Green Day is an American rock band founded in 1987 in the East Bay of California by Billie Joe Armstrong, lead vocalist and guitarist, and Mike Dirnt, bassist and backing vocalist. The band has been a power trio for most of their career, with drummer Tré Cool replacing John Kiffmeyer before recording their second studio album, Kerplunk, in 1990. But did you know that Armstrong actually dropkicked a guy at one of their concerts?
Billie Joe Armstrong once dropkicked a guy during a Green Day concert after noticing him roughhousing a young girl. He interrupted the show and challenged him to a fight before leaping into the audience.
Who is Billie Joe Armstrong?
Billie Joe Armstrong was born on February 17, 1972. He has performed with Green Day, Foxboro Hot Tubs, The Network, and Pinhead Gunpowder. Adrienne Armstrong is his wife, and they have two children, Joseph Marciano and Jakob Danger.
Billie Joe Armstrong was born and raised as the youngest of six children in Rodeo, California, a town 24 miles north of Oakland. Andy Armstrong, his father, worked as a jazz drummer and Safeway truck driver to support the family. Billie was ten years old when he died of cancer on September 10, 1982. Wake Me Up When September Ends is a tribute to his father. David, Alan, Marci, Holly, and Anna are his five older siblings. Ollie, his mother, worked at Rod’s Hickory Pit. During their early years, Billie and Mike Dirnt got their first job at Rod’s Hickory Pit.
Billie’s passion for music began at a young age. When he was five, he went to Oakland’s Hillcrest Elementary School, where a teacher encouraged him to record a song called Look For Love on the Bay Area label Fiat Records. Following his father’s death, his mother married a man her children despised, prompting Billie to retreat further into music. (Source: Greenday Fandom)
The Incident at the Concert
Billie Joe Armstrong witnessed a mohawked bully roughhousing a young girl in the audience during a concert in 2006. Although he was in the middle of performing a song, the singer decided to intervene, but he didn’t just challenge the guy to a fight on stage.
The Green Day frontman leaped from the stage into the audience, and the rest was pure chaos. Thousands of fans screamed and cheered as the musician vanished in the middle of the audience. Securities dove into the crowd right after the rocker to save him, and the struggle lasted a full minute. Armstrong said before leaping into the audience:
Hey, why don’t you come here, you little mohawked motherfucker? Do you want to fight? I’m going to fight you right now. Come on, take your place on the stage.
Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day Lead Vocalist
After being rescued from the crowd, Billie Joe Armstrong continued to perform after bassist Mike Dirnt warned every fan that people don’t come to concerts to deal with the disrespectful actions of others. Fortunately for the rest of the audience, the show was not cut short, and the iconic moment has gone down in rock history, with over 100k views on YouTube. (Source: Rock Celebrities)
Image from Pitchfork