Welcome to the tenth "unofficial" Cheap Trick newsletter, a bonus issue following the recent European shows !

The busy touring schedule continues. The major shows on the1998 schedule are currently:
1 August - San Jose, CA (V); 5 - Clarkston MI; 6 - Springfield MO; 7 - Washington MO; 9 - Endicott NY; 14 - El Paso TX; 5 - Omaha, NE; 16 - Portland OR (V); 20 - Montreal (with Pearl Jam); 22 - Barrie, Ontario (with Pearl Jam); 23 - Detroit (with Pearl Jam); 28 - Hampton Bay NY; 2 Sept - Canfield OH; 4 - Uncasville CT; 6 - Rockford IL; 11- Reno NV; 12 - San Diego CA (V); 14 - Salt Lake City UT; 15-17 Boulder CO; 19 Tulsa OK (V); 1-3 Oct - Los Angeles; 8-10 Seattle; 22-24 Philadelphia; 29-31 - Irving Plaza, New York.

* Shows marked "V" are VH1 "Budokan" dates and understood to be free.
** Further dates are being added all the time, and and all dates are subject to change. If you are on the internet, the Cheap Trick home pages - see below - contain regularly updated tour date information.
*** The 3 night runs in Boulder, Los Angeles, Seattle, Philadelphia and New York are the CT77, In Color and Heaven Tonight album shows.

Many of you will have attended one or more of the 4 recent European shows. The shows were well received, and the band seemed delighted to be back playing on this side of the Atlantic. Both English shows were tremendous and I enclose my personal review of them {Newsletter Review - england.htm}. I'd be interested to hear other opinions, particularly as many people were seeing the band for the first time. Keep an eye out in magazines like Kerrang!, Uncut and Mojo, as show reviews may appear in those. It was great to meet so many people at the two shows I attended, you know who you are ! The band are very keen to return to Europe again, and play a much larger tour. That will depend on a number of factors, but I'll let you know if I hear anything. Given the bands schedule and recording plans, I think any return to Europe is unlikely before mid 1999.

You'll see from the tour dates above that the "first 3 album shows" are being played at Philadelphia, Boulder, Los Angeles and Seattle as well as New York. It is rumoured that these may also take place in 2 or 3 more American cities. Judging by the Chicago and New York album shows, tickets sell out very fast, so if you think of making a special trip, make sure you CAN get tickets first. Its unlikely that tickets can be bought on the door. Generally, the best bet for American tickets is by calling the Ticketmaster agency, which has outlets all over the US. The band played a charity show in Chicago on 7 July with the Smashing Pumpkins, and play 3 shows with Pearl Jam during August.

As reported previously, the band have been fitting in some recording during gaps in their busy tour schedule. Some recording has already been done with Steve Albini (who produced the "Baby Talk" single released on Sub Pop). However, this work does not appear to be for the new album, which the band are still writing songs for. It is not certain at this stage who will produce the album, which is likely to be released next spring/summer. The band have been working on tracks recorded at the Chicago Metro (album) shows in early May. They have whittled 48 down to 14, which may appear on a live CD release in the future. Watch this space.

The first 3 albums have been digitally remastered, though the release date from Sony Legacy has been put back to late Sept/early Oct. I understand from an American press release that the first album will be in its original vinyl sequence and have the following bonus demo tracks - Lovin Money, I Want You to Want Me, Lookout, You're All Talk and Go Go Girls. In Color features the following bonus tracks - Oh Boy (instrumental), demo versions of Southern Girls and Come On Come On, and unreleased live versions of You're All Talk and Goodnight Now. Heaven Tonight includes the previously unreleased Oh Claire, plus a demo version of Stiff Competition and an early version of Surrender featuring the original lyrics.

A remixed version of "Surrender" will feature in the movie soundtrack of Small Soldiers. If you have internet connection, you can download a sample from the cheaptrick.com Web page, see below (Liquid Audio/Windows 95), or from http://www.sact.com (Real Audio) .

Since so many people asked about it at the English shows, a reminder that Mike Hayes' unofficial biography of Cheap Trick, "Reputation is a Fragile Thing" is available by mail order. The cost in Europe is US$33 including postage, payable by International Money Order (payable to "Poptastic!". Order from Poptastic!, Box 1249, Willow Grove, Pa 19090, USA.

The official fan service, Trick International is at 1957 - 86th Street, Suite 149, Brooklyn, NY 11214 USA. Write to this address for membership details. Additionally TI can be contacted via e-mail at TRICKINTL@aol.com. Merchandise is available from Trickstuff, 630 S Whitney Way, # 150, Madison, WI 53711, USA. The official Cheap Trick home page on the Internet can now be found at http://www.cheaptrick.com, with the official fan service page at http://users.aol.com/melkel/ and there is a flourishing newsgroup at alt.music.cheap-trick.

I hope you've found this issue informative. Many thanks for the IRCs you've sent. My plans to move to San Diego are now uncertain, but I''ll hold the IRCs for the time being and return them later (or use them towards future postage costs). Hope thats OK. In the meantime, perhaps you could send a further sae for the next issue. Wherever I end up, I still intend to continue producing this newsletter.