Watch Green Day debut new song ‘1981’

Green Day have debuted a new song titled ‘1981’ during their set at the festival d’été de Québec in Canada.

• READ MORE: The Big Read – Green Day: “We live our lives as if we have nothing”

The new track comes after Green Day – comprised of frontman and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Durnt and drummer Tré Cool – parted ways with their label, Reprise Records after their contract expired.

Fans quickly realised that the song was featured in one of the 1972 teasers posted by Armstrong back in 2022. The band have been hinting at new music for the past three years.

In December 2021, they shared a clip of themselves recording music at London’s RAK Studios, set to what could be a new song. In the short video, the numbers “1972” flash on screen, leaving fans wondering if it could be the name of a new song or an entire new album.

A month later, the band released a new teaser clip which saw Armstrong strumming an acoustic riff as black and white archive footage played backwards. The numbers ‘1972’ appeared again.

They then shared another video that featured all three bandmates discussing a melody and rehearsing as a track that was reminiscent of ‘The Static Age’ from 2009’s ‘21st Century Breakdown‘ played over the top of the video. Midway through, Dirnt sprayed “1972” onto a wall before spraying the camera lens with what appeared to be the number 3.

Green Day then confirmed new music was on its way. The band shared a TikTok video with the caption revealing that they’d been “recording our [new] record in London & LA” in between their long-awaited UK and European leg of their Hella Mega Tour with Fall Out Boy and Weezer.

The band’s last album released was 2020’s ‘Father Of All Motherfuckers’. In a four-star review, NME praised the LP for being a “good old knees-up”, free from the group’s usual politics.”

“Green Day have been bold and brazen and free of pretence,” it read. “Their intent is laid bare when comparing two of the band’s record sleeves: ‘American Idiot’ was a heart like a hand grenade, ‘Father Of All’ is a unicorn puking a rainbow. Don’t try to make sense of it. Just enjoy.”

In other news, Armstrong recently surprised a covers band in London while out at a pub.

The frontman jumped on stage to sing his band’s classic hit ‘Basket Case’ in Slim Jim’s Liquor Store in Islington. Posting on Instagram, the venue wrote: “We are still in shock! Last night, Billie Joel from @greenday hopped on stage with @borderlinetoxic, and they played Basket Case together. How awesome is that?!”

Green Day also posted: “When you walk into a pub and the cover band starts playing your song @slimjims_liquorstore.”