- - ‘70s Rock Legend Reveals the Secret to Band’s 50-Year Success: ‘We Were Never Friends’

Victoria MillerJanuary 15, 2026 at 2:23 AM

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Photo by Paul Natkin on Getty Images

Robin Zander revealed the secret to Cheap Trick’s success. In a new interview with Louder, the legendary singer and guitarist said the reason the iconic band has lasted so long is that the band members have always kept things all business.

“In my opinion, it’s because we were never friends,” Zander, 72, admitted in the interview published in January 2026. “We were never close, so we never pissed in each other’s backyard. We still don’t socialize much outside of touring and recording. It was musical glue that held us together. We have a lot of respect for each other musically.”

Cheap Trick was formed in 1973 in Rockford, Ill. The classic lineup of the band, known for the hits "I Want You to Want Me,” “Surrender,” and “Dream Police,” includes Zander, Rick Nielsen(guitar), Tom Petersson (bass), and Bun E. Carlos (drums).

Zander previously said Cheap Trick was formed by putting “the best of Rockford” musicians, some of them former rivals, all together in one band.

“We were all in separate bands in Rockford, Ill. Bun E. and Tom and Rick were in different bands, too,” he told Ultimate Classic Rock in 2018. “Bun E. was in a band called the Pagans, Tom was in a band called the Boll Weevils, and Rick was in a band called the Grim Reapers. I had a band called Butterscotch Sundae. So, the thing was, they were competitive. There used to be a place called Sherwood Lodge, there was this battle of the bands every weekend and people would throw their ballots in a box and bet on who their favorite band was out of that night."

“It was nice that we put everybody, the best of Rockford, all in one band,” he added. “And it just jelled immediately. I thought, ‘This is it, this is the way it should sound. This is the band that we’re going to keep for a while.’ We didn’t know how long it was going to last, but look how long it’s lasted.”While they were never best friends offstage, Nielsen once said Zander was exactly who he was looking for to perform the songs he wrote.

“Robin is the singer I’ve always looked for to sing my songs,” Nielsen told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2022. “All the other singers we had were capable but they weren’t the interpreters that Robin was. He’s a real vocalist — he’s not a shouter or a copycat singer. I didn’t know him, but he was the one.”Cheap Trick will kick off their All Washed Up Tour on January 24 in Madison, WI.

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This story was originally published by Parade on Jan 15, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”