Singer Eric Martin to bow out from Mr. Big when Parkinson’s Disease stricken drummer bows out

Singer Eric Martin to bow out from Mr. Big when Parkinson’s Disease stricken drummer bows out

Mr. Big frontman Eric Martin was recently interviewed by Michelle Livings of Total Rock and spoke about the contributions of long-time drummer Pat Torpey who is suffering from Parkinson’s Disease.

Martin stated (as transcribed by Blabbermouth): “He’s the strongest guy I know. He’s such a strong personality, very smart, great rock n’ roll drummer, and this thing has taken apart his nervous system. Once in a while, he’ll play a few songs with us. Our last tour, he played half the songs, and Matt [Starr] played the other half. On this tour, Matt plays the full drum kit, and then we call it a cocktail kit, but it’s a percussive kit, and he’s to the left of Matt and plays all the percussion and sings all the stuff. Spiritually, he’s our driving force behind the band. Every time he goes, ‘Oh, man, I don’t know if I can do this,’ I don’t know about the rest of the guys, if he bows out, I’m going to bow out with him.”

If Martin is indeed planning on bowing out of Mr. Big when Torpey inevitably has to at one point due to his Parkinson’s Disease which is likely to get worse with time, this may well mean the end of Mr. Big.

Wikipedia states the following about Parkinson’s Disease (with slight edits):

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms generally come on slowly over time. Early in the disease, the most obvious are shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement, and difficulty with walking. Thinking and behavioral problems may also occur. Dementia becomes common in the advanced stages of the disease. Depression and anxiety are also common occurring in more than a third of people with PD. Other symptoms include sensory, sleep, and emotional problems. The main motor symptoms are collectively called “parkinsonism”, or a “parkinsonian syndrome”….

There is no cure for Parkinson’s disease, with treatment directed at improving symptoms.”

Interview by Michelle Livings of Total Rock with Mr. Big frontman Eric Martin:

Michelle Meets Mr Big

Michelle Livings interviews Mr Big singer, Eric Martin and gets the inside track on what 2018 holds for the band, prior to their show on 19/11/2017 at the O2…