Billie Joe Armstrong says Perry Farrell didn’t want “boy band” Green Day to perform at Lollapalooza: “Asshole”
Billie Joe Armstrong recently shared that Perry Farrell referred to Green Day as a “boy band” and expressed his dissatisfaction with their inclusion on the 1994 Lollapalooza bill.
The story is told in the new book titled Lollapalooza: The Uncensored Story of Alternative Rock’s Wildest Festival, recalling the moment when Farrell approached John Rubeli, who was a stage manager for Lollapalooza at the time, to air his concerns over the band.
“I can’t think of a single time that Perry pushed back or vetoed a band – except for Green Day. … He was like, ‘They’re a boy band. I don’t want to book a boy band,’” Rubeli said in the book via Consequence.
Rubeli added: “To Perry’s credit, I was able to go through [Green Day’s] history in the Bay Area and how they had released indie records and eventually he said, ‘OK, they can do half the tour, but I want the Boredoms on the other half.’”
When Green Day were finally given Farrell’s approval, they used their performance as a platform to air their frustrations with the situation, dedicating the song ‘Chump’ to the Jane’s Addiction singer.
Armstrong recalled, “For us it was really disappointing, because Perry was someone that we really respected. I think that made us want to play even more, actually, because we wanted to prove that he had his head very far up his own ass.
“He had minions that would come up and say, ‘Perry Farrell’s really angry that you dedicated ‘Chump’ to him. And I’m like, ‘Tell him to stop acting like one.’”
While Armstrong and Farrell never crossed paths at Lollapalooza that summer, they met just a few months later Woodstock ’94 where they reportedly shook hands.
Green Day are returning to the festival stage this weekend, where they will headline Coachella 2025, as well as next weekend alongside Lady Gaga, Post Malone and Travis Scott.
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