Billie Joe Armstrong is a cult figure in the heavy music arena. The American singer, actor, songwriter, and musician has had a meteoric career as a member of the band Green Day. But his solo work and side projects have been of interest to millions of fans around the planet for decades.
Childhood and youth of Billie Joe Armstrong
Billie Joe Armstrong was born on February 17, 1972 in Auckland. The guy grew up in a large family. In addition to Billy, the parents raised five more children. The sister and brothers, whose names were Anna, David, Alan, Holly and Marcy, became the closest and dearest people for the guy.
Billy's father was indirectly connected with music. He worked as a truck driver. On the road, he rubbed jazz compositions to “holes”. Sometimes, after the flight, the head of the family gave impromptu concerts in small towns. Billy's mom worked as an ordinary waitress.
Armstrong Jr. adopted his father's musical taste. Already at the age of 5, he delighted the household with performances. The guy sincerely fell in love with jazz, and in his youth he wanted to develop in this direction.
In 1982, Billy experienced a strong emotional upheaval. The fact is that his father died suddenly of cancer. For the guy, this event was a real tragedy.
Mom got married a second time. This event doubled the hatred for my mother and stepfather. He sincerely hated those who should have been considered parents. For him, they were enemies and traitors. Young Billy found joy in jazz.
Billy's first life crisis was with a school friend named Mike Dirnt. Subsequently, a childhood friend became a musician in the cult band Green Day. Mike advised Billy's parents to buy him an electric guitar. In his opinion, this was to distract the guy from negative thoughts.
Soon the Californian was working on alternative music. He often included albums by Van Halen and Def Leppard. Billy started dreaming about his own project. At night, he fantasized about how his team bathed in glory and toured around the world.
In 1990, Billy made the decision to leave the school. Even then, he took up a musical career. Together with Mike, he created the punk rock band Sweet Children. From now on, he spent his free time at rehearsals.
The creative path of Billie Joe Armstrong
Soon the Sweet Children group underwent some stylistic changes. From now on, the musicians performed under the new name Green Day. Billy Joe, Mike Dirnt and John Kiffmeyer presented the mini-LP 1000 Hours. She opened the way for the musicians to the big stage. Heavy music fans warmly welcomed the newcomers.
Since the late 1980s, Billy has been playing in the bands Pinhead Gunpowder, The Longshot and Rancid in his spare time. Working as part of the presented groups, the musician tried on various images. Whatever Billy did on stage, surprisingly, he was always organic.
Beginning in the early 1990s, Billy focused on core projects. During this time, the musicians have released a number of successful albums, among which the records deserve considerable attention: Kerplunk, Dookie and Nimrod. The popularity of the Green Day team has increased exponentially, and the authority of Billie Joe Armstrong has strengthened.
Having become the real kings of the alternative scene, at the beginning of the XNUMXst century, the musicians of the Green Day group continued to replenish their discography with new albums. And also to go with concerts almost all over the world. Almost every fan of the band knew the tracks by heart: American Idiot, Are We the Waiting, She's a Rebel, Haushinka, King for a Day and Look for Love.
At the peak of his popularity, Billy began to drink alcohol. He alternated drinking alcohol with the use of strong sleeping pills. This situation reduced the productivity of the musician. Thus, the release of the Revolution Radio album was delayed for several years. During the treatment period, Billy tried to work independently so as not to aggravate the situation of the team.
In 2010, the celebrity realized herself as an actor. He starred in the movie "Adult Love" and in the TV series "Sister Jackie". Billy wanted to learn the profession of producer and film director.
Journalists always listen carefully to Billy's stories. Some expressions of the artist often became "winged" and literally "leaked" into the masses. The singer's lifestyle has always been punk culture, thanks to this direction he has achieved a lot.
Stage persona of Billie Joe Armstrong
Billie Joe Armstrong is one of the brightest punks of our time. Many people note that during concerts the artist liberates himself on stage as much as possible. He has no equal.
The musician's calling card is still considered a hairstyle, shirt and red tie. At an early stage of his work, Billy often used bright makeup.
Photographs have been preserved in the music archives in which the punk's hair is dyed red. In addition, the photo shows numerous tattoos on the body of the artist. Billy often shocked, going on stage in dresses. This gave rise to rumors that the musician is gay.
Personal life
The personal life of Billie Joe Armstrong was and remains eventful. The first lover with whom the musician met was called Erica. As it turned out later, she was an ardent fan of the team. Erica worked as a photographer, and therefore was part of the creative circle.
Billy and Erica turned out to be individuals whose interests in life did not intersect. Parting with a girl for a musician was difficult. But already in 1991, he met with the beautiful Amanda. The woman had a difficult family. She left her lover because of the feminist movement. Billy was so devastated that he became depressed and began to think about committing suicide.
American Adrienne Nesser, the sister of a famous skateboarder, saved a celebrity from negative thoughts and loneliness. Billy was beside himself with happiness. He began to write lyrical poems and dedicate them to his new lover.
In July 1994, the couple legalized their relationship. And soon they had a son, Joseph Marciano Joey Armstrong. He, like his famous father, chose the profession of a musician for himself.
The presence of a child and a loving wife did not stop Billy from speaking out about his orientation. The musician called himself bisexual. After the birth of the second son, Jacob Danger, scandalous interviews and news appeared on the Internet.
Billie Joe Armstrong often shares photos of his sons and wife on his social networks. Billy is active on Instagram.
Billie Joe Armstrong: interesting facts
- Billy was nicknamed "Two Dollar Bill" at school. The future star sold marijuana cigarettes for $ 2 per 1 piece.
- The musician has a huge collection of guitars.
- At the beginning of his creative career, Billy adhered to vegetarianism, which was fashionable among the ideological American punks, but later abandoned this.
- The celebrity is a multi-instrumentalist. In addition to playing the guitar, Billy is fluent in harmonica, mandolin, piano and percussion instruments.
- In 2012, the musician was treated in a rehabilitation clinic. All the fault - the abuse of alcohol and sleeping pills.
Billie Joe Armstrong Today
In 2020, the presentation of the disc Father of All Motherfuckers took place. The album showed that Billy moved away from the style of the past. In a dozen short tracks, uncharacteristic of American punks, Armstrong's vocals became a little softer.
The Green Day team has booked a tour schedule for several months ahead. But due to the coronavirus pandemic, most of the concerts had to be postponed.
