Huge US band who sell out arenas send tiny London pub into meltdown as they play surprise set
THEY’RE a veteran rock band accustomed to headlining festivals and selling out stadiums and arenas.
But this roadtested trio have no intention of shaking off their punk roots more than three decades into their music careers.
American superstars Green Day proved they’re still DIY upstarts at heart when they popped into Covent Garden boozer The Marquis for a surprise intimate set.
Holed up in a corner of the pub, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tré Cool, belted out 13 anthems including new single The American Dream Is Killing Me.
Phones were thrust just inches from their faces as lucky fans in attendance did their best to capture the performance.
The trio were joined by Jason White and Jason Freese on guitar and background vocals, and the show was live streamed on the band’s Instagram.
The pop-up performance followed the band being announced as headliners for next year’s Isle of Wight Festival.
The group have also been touted as a potential Glastonbury headliners after announcing a run of stadium shows in the UK next summer featuring Nothing But Thieves as chief support.
In the meantime, they’ve been playing intimate shows in Europe including Milan and The Bataclan in Paris.
Green Day’s 14th studio album will be released in January and it’s being hailed a return to form after divisive chart-topper Father of All Motherf**kers in 2020.
The new single certainly has more in keeping with the band’s epic American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown albums in the early noughties that sent them from pop-punk royalty to mainstream domination.
Since forming back in 1987, Green Day have sold over 85 million records worldwide.
In the UK alone they have bagged four No1 albums and 22 Top 40 hits.