Eric Martin was seen on his last Japan tour with MR! Fans cried at his “divine response” in a Sun Wukong T-shirt!
Eric Martin, 62, vocalist of the world-famous rock band “MR. BIG,” was spotted at Tokyo Station around 3:00 p.m. in mid-July.
Formed in ’88, the band released “To Be With You” in ’91, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts. The band broke up in ’01, but they have been very popular especially in Japan, and have performed many concerts in Japan. The band broke up in 2001, but reunited in 2009. However, drummer Pat Tobey suffered from Parkinson’s disease and passed away in 2006.
Since then, their activities have been stagnant, but this year, a reissue of their debut album “Mr. Big” was released and a Japan tour was scheduled at the same time. However, as the title of “The BIG Finish FAREWELL TOUR” indicates, this will be the band’s last tour” (music magazine editor).
MR. BIG was in the midst of its final Japan tour after 35 years of activity, and on this day, the band had just finished performances in Nagoya and Osaka and had just arrived in Tokyo for the Tokyo show that would begin on the 25th. The members had already boarded the car that picked them up, but Martin took the trouble to lean over and sign autographs at the request of a fan. The fans were so moved by this “divine response” that they were moved to tears. Martin, who is not a fan of Japanese anime, was wearing a T-shirt with Son Goku from “Dragon Ball.
Eric has always spoken of his respect for Japan, saying, “Japan has supported the band since our debut. During his solo career in 2004, he participated in the solo project of Takahiro Matsumoto of B’z.’ In 2011, in the mood of self-restraint immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake, he said, “You want to go see your friends, don’t you? I want to see them and encourage them even more at this difficult time,” he decided to come to Japan for a concert.
In ’15, he did a street interview at Narita Airport for the popular TV program “What are you doing in Japan? (TV Tokyo) at Narita Airport in 2003. He has a strong desire to please his Japanese fans, and he has a great spirit of service.
Tickets for all four concerts were sold out. On the 23rd, singer-songwriter Yuri (29) updated her SNS and uploaded a two-shot of her and Eric,
MR. BIG. I adored them to death, and I got to meet them.
BIG, whom many Japanese artists admire to death. MR. BIG has influenced many Japanese artists, and it is a shame that we will not be able to see them again in Japan after their Tokyo concert on the 26th, but for now, we just want to say thank you.