Doesn’t it seem like forever since we’ve had any new music from Green Day? Well, while it hasn’t quite been forever, it has been 3 long years since their last album, 21st Century Breakdown hit the shops. So, are you badly in need of a Billie Joe fix? I know I am! (And am also in total shock that he’s forty-years-old, since February! FORTY!!!)
Well, you’ve come to the right place, for here at Studenty we’ve got some just-in exclusive images for you, from the band’s upcoming trio of albums — ¡Uno!, which is due to be released on September 24 in the UK; ¡Dos!, which comes out on November 12 in the United Kingdom; and ¡Tre!, which will be released on January 14 2013 in the UK. While the album cover artwork for the first two releases from the upcoming trio of albums has already been released this month, the cover of part three is just in! Also — hello! –- who doesn’t need an excuse to see a pretty picture of Billie Joe, Mike and Tré happily holding up their latest pieces of musical magic?! Not me!
The album trilogy features lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe on the cover of part one — ¡Uno!; bassist, backing vocalist Mike Dirnt taking centre stage on the second, ¡Dos!; and, in a seriously subtle nod to his namesake, drummer Tré Cool on the cover of the final album in the set, ¡Tre!
Green Day with the complete trio of albums, ¡Uno!, ¡Dos! and ¡Tre!
The album trilogy will officially serve as their 9th album, not 9th, 10th and 11th albums, with Billie Joe’s response to the conundrum, which has surely crossed your Studenty mind being:
“One. Believe me, we asked.”
The trio of releases, which the band commenced recording on Valentine’s Day, will have their first single, Oh Love, cut from the first offering of the trilogy, ¡Uno! The single, according to Greenday.com, will “hit the airwaves” on July 16. And while the California-based band have yet to announce any Irish tour dates in 2012, they are playing some shows this year pre-album release — in Japan, France, Germany, Italy and America. Their itinerary, if you’re feeling especially flush, is as follows:
18 August 2012: Summer Sonic, Tokyo, Japan
19 August 2012: Summer Sonic, Osaka, Japan
26 August 2012: Rock en Seine, Paris, France
29 August 2012: Hockey Park, Munchengladbach, Germany
30 August 2012: Wuhlheide, Berlin, Germany
1 September 2012: Rock am See, Konstanz, Germany
2 September 2012: I-Day Festival,Bologna, Italy
10 September 2012: Voodoo Music Experience, New Orleans, LA
Hopefully they’ll pay a visit to our fair isle during the all-but-obligatory (unless you’re Kate Bush, obvs.) tour to support the much anticipated record trilogy. Keep your ears peeled for an announcement which will most likely be made in early 2013. In the meantime, you can watch the trailers for part one and two of the album trio right here, on Studenty (below). And if you’re really hankering for a live (well, as near as you’re going to get to Green Day live this year, in Ireland anyway) Green Day fix on Irish soil, (read also: not flush enough to fly out to Japan!) you could always bag yourself a ticket to the Irish leg of their American Idiot musical, based on their mega-hit seminal album of the same name, which will be gracing us with its presence from November 5 – November 10, in Dublin’s Bord Gáis Energy Theatre.
While Green Day aren’t official cast members, they have been known to crop up from time to time, with Billie Joe attending a performance inCosta Mesa, California, as recently as 3 June. Green Day also made a surprise appearance, performing the show’s title track, along with old favourite Basket Case (from the days before American Idiot granted them a pack-fresh cachet of cool for a new generation) a few days after the musical opened in Broadway, New York, in April 2010. Billie Joe also took on the lead role, playing St. Jimmy, in the production for a brief spell in September 2010; and for a longer stint in January 2011. So, cross your fingers, toes, and anything else remotely crossable, and you just might see the mighty Green Day in the gorgeous flesh on home soil in the year 2012.
In the meantime, let me know –- are you excited about the new album trilogy? Will you be queueing up, old school style, outside a record store come September, November and January? Or will you be downloading ¡Uno!, ¡Dos! and ¡Tre! onto your MP3 player? In the case of the latter, do you even give a crap-ola about the cover art?! Do you think the trio of releases is a good idea, or a bit rip off-ey? Could it possibly come to rival the ever-brilliant American Idiot? What are your thoughts on Green Day? Tell me all in the comments, or tweet me @aprilbarry101
You can see an official YouTube preview of ¡Uno! here and ¡Dos! here.
This was originally published on June 26, 2012, and can be seen, in edited form, here.
If you would like to see all my work on Cork.Studenty.me, please click here.
Lead image: Wikimedia Commons
Second image: Billie Joe Armstrong/Twitter
April Barry 