CHEAP TRICK guitarist Rick Nielsen is featured in a new interview with Classic Rock Revisisted founder Jeb Wright to coincide with the November 11th release of the Budokan!: 30th Anniversary Edition box set. Following is an excerpt from the interview:

Jeb: Back when you first went to Japan, did Cheap Trick realize they were that popular?

Rick: "Probably not. In 1977, QUEEN asked us to go out on tour with them. They had press at all of their shows—especially in Japan. They would come to see Queen and they happened to like us. The next night we would do another show and when we played in Japan, the Japanese people came out because they loved Queen. I don’t think I had ever met a Japanese person before, well, not many anyway, although I used to go to Benihana’s quite a bit.

A writer for a magazine in Japan asked me to write an article on what it was like being on tour with Queen. I told them I was not that kind of writer but that I would do it. A couple of months later, we started getting magazine clips with little caricatures of us. We had seen little clips before for bands like KISS, Queen and THE BEATLES but these were of us. They were from kids, who must have taken a lot of art in school, as they were quite good artists. We started getting fan mail from Japan after that. It started out as one piece here, and one piece there, but after awhile we were getting a hundred pieces a day coming into our office in Wisconsin from Japanese people. I wasn’t getting fan mail from people who lived across town, let alone from people living halfway around the world.

We also toured with Kiss in 1977, and the Japanese press were there. During that time, we had three hit singles in Japan. 'I Want You To Want Me' was # 1 there. It was from the studio record, which was never a hit anywhere else because it had that dopey piano on it. 'Clock Strikes Ten' was a # 1 song, as well. We got asked to go Japan, which at that time was unheard of. All four of us road in coach."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

As previously reported, Cheap Trick's Live At Budokan now becomes a "Sight & Sound" event at 1978 concert footage is released for the first time, alongside newly mixed and mastered audio of the original concert of 3 CDs.

DVD features original concert that aired once on Japanese television in 1978 - never aired in US and commercially available for the first time in this package, plus new 2008 interviews with the band members and other people involved with the landmark concert.

Follows historic Cheap Trick concert return to Budokan in April 2008. Box set available starting November 11th through Epic/Legacy; 180 gram audiophile vinyl pressing of original LP in stores October 28th.

The Live at Budokan album impact catalyzed America, then engulfed the world - and now is celebrated three decades later with a four-disc (DVD + 3 CD) package, Budokan!: 30th Anniversary Edition, that brings the sight and sound together for the first time. The set will arrive in stores November 11th through Epic/Legacy, a division of Sony BMG. Separately on October 28th, a new 12-inch vinyl LP of the Live at Budokan original 10-song album will be issued on 180 gram audiophile pressing.

This deluxe package is highlighted by the premiere commercial DVD release of a video recording of the second concert, a one hour 15-song program that was broad-cast only once on Japanese television 30 years ago. The stunning DVD artifact features a new stereo mix and 5.1 Surround Sound by original 1978 producer Jack Douglas and engineer Jay Messina. At last, Cheap Trick fans can actually see and feel the moment come to life when - for the first time in history - lead singer Robin Zander exhorts the Japanese audience, “I Want YOU… to Want…ME!”

The DVD is comple-mented by the bonus documentary feature, Looking Back, a new conversation with the band about their original Budokan experience. In addition, there is video of one more song from 1978 ('Come On, Come On') and two songs from Cheap Trick’s 30th anniversary return concert at Budokan in April 2008 ('Voices' and 'If You Want My Love').

The four-disc package goes on to include (on disc two) a CD that replicates the audio of the DVD in its full 19-song length, also produced by Jack Douglas and Jay Messina. Discs three and four represent the previous 20th anniversary (1998) double-CD Live at Budokan (culled from multiple night’s concerts, as was the original 1978 LP), beautifully remastered in 2008 to sound better than ever, produced by Cheap Trick and Bruce Dickinson.

The November 11th release of Budokan!: 30th Anniversary Edition follows - by just over six months - Cheap Trick’s anniversary performance of the album back at Budokan on April 24, 2008. (Ironically, this nearly mirrors the original timetable of the Budokan performances on April 28 and 30, 1978 - which became the classic LP for the Japanese market released October 1978.)

Three decades later, Budokan!: 30th Anniversary Edition proves how immortal some albums can be. The LP is ranked on Rolling Stone’s list of “500 Greatest Albums Of All Time,” and 'Surrender' appears on the magazine’s “500 Greatest Singles Of All Time” list.

Budokan!: 30th Anniversary Edition

Disc One: DVD (Friday, April 30th, 1978) - 'Hello There', 'ELO Kiddies', 'Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace', 'Look Out', 'Downed', 'Can’t Hold On', 'Oh Caroline', 'Surrender', 'Auf Wiedersehen', ''Southern Girls', 'I Want You To Want Me', 'California Man', 'Goodnight', 'Ain’t That A Shame', 'Clock Strikes Ten'. (Recordings produced by Cheap Trick and Bruce Dickinson. Audio mixed by Jack Douglas and Jay Messina.)

DVD Bonus Features: 'Come On, Come On' - 1978 Performance, 'Voices' - 2008 Performance, 'If You Want My Love' - 2008 Performance, Cheap Trick 2008 Interview Feature - Looking Back.

Disc Two: CD (Friday, April 30th, 1978) - 'Hello There', 'Come On, Come On', 'ELO Kiddies', 'Speak Now (Or Forever Hold Your Peace)', 'Big Eyes', 'Look Out', 'Downed', 'Can’t Hold On', 'Oh Caroline', 'Surrender', 'Auf Wiedersehen', 'Need Your Love', 'High Roller', 'Southern Girls', 'I Want You To Want Me', 'California Man', 'Goodnight', 'Ain’t That a Shame', 'Clock Strikes Ten'. (Produced by Cheap Trick, Bruce Dickinson and Jack Douglas).

Disc Three: CD - At Budokan: The Complete Concert - 'Hello There', 'Come On, Come On', 'ELO Kiddies', 'Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace', 'Big Eyes', 'Look Out', 'Downed', 'Can’t Hold On', 'Oh Caroline', 'Surrender ', 'Auf Wiedersehen'. (Discs 3 & 4 produced by Cheap Trick and Bruce Dickinson)

Disc Four: CD - At Budokan: The Complete Concert (continued) - 'Need Your Love', 'High Roller', 'Southern Girls', 'I Want You To Want Me', 'California Man', 'Goodnight', 'Ain’t That a Shame', 'Clock Strikes Ten'.

(Discs 3 & 4 produced by Cheap Trick and Bruce Dickinson.)