part. So, as you see, the future of Mr. Big remained a mystery. Judging by what Billy Sheehan revealed in his latest interview, this uncertainty still persists, as nothing is booked yet.
During the conversation, Sheehan, the bassist of Mr. Big, said that the band wanted to play together again, possibly in a farewell tour in honor of their late drummer Pat Torpey. Sheehan also mentioned that they were planning to do something this year, but there is no official announcement yet. He also confirmed that there would be a drummer for the tour. Yet, he hesitates to give the drummer’s name yet because he is dealing with other things and is not ready for it to be released.
Here is what the bassist said about the band’s future:
“Mr. Big, we wanna play together again. Nothing is really booked yet, but we wanna do a proper farewell — especially having lost our drummer Pat, we would like to give him a tribute on a proper farewell and pay honor to him and his incredible drumming and his contributions to Mr. Big and general musical contributions in so many ways. So we will probably do something this year. Nothing to announce yet.”
He added about who would replace Pat Torpey:
“There will be a drummer. A lot of times, in situations like this, the drummer has other things that he’s dealing with, so we can’t necessarily give his name right now until he’s prepared for it to be released. But I guarantee you you’re gonna be very pleased.”
While the future remains uncertain, fans are eager to see what the future holds for Mr. Big. Will they reunite to tour and record new material? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure – fans will be eagerly waiting for a proper goodbye from the band they have loved and cherished for so many years.
