Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong discusses Wake Me Up When September Ends before the band perform the track on The Howard Stern Show.
In a new interview on The Howard Stern Show, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong has spoken about the band's incredible American Idiot single Wake Me Up When September Ends, and how he was honouring his late father.
Billie Joe's dad, Andrew Armstrong, passed away when the singer was just 10 years old, with the story going that Billie said the phrase 'Wake me up when September ends' to his mother in the aftermath.
When asked if he had written those words down or just held on to it all these years, he replies: "I think it's something that just stayed with me; the month of September being that anniversary that always is just, I don't know, kind of a bummer. But it's weird: when things happen like that when you're that young, it's almost like life starts at year zero, or something like that."
Read this next: 20 things you probably didn’t know about Billie Joe Armstrong
The Green Day leader is then asked by Howard if he actively still thinks about his late father when performing the song.
"Yeah," Billie Joe replies. "I think about him every day, really. I kinda avoided writing about him for many years, and then finally having a breakthrough like that felt good. It wasn't like a negative emotion so much, but it was just kind of like honouring him."
Watch both the interview and performance of Wake Me Up When September Ends below.
Catch Green Day performing Wake Me Up When September Ends and much, much more on tour with Fall Out Boy, Weezer and The Interrupters (U.S. only) next summer. Tickets are on sale now.
June 2020
13 Paris, France, La Defense Arena,
14 Groningen, Netherlands, Stadspark
17 Antwerp, Belgium, Sportspaleis
21 Vienna, Austria, Ernst Happel Stadium
24 Glasgow, UK, Bellahouston Park
26 London, UK, London Stadium
27 Huddersfield, UK, The John Smith’s Stadium
29 Dublin, Ireland, RDS Arena
July 2020
17 Seattle, WA, T-Mobile Park
21 San Francisco, CA, Oracle Park
24 San Diego, CA, Petco Park
25 Los Angeles, CA, Dodger Stadium
28 Commerce City, CO, DICK’s Sporting Goods Park
31 Arlington, TX, Globe Life Field
August 2020
1 Houston, TX Minute Maid Park
5 Miami, FL Hard Rock Stadium
6 Jacksonville, FL TIAA Bank Field
8 Atlanta, GA SunTrust Park
11 Minneapolis, MN Target Field
13 Chicago, IL Wrigley Field
15 Pittsburgh, PA PNC Park
16 Hershey, PA Hersheypark Stadium
19 Detroit, MI Comerica Park
21 Washington, DC Nationals Park
22 New York, NY Citi Field
24 Toronto, ON Rogers Centre
27 Boston, MA Fenway Park
29 Philadelphia, PA Citizens Bank Park
Read this next: Green Day – The inside story of American Idiot
