Billie Joe Armstrong Joins Green Day Cover Band For 'Basket Case' In London

Billie Joe Armstrong made everyone’s night at the Slim Jim’s Liquor Store dive bar in Islington, London, on Saturday night (13 May), when he made an impromptu appearance on stage, joining the UK band Borderline Toxic on stage for a roaring rendition of the Green Day classic, Basket Case.

In the video footage captured on the night, Borderline Toxic, the “Heavy alt-rock band from London" with "Funky, face-melty riffs and lyrical twists,” per their social media, were already playing Basket Case, when a wild Billie Joe Armstrong leapt onto the stage from the audience.

As soon as he started singing, the crowd – and band members – immediately lost it. Cheers of delight and surprise rose through the audience, with vocalist Kerry Glass staring at him in shock. Check out the videos below.

“Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day got on stage with us last night at our favourite London dive bar!!!! Brb screaming/crying/spewing,” Borderline Toxic wrote on Twitter. Green Day also shared a video, writing on Instagram, “When you walk into a pub and the cover band starts playing your song.”

Borderline Toxic made another post on social media, writing on Instagram, "THANK YOU, YOU LEGEND! This was the first band to get me into rock when I was 11 years old”.

In March, the Green Day-inspired American Idiot musical returned to Melbourne, blowing the roof off the Chapel Off Chapel. The production starred Mat Dwyer as Johnny, John Mondelo as Tunny, and Ronald MacKinnon as Will. Other characters included St. Jimmy (Will Huang), Whatsername (Romy Mcilroy), Heather (Harmony Thomas-Brown), Extraordinary Girl (Tashiya Prins) and the Favourite Son (Thomas Martin).

The musical is written by the Green Day frontman and co-writer Michael Mayer. The main characters of the show "struggle to find meaning in a post-9/11 world" and rely "on the lyrics from Green Day’s groundbreaking album to execute the storyline." 

This October, Green Day will join forces with blink-182 to headline an absolutely bonkers line-up at the 2023 edition of the When Were Young festival in Las Vegas. Yep, the stuff of emo kids’ dreams actually happened last year.

The giants of pop punk will be joined in Las Vegas by some of the biggest names in the late '90s and early '00s pop punk, post-hardcore, emo and rock scenes, as well as some titans of the current day.

Good Charlotte, The Offspring, 5 Seconds Of Summer, Pierce The Veil, Rise Against, Yellowcard, Sum 41, Simple Plan, Say Anything, New Found Glory, Thrice and Finch feature on the massive first announcement for the event taking place on October 21, 2023, at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds. 

Billie Joe Armstrong from @GreenDay got on stage with us last night at our favourite London dive bar!!!! Brb screaming/crying/spewing #greenday #londonband #liveband #divebar pic.twitter.com/LfEtErEQ2k

— Borderline Toxic (@BorderlineToxic) May 14, 2023

🎥 Billie Joe Armstrong just rocking up on stage with a cover band in a London pub to help out with ‘Basket Case’ - what a night, what a man💥🍻pic.twitter.com/NacXHYEUND

— Far Out Magazine (@FarOutMag) May 14, 2023