Mr Big were a British pop rock band, active in the 1970s and 1990s. They were formed by Jeff Pain (aka Dicken) and best known for their 1977 Top 5 hit, "Romeo".[1] The band was originally active from 1972–1978 and then for a second period from 1990-1998.
The members of Mr Big had been playing together since the late 1960s, under the name "Burnt Oak". They first played under the name, "Mr Big", in 1972, at the Marquee Club in Oxford Street, London, when the manager billed them as Mr Big instead of Burnt Oak. The manager refused to change it, so it stuck for the rest of the band's career.
In 1974, the band signed to Epic Records, releasing three singles, none of which made a significant breakthrough, but which did lead to appearances on Lift Off, a TV pop show presented by Ayesha Brough, and Softly, Softly: Taskforce, a police drama in which actor/singer Paul Nicholas played the lead singer.
In 1975, Bob Hirschman, then manager of Mott the Hoople, took over as the band's manager. Their first album, Sweet Silence, was released on EMI, to greater acclaim than their previous singles. Promotional TV appearances for this album included Supersonic with Mike Mansfield and Superpop. In November 1975, Mr Big supported Queen on their A Night at the Opera tour.
In 1976, Mr Big embarked on their own UK headline tour and supported Sweet on their tour of Europe, performing on TV in Denmark, Holland and the UK. Mr Big were also the first British band to be signed to Clive Davis's Arista Records in America. They recorded their second album, Mr Big, in Los Angeles, California, with Val Garay.
In 1977, the band toured the United States in February, March and April with Tom Petty, Journey, Kansas and The Runaways. Meanwhile, the single, "Romeo", reached No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart,[1] despite a temporary ban by the BBC. It also sold well in Japan, Australasia, the U.S. and parts of Europe, and has since been covered by a band in South Africa. The follow-up single "Feel Like Calling Home" failed to capitalise on the success of the previous one, and only reached No. 35 in UK.[1] The band embarked on a UK headline tour with more television appearances in the UK and Europe.
In 1978, the third album Seppuku was recorded with Ian Hunter as producer and the band again toured the UK. They appeared on Top Of The Pops with "Senora", and split up soon afterwards.
Dicken and bassist Pete Crowther went on to form another band named Broken Home, which released two albums and played the Reading Festival in 1980, also scoring a couple of minor hits in Norway and Germany. Dicken has since collaborated with a variety of different artists under various names, as well as releasing solo material and performing "Mr Big greatest hits" tours. The current Mr Big consists of originals Dicken and Eddie Carter with new members on bass, keyboards and percussion. Their last album, Rainbow Bridge, was released in 1996....
PRESS RELEASE
Mr Big “Romeo” stars return with “Georgia” on their mind
On the 12th Sept Mr Big release their wonderful single “Georgia”, from the album “Bitter Streets” which was released on 27 June through Soundfactor Records, distributed by Nova. Formed under another name in the late 60s by Dicken and Pete Crowther the first Mr Big live show came in 1972. The band hit the big time in 1977 when their classic single “Romeo” reached number 4 in the charts earning a slot on TOTP. The single remained in the charts for ten weeks – and made them briefly a household name: see it at HYPERLINK "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cndHeQdCptQ" www.youtube.com/watch?v=cndHeQdCptQ.
“Bitter Streets” is a confident statement from an outfit once again hitting their stride. Fitting neatly into the plangent melodic style exemplified by “Romeo”, the new single “Georgia” is a feel-good slice of Late Summer Pop with its eyes on the horizon rather than in the past. This new track is an instant sing-along favourite steeped in harmonies and sounds like the Bee Gees would if they were up to their knees in the warm Pacific watching the sunset.
Mr Big initially enjoyed a great start to their career. Managed by Bob Hirschman who also looked after Mott The Hoople, the band were initially signed to Epic for three singles before moving to EMI. In November 1975 the band supported Queen on their ‘A Night At The Opera’ tour. Things were building nicely. It was EMI who released “Romeo”, as well as the “Sweet Silence” album and its follow up “Mr Big”. The band were also signed to Arista in the US by the near-legendary Clive Davis; the first UK band that he took on. Though the band headlined their own tours and also hit the road with the likes of Sweet, Tom Petty, Journey, Kansas and The Runaways, the momentum was fading. A third album was recorded, produced by Mott’s Ian Hunter, in 1978 but the band broke up soon after.
Despite this, the Mr Big story never truly ended and the band were intermittently active. 1996 saw the release of “Rainbow Bridge” album but it seems that perhaps 2011 will once again see Dicken and Eddie Carter back in the limelight. “Georgia” and, indeed, “Bitter Streets” prove that the creative fires still burn bright.