Green Day

Wed 11th Feb - 10:30PM

The Californian punk rockers' recent politically-charged tunes have rocketed them to the top of the charts. They may not be American Idiots, but can they handle mainstream success?

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Green Day

Part of the northern Californian underground punk rock scene, Green Day was formed by childhood friends Billie Joe Armstrong (lead guitar, lead vocals) and Mike Dirnt (bass guitar, backing vocals). They built a cult following during the early 1990s and are credited, along with bands The Offspring and Rancid, for reviving mainstream interest in the punk rock scene.

Green Day’s original drummer, John Kiffmeyer, had joined in 1989 but he left in late 1990 in order to attend college in California, soon after the band’s first nationwide tour. He was replaced by Tré Cool (drums, backing vocals).

Determined to remain loyal to independent label Lookout! Records, who had released the band’s first three albums, Green Day refused an offer to sign with I.R.S. Records. ‘1,000 Hours’ (1990) was their first EP album and later that year they recorded two albums, ‘Slappy’ (1990) and ‘Sweet Children’ (1990). The following year, indie label Skene! Records released a combination of these two albums, called ‘1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours’ (1991).

‘Kerplunk!’ (1992), the first album featuring Tré Cool on drums, sparked the interest of a number of major record labels. The band toured for most of 1992 and 1993 and they eventually left Lookout! Records, on friendly terms. Green Day then signed with Reprise Records, who released the band’s first major-label album, ‘Dookie’ (1994), which they had recorded in a mere three weeks. The album received much critical acclaim and sold over 15 million copies worldwide, winning the 1994 Grammy for Best Alternative Album. The videos for the singles ‘Longview’ and ‘Basket Case’ were nominated for numerous awards at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards. Rolling Stone Magazine placed ‘Dookie’ at number 193 in their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, beating Black Sabbath’s eponymous album and Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here’.

The band’s next album, ‘Insomniac’ (1995), was much darker than the more melodic ‘Dookie’ and won them award nominations for Favourite Artist, Favourite Hard Rock Artist and Favourite Alternative Artist at the 1996 American Music Awards. The video for the single ‘Walking Contradiction’ received a Grammy nomination for Best Video, Short Film and an MTV nomination for Best Special Effects. Green Day then cancelled their European tour, claiming they were exhausted, and took a break from making music.

Following their break, they released the experimental album ‘Nimrod’ (1997), which was a break from their usual music and more in the style of laid-back surfer rock, silly ska, upbeat pop/punk and acoustic ballads. The surprise hit from this album ‘Good Riddance (Time of your life)’ once again won them an MTV Award for Best Alternative Video. The band took another break, this time for two years, deciding to spend time with their new families.

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Links relating to this biography:
Official Green Day Website