The rock band Green Day was formed in 1986 by Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Ryan Pritchard. Initially, they called themselves Sweet Children, but two years later the name was changed to Green Day, under which they continue to perform to this day.
It happened after John Allan Kiffmeyer joined the group. According to the band's fans, the new name reflected the musicians' love for drugs.
The creative path of Green Day
The group's first performance was in Vallejo, California. From that moment on, the Green Day group continued to play concerts in local clubs.
In 1989, the first mini-album of musicians "1000 hours" was released. Then Billy Joe decided to stop schooling, while Mike continued to get an education.
A year later, another mini-album was recorded. Both records were made at Lookout! Records, its owner was a close friend of the musicians. Thanks to him, Frank Edwin Wright was in the group, replacing Al Sobrant.
In 1992, Green Day released another album, Kerplunk!. Immediately after its release, rather large labels drew attention to the musicians, one of which was chosen for further cooperation.
They became the studio Reprise Records, within which the third album of the group was recorded. Song Longview was able to win the hearts of listeners. The MTV channel played a significant role in this.
1994 was a triumphant year for the group, she managed to become the owner of the Grammy Award, and the new album was sold in 12 million copies.
The reverse side of the coin was a ban on performances at the 924 Gilman Street punk club. This was caused by the actual betrayal of punk music by the band members.
The following year, the next Green Day album Insomniac was recorded. Against the background of others, he stood out with a more rough style. The band members didn't make soft music out of a desire to make money from sales.
The reaction of the "fans" was mixed. Some condemned the new record, while others, on the contrary, fell in love with idols even more. The fact remains only the level of sales of the album (with a circulation of 2 million copies), which was a complete "failure".
Working on a new album
The band immediately began working on the Nimrod album, which was released in 1997. Here you can clearly see the professional development of the group.
In addition to classical compositions, the band opened new horizons in punk style. The ballad Good Riddance gained the greatest popularity, which was a complete surprise.
Subsequently, the musicians said that the decision to include the song on the album was the best in their career. Many still consider Nimrod the best of all Green Day's albums.
After a major concert tour, there was no news about the group for a long time. Information about the breakup of the team began to appear in the media, but the group members were silent.
Green Day is back on stage
Only in 1999 did another concert take place, which was held in an acoustic format. In 2000, the album Warning was released. Many considered it final - there was a bias towards pop music, there were disagreements in the team.
Despite the fact that the songs were filled with meaning, they no longer had that familiar enthusiasm inherent in the group.
The band then released a greatest hits compilation. In addition, songs were released that had not previously been presented to the general public.
All this testified to the upcoming breakup of the group, since the creation of such collections often indicates the absence of new ideas and the approaching end of activity.
New albums of the group
Nevertheless, in 2004, the group recorded a new album, American Idiot, which caused a public outcry, as it covered the activities of George W. Bush in a negative light.
It was a success: the compositions were at the top of various charts, and the album received a Grammy Award. Thus, the team managed to prove that they were written off early. Then the musicians traveled the world with concerts for two years.
In 2005, the Green Day group managed to gather over 1 million people at their concert, hitting the list of the largest performances in history. This was followed by the recording of several cover versions and the soundtrack to the film about the Simpsons.
The next album appeared only in 2009. He immediately received recognition from fans, and the songs from it became the leaders of the charts in 20 states.
The next album was announced in early 2010. The premiere took place a year later during a charity concert in Costa Mesa.
In August 2012, the group went on tour, but after 1 month, Billie Joe Armstrong lost control of himself due to the cessation of the song.
The cause of the nervous breakdown was the musician's alcoholism, from which he had suffered for a long time. He immediately began treatment. Only in the spring of next year, the musicians continued the tour. Within its framework, they performed for the first time on the territory of Russia.
Green Day group now
At the moment, the group is focusing on conducting concert tours. In 2019, Green Day began a joint tour with Fall Out Boy and Weezer. A single was also released to promote the upcoming album.
Back in early 2020, the musicians of the cult band announced their intention to release their 13th studio album. The idols of millions did not disappoint the public's expectations. In 2020, they presented the LP Father of All…(Father of All Motherfuckers). The album contains 10 tracks in total. Music lovers and critics warmly welcomed one of the most anticipated albums of the year, but were a little disappointed that the collection included so few works.
“I'm not sure that the 16 works that we originally planned to put on the album would be appreciated by the public. 10, which entered the disc harmoniously combined with each other. The songs seem to complement each other,” said Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong.
At the end of February 2021, the band presented the single Here Comes the Shock to fans of their work. Note that a video clip was also filmed for the composition. The premiere of the musical novelty was organized right during the hockey match.
