Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois. It was a big success in the late 1970s, especially in Japan, which got its greatest success with the live album Cheap Trick at Budokan in 1979. It is often described musically as a mixture of pop melodies influenced Beatles and guitars hard rock. It is officially still active in 2008 (tour starting in June 2008)>.
In 1961, Rick Nielsen began playing in Rockford, Illinois, using a collection of rare and valuable guitars. He formed several bands with names such as The Boyz and The Grim Reapers. Brad Carlson, (later named Bun E. Carlos), was playing in a rival group, the Pagans. Finally, Nielsen trained Fuse in 1967 with Tom Peterson (Tom Petersson), who himself played in another local band called The Bo Weevils.
Fuse released an eponymous album at Epic Records in 1970, which is ignored by all. Frustrated by this lack of success, Fuse recruited two members of the Nazz in 1970 and ended up playing in the Midwest for six or seven months, under the two names Fuse or Nazz, depending on the places in which they played. With Bun E. Carlos on drums, Fuse relocated to Philadelphia in 1971. They renamed themselves Sick Man of Europe in 1972-1973. After a European tour in 1973, Nielsen and Petersson return to Rockford and meet with Carlos >>>.
On August 26, 1980, before the release of All Shook Up, Petersson left the band to record a solo album with his wife, Dagmar. Pete Comita replaces Petersson for the All Shook Up Tour.
