green day background

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. In 1994 Green Day  signed with Reprise Records, who released the band's first major-label album, 'Dookie' , 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

Green Day released Warning, proud that it was their strongest work together. The album received mixed reactions, with some fans believing the band was losing its relevance, despite the album producing the number one hit Minority. The album sales were not as successful as previous albums and Green Day's popularity declined somewhat.

Releasing a greatest hits compilation, 'International Superhits!' (2001), followed by a collection of B-sides called 'Shenanigans' (2002), gave impetus to the theory that Green Day's superstar days were over. The band then co-headlined The Pop Disaster Tour, with Blink-182, in an effort to restore some of their popularity. Once more, following the tour, Green Day took some time off to spend with their families.

A new album, with the working title of 'Cigarettes and Valentines', was meant for release in 2002 but after 20 tracks had been recorded, the master tapes were stolen from the studios. The band was devastated and decided not to try and recreate the album but do something better instead.

The resulting album, 'American Idiot' (2004), proved their biggest hit to date, with some referring to it as "punk rock opera". It sold 1.5 million units in its first week and went straight to number one in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Japan, following the single of the same name, which entered the UK singles charts at number three.

 In 2004 the band was nominated for six Grammy Awards, with 'American Idiot' winning a Grammy for Best Rock Album. it was at this time  The band had also began to  changed their image. They stopped dyeing their hair vibrant colours, and began wearing eyeliner and black clothes with red ties onstage.