Green Day side-project The Coverups announce tiny London gigs

Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt will play two club shows in London in the coming weeks with their side-project covers band The Coverups.

The band, which also includes Green Day's touring guitarist Jason White and the band's tour manager Bill Schneider will play The Garage on February 27 and the 100 Club on March 1. Tickets went on sale this morning at 8am - the group declaring “Hello London! Come have fun with us!” on their social media posts - and unsurprisingly, are already sold-out.

On New Year's Eve, the group performed at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, California, playing a 31-song set featuring songs by Ramones, Bryan Adams, Tom Petty, Nirvana, Kiss, The Strokes, The Clash and more, including a cover of The Pogues' If I Should Fall From Grace With God as a tribute to the late Shane MacGowan.

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Green Day were scheduled to play the Electric Ballroom in Camden in Novemmber ahead of the release of their current album 'SAVIORS' but cancelled the gig with just over an hour's notice after an un-named member fell unexpectedly ill. At the time, they promised “We’ll see you back again on The Saviors Tour if not sooner...”

As well as supporting their new album, the band's world tour will commemorate the 30th anniversary of Green Day's breakthrough album Dookie, released February 1 1994, and the 20th anniversary of the band's mega-successful punk rock opera, American Idiot, which was released September 20, 2004.

In North America, support will come from The Smashing Pumpkins, their punk soulbrothers Rancid and The Linda Lindas, while in Europe and the UK support will come from a selection of Nothing But Thieves, The Hives, Donots, The Interruptors and Maid Of Ace.

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.