CHEAP TRICK Guitarist RICK NIELSEN On Early 70s Australian Emigration Attempt - "I'd Be In AC/DC Or THE ANGELS Right Now If That Had Happened"
September 19, 2014, 10 years ago
In a new interview with Newcastle Herald, Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen talks about, among other topics, the band's journey to Newcastle next year, when Cheap Trick co-headlines A Day On The Green with The Angels.
Nielsen says The Angels' founding members Rick and John Brewster invited Cheap Trick to play the February 2015 show at Bimbadgen Estate with them, the band's first tour of Australia since their 2008 stint with Def Leppard, due to a strong friendship formed in the '80s. Also playing the tour are The Choirboys, Baby Animals and The Superjesus.
Cheap Trick toured around Europe and the US with The Angels in 1980, when they were still led by late frontman Doc Neeson.
"I thought we got stuck with some new band, so when it was them, I was happy," he says.Nielsen said he's kept an eye on the band's career after its reinvention with Dave Gleeson. In fact, if fates aligned a little differently, he might have been a member of the band.
"In 1971, we tried to emigrate to Australia before we had any kids, so our dog was our kid," Nielsen says. "They wouldn't let us in the country. We had to be in quarantine. I'd be in AC/DC or The Angels right now if that had've happened."
As it is, Nielsen was the cornerstone of Cheap Trick when it started playing four years later.
Read more at TheHerald.com.au.
Upcoming Cheap Trick live dates include:
September
October
5 - Iron City Bham - Birmingham, AL
8 - Tennessee Theatre - Knoxville, TN
9 - Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races - Charles Town, WV
11 - Twin Oaks Amphitheater - Silver Springs, FL
12 - Parker Playhouse - Fort Lauderdale, FL
30 - The Kiss Kruise - Miami, FL
November
22 - The Warfield - San Francisco, CA
February
8 - King's Park - Perth, Australia
13 - Forum Theatre - Melbourne, Australia
14 - Rochford Wines - Vic, Australia
19 - Enmore Theatre - Sydney, Australia
21 - Bimbadgen - Nsw, Australia
22 - Sirromet Wines - Brisbane, Australia
