Mr. Big -

Mr. Big was an English hard-rock band from Oxford that made the 1975–77 EMI albums Sweet Silence and Mr. Big and scored a UK Top 5 hit with “Romeo.” Ian Hunter produced their intended 1978 third album, Seppuku, which went unreleased until the 21st century. (Not to be confused with the Nineties American band of “To Be With You” fame.)

Members: Dicken (lead vocals, guitar), Pete Crowther (bass), John Burnip (drums), Vince Chaulk (drums), Edward Carter (vocals, guitar), John Marter (drums)

Background

Mr. Big originated as Burnt Oak, an unsigned band on the late-sixties London club circuit. In 1972, the Marquee billed them incorrectly as Mr. Big and refused to rectify matters. They decided to keep the name: a slang term for high-ranking mobsters (in particular, American prohibition-era racketeer and gambling kingpin Arnold Rothstein. “Mr. Big” is also the title of a song by Free on their 1970 third album Fire and Water.)

Guitarist and songwriter Jeff Pain (aka “Dicken”) led Mr. Big, which featured bassist Pete Crowther and two drummers: John Burnip and Vince Chaulk.

First Three Singles

In 1974, Mr. Big secured a deal with Epic Records, which earmarked “Genevieve” for an intended June release as the band’s first single (cat. S EPC 2464). However, Dicken cancelled its release and salvaged its b-side (“I Ain’t Been a Man”) for “Eee I’m All Right,” which became their debut single. Mr. Big made their UK television debut on the Granada TV variety program Lift Off With Ayshea, hosted by Ayshea Brough. Their second single, “Christmas With Dicken,” appeared in mid-November.

A. “Eee I’m All Right” (2:42)
B. “I Ain’t Been a Man” (3:45)

A. “Christmas With Dicken” (2:54)
B. “Time For a Laugh” (2:53)

On March 7, 1975, Mr. Big released “Lucky Man” (b/w “Josephine”), their third and final Epic single.

A. “Lucky Man” (3:00)
B. “Josephine” (3:33)

Mr. Big came under the wing of Mott the Hoople manager Robert Hirschman and signed with EMI, which linked them with producer/engineer John Punter, a prior Decca/Deram, soundman (Caravan, East of Eden, Satisfaction, Walrus) with recent credits behind Camel, Jonesy, Procol Harum, Roxy Music, and Tempest.

Sweet Silence

Mr. Big released their debut album, Sweet Silence, in November 1975 on EMI in the UK, Japan, Portugal, and South Africa.

The album contains twelve Dicken originals, including a re-recorded “I Ain’t Bin a Man” and their first three EMI a-sides: “Wonderful Creation,” “For the Fun to Find,” and “Zambia.”

Dicken plays electric guitar, harmonica, cowbell, and splits acoustic tracks with bassist Pete Crowther. Co-drummer Vince Chaulk doubles as backing vocalist.

Sweet Silence also features auxiliary keyboardist Ian Blunsdon and additional musicianship from John Punter (synthesizer, percussion) and Robert Hirschman (trombone, contrabass).

A1. “Time Base” (4:31)
A2. “Wonderful Creation” (3:51)
A3. “Golden Lights” (4:30)
A4. “Uncle John ‘B'” (2:18)
A5. “I Ain’t Bin a Man” (3:44)
A6. “Sweet Silence” (5:27)

B1. “Zambia” (4:24)
B2. “Enjoy It” (2:54)
B3. “Violet May” (4:55)
B4. “For the Fun to Find” (4:03)
B5. “Appeared a Shining Throne” (3:46)
B6. “Throne Second Amendment” (4:32)

Sessions occurred at Rockfield Studios, a countryside facility in Monmouth, Wales, where Punter produced and engineered Sweet Silence in sequence with titles by A Raincoat, Chopyn, Hummingbird, and Nazareth.

Additional work took place in London at AIR Studios, where teenage studio assistant Nigel Walker (Osibisa, Bijelo Dugme) co-engineered the overdubs and mixes.

Mick Rock (a longtime David Bowie photographer) snapped the Sweet Silence images, which show Mr. Big slouched before a TV screen (front) and staring back at the viewer with the screen at the center. Rock’s photography also graces 1974/75 covers for Arthur Brown, Be-Bop Deluxe, Cockney Rebel, Queen, Seventh Wave, and Thin Lizzy.

The upper-right corner displays the classic Mr. Big logo: a small serif ‘MR’ over a large 3D ‘BIG,’ created by subsequent Lou Reed typographers Steve Ridgeway and Julie Harris.

“Wonderful Creation” appeared days beforehand as the fourth Mr. Big single (b/w “Enjoy It”).

On November 14, Mr. Big embarked on a 26-date UK tour as the opening act for Queen on their Night of the Opera tour, which commenced with two nights at Liverpool’s Empire Theatre and included two-nighters in Bristol (Colston Hall), Manchester (Lesser Free Trade Hall), Birmingham (Odeon), Glasgow (Apollo) and five night in London (Nov. 29–Dec. 3) at the Hammersmith Odeon, where the two acts returned for a Christmas Eve show.

In late January, “For the Fun to Find” became their fifth single (b/w “Golden Lights”). “Zambia” reappeared in May 1976 as their sixth single (b/w “Time Base”).

Photographic Smile

In early 1976, Mr. Big headlined a UK tour and opened Continental shows for Sweet. They welcomed a fifth member: singer and 12-string guitarist Edward Carter. In Denmark, they performed on TV and Dicken co-wrote a new song (“Feel Like Calling Home”) with local singer/songwriter Flemming Rasmussen.

Along with Slik, Mr. Big were among the first British groups signed by Arista, a recently launched American major by former CBS president Clive Davis. They flew to Los Angeles and recorded seven tracks at Sound Factory West with Val Garay, a veteran producer of earlier hard-rock (Birtha, Help) and recent funk (3 Pieces, Blackbyrds).

The Garay sessions appeared first on Photographic Smile, a North American release with four salvaged Sweet Silence cuts (“Wonderful Creation,” “I Ain’t Bin a Man,” “Sweet Silence,” “Zambia”) and seven new songs: “Photographic Smile,” “Louisiana Street,” “What Color Is the Wind,” “Feel Like Calling Home,” “Romeo,” “Easy,” and the two-part epic “Can We Live / Angel of My Life.” Carter co-wrote “Romeo,” a showcase for their multi-layered harmonies. All seven songs appear on their second UK album.

Mr. Big

Mr. Big released their self-titled second album in early 1977 on EMI (UK, Europe, Brazil, Oceania). It collects the seven unique Photographic Smile tracks with three new songs: “Goodbye World,” “Vampire,” and “Hold Me.”

Dicken plays electric and acoustic guitar, Coral electric sitar, and (on “Photographic Smile”) keyboards. He harmonizes throughout with Edward Carter, who plays harmonica, tambourine, 12-string, and (on “Goodbye World”) synthesizer. Bassist Peter Crowther plays acoustic on “Louisiana Street.”

The Sound Factory tracks feature extra musicianship by Danish-American pianist Jay Winding, onetime New Cristy Minstrels organist Keith Barbour, and percussion by West Coast singer/songwriter Andrew Gold. Hirschman again adds trombone.

A1. “Photographic Smile” (3:21)
A2. “Romeo” (2:40)
A3. “What Color Is the Wind” (3:22)
A4. “Louisiana Street” (2:20)
A5. “Feel Like Calling Home” (3:29)
A6. “Goodbye World” (2:22)

B1. “Vampire” (4:05)
B2. “Hold Me” (3:11)
B3. “Can We Live / Angel of My Life” (7:12)
B4. “Easy” (3:43)

Val Garay produced and engineered the tracks at Sound Factory apart from “Goodbye World,” “Vampire,” and “Hold Me,” recorded in Northwest London at Morgan Studios. “Angel of My Life” features string arrangements by David Campbell, also credited on 1976 albums by Earth Wind & Fire, Harvey Mason, Johnny Hammond, and Stanley Clarke. Select tracks feature third drumming by Jim Keltner (Factory) and Simon Phillips (Morgan).

Mr. Big shows the band posed side-to-side (front and inner) and grouped inside a boutique; snapped by Sixties Rolling Stones photographer Gered Mankowitz, whose images also grace 1977 sleeves for Cliff Richard (Every Face Tells a Story), Easy Street (Under the Glass), Glenn Hughes, The Jam, Pat Travers (Putting It Straight), Peter Doyle, Sad Cafe (Fanx Ta Ra), Sherbet (Photoplay), Slade, and Ultravox (Ultravox!).

“Romeo” dropped in January as a UK single (b/w “Goodbye World”). Mr. Big mimed it for the Jan. 27 broadcast of the BBC music program Top of the Pops, which thrice aired the song amid winter in-studio numbers by Andy Fairweather Low (“Ne-Bop ‘n’ Holla”), Bonnie Tyler (“More Than a Lover”), Leo Sayer (“When I Need You”), Maxine Nightingale (“Love Hit Me”), The Moments (“Jack In the Box”), and Thelma Houston (“Don’t Leave Me This Way”).

“Romeo” reached No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart and gained traction in the states, where Mr. Big embarked on a winter/spring tour that included opening slots for Journey, Kansas, The Runaways, and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.

In mid-April, Mr. Big released “Feel Like Calling Home” as their eighth UK single (b/w “Photographic Smile”). They mimed it for the May 5 TotP broadcast, which also featured in-studio numbers by Delegation (“Where Is the Love (We Used to Know)”), Deniece Williams (“Free’), Rod Stewart (“The First Cut Is the Deepest”), and Four Seasons frontman Frankie Valli (“Easily”). “Feel Like Calling Home” peaked at No. 35 on the UK Singles Chart.

EMI paired two Morgan Studios cuts, “Hold Me” and “Vampire,” as a German-only single.

Seppuku

Mr. Big recorded their third album, Seppuku, for an intended summer 1978 release on EMI. Ian Hunter oversaw the sessions, which produced twelve Dicken originals, including “Goosestep,” “Death Boy,” “Place Your Bets,” “You Won’t See Me,” and “Behind Enemy Lines.”

Despite the mid-year appearance of “Senora” as the ninth UK Mr. Big single, EMI cancelled the album’s release. Seppuku remained vaulted until 2001 when the twelve songs constituted a CD release by European rock archivists Angel Air Records.

Edward Carter co-wrote “Place Your Bets” and “Senora,” which credits Hunter as a third writer.

1. “Senora” (3:22)
2. “Woman” (3:11)
3. “Place Your Bets” (3:34)
4. “Here It Comes Again” (3:43)
5. “Tonight” (2:46)
6. “Lucy” (3:47)
7. “Goosestep” (3:25)
8. “You Won’t See Me” (3:48)
9. “Behind Enemy Lines” (4:29)
10. “Come Rock With Me” (3:36)
11. “Seppuku” (5:44)
12. “Death Boy” (4:47)

Sessions occurred at Chipping Norton Recording Studios, a Cotswold Hills facility also used for 1978 albums by Gerry Rafferty (City to City), Judas Priest (Stained Class), and Pacific Eardrum. Additional work took place in London at Scorpio Studios, where Hunter earned his first outside production credit on the Seppuku. He worked on subsequent titles by David Werner, Ellen Foley, and Generation X.

“Senora” appeared in July 1978 as a single (b/w “Death Boy”). Mr. Big mimed it for the August 17 TotP broadcast, which also featured in-studios by 10cc (“Dreadlock Holiday”), Darts (“It’s Raining”), Justin Hayward (“Forever Autumn”), and The Stranglers (“Walk On By”).

Mr. Big embarked on a mid-1978 UK tour and disbanded soon after in light of the album’s non-release.

Dicken and Pete Crowther linked with guitarist Rory Willson and Gillan drummer Pete Barnacle in Broken Home, one of thirty featured acts at the 20th annual Reading Rock Festival, which marked the festival’s shift toward hard rock and heavy metal. They singed with Mercury and made the 1980/81 albums Broken Home and Life.

Discography: