Welcome to the ninth "unofficial" Cheap Trick newsletter. I've just got back from a busy few days at The Metro shows in Chicago, and my report of that trip is enclosed {Newsletter Review -  metro.htm}. Below is all the up to date information up to 7th May. The big news that I got from the bands manager in Chicago is that 4 dates will be played in Europe during mid July. These dates have been booked, but have not yet been advertised nor are tickets available as yet. They are - Ghent Festival, Belgium (July 11), Milkweg, Amsterdam - Budokan show (July 13), Astoria, London - Budokan show (July 14) and Rock City, Nottingham (July 15). As the American schedule is filling up, there are no other European dates planned. Please check local press or venue for confirmation of these dates. These shows will be great, as the band are playing better than ever. I hope to get to all 4, so hope to see you at one of them !

The busy touring schedule, as mentioned in Newsletter #8 (Trickfest 2 Special) in March, has now started. The major shows on the1998 schedule from mid April are currently:
17 April - Atlantic City; 18 - Roseland Theatre, New York (V); 27 - The Roxy, Los Angeles; 28 - The Filmore, San Francisco (Budokan, private webcast show ); 30 - The Metro, Chicago (Budokan); 1 May - ditto (Cheap Trick 77); 2 - ditto ( In Color); 3 - ditto (Heaven Tonight); 9 - Cincinnati; 10 - Louisville KY ; 11 - Indianapolis; 12 - Lexington KY; 14 - Sauget IL; 15 - Rantoul IL; 16 - Burlington, WI ; 17 - Penascola, FL (V); 22 - St Petersburg, FL; 23 - Montgomery, AL; 24 - New Orleans; 26 - Little Rock AK; 28 - Orlando FL; 30 - Marrietta, GA; 31 - Richmond VA; 3 June - Gulfport LA; 4 - New Orleans; 5 - Las Vegas; 6 - Sonora CA; 7 - San Diego; 13 - Milwaukee; 14 - Sacramento, California (V); 16 - Scranton PA; 17 - Old Bridge NJ; 18 - Wantaugh NY; 19 - Bethlehem PA; Harrington DE; 27 - Bottineau ND; 29 - Thunder Bay, Ontario; 30 - Kenora, Ontario; 2 July - Hoffman Estates IL; 3 - Great Lakes IL; 4 - Cincinatti (V); 5 - Minneapolis; 11-15 - Europe (see above); 17 - Cadott WI; 18 - Morgantown IN; 25 - Santa Clara, CA (V); 31 - Temecula CA; 1 August - San Jose, CA (V); 5 - Clarkston MI; 6 - Springfield MO; 7 - Washington MO; 15 - Omaha, NE; 16 - Portland OR (V); 22 - Toronto; 2 Sept - Canfield OH; 4 - Uncasville CT; 11- Reno NV; 12 - San Diego CA (V) (I hope to be at this one !); 29 Oct - Irving Plaza, New York (Cheap Trick 77) ; 30 Oct - ditto (In Color); 31 Oct - ditto (Heaven Tonight).
* (All dates are Budokan shows, unless shown otherwise. Shows marked "V" are VH1 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 page - see below - contains regularly updated tour date information.)
I hope these dates are of interest, just in case any of you are planning a holiday in the USA during the year !

The Budokan shows have been well received so far, and the 4 shows at the Metro in Chicago were incredible. Look out for possible coverage on MTV or in magazines such as Kerrang, particularly because The Smashing Pumpkins opened for Cheap Trick for the "In Color" show. See the enclosed review for more details.

Sony Music released "At Budokan: The Complete Concert" 2 CD set on April 28 in the US, and on 4 May here in UK (and Europe ?). It can be found on special offer for as little as £13 (at Virgin). The set includes a small amount of multimedia content for those with personal computers, including the video's of Surrender and Auf Wiedersehen. Track listing is - Disk 1/ Hello There, Come On Come On, ELO Kiddies, Speak Now, Big Eyes, Lookout, Downed, Can't Hold On, Oh Caroline, Surrender, Auf Wiedersehen; Disk 2/ Need Your Love, High Roller, Southern Girls, IWYTWM, California Man, Goodnight, Ain't That a Shame, Clock Strikes Ten. The set has been digitally remastered, and sounds fantastic. I recommend it without reservation.

As reported in Newsletter #8, the band are planning to spend some time in the studio during the summer months, in between the shows listed above. Some initial recording has already been done, and some time has been booked with Steve Albini, who produced the single released on Sub Pop (Baby Talk). However, it is not certain at this stage who will produce the whole album.

The first 3 albums are currently being digitally remastered, and they should be released by Sony Legacy on August 4 (in the US and Europe), and will feature bonus tracks. Like Budokan, they are expected to feature multimedia content as well as the songs. The "Cheap Trick Premium Best" compilation has now just been released in Japan, and features (for the first time on CD) the originally released version of "Everything Works" and Saturday at Midnight (Super New Dance Remix - from the original 12" release ). This can be ordered from an importer such as Revolution in Milton Keynes (see Record Collector magazine for address details) at around £20.

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. A wide range of new merchandise, including several new t-shirt designs, is available and the latest merchandise list is enclosed. Remember that you can get a 10% discount on most orders (other than special offers) if you are a TI member. The official Cheap Trick home page on the Internet can be found 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. This will be the last issue until around October, due to the upheaval of my upcoming move to San Diego, hopefully in August or September. There has been enough demand for me to continue the newsletter after the move, so if you wish to continue to receive the next issue, please send an International Reply Coupon to cover a letter from the USA. (If you havn't already done so, this is your last opportunity to "register" your interest). Thanks to those who've covered postage costs up to now. I have sent this edition to everyone on my list, whether you've sent postage or not for it, because I thought you'd want to hear about the upcoming European dates. But note that I cannot afford to do this yet again, particularly with also enclosing a long Chicago report and the merchandise list. Remember that this is a "labour of love", and all costs are from my own pocket. For those of you who do not wish to continue receiving this (and to those who do !), many thanks for your support over the past 18 months.