How Ray D’Arcy playing a snippet of Green Day on ‘The Den’ in 1994 led to a lifetime of fandom

‘They were the reason my brother and I started a band at school’

Billie Joe et al are still rocking in 2024 – this year they performed in front of 80,000 people at I-Days Festival, Milan. Photo: Getty

Chris Wasser

What, exactly, does a Green Day show look like in 2024? It depends on where you’re standing. Time is a slippery beast, and there’s no such thing as a typical Green Day fan. Not any more.

Some of us have been with them since the beginning; some hopped aboard the Californian punk rock express following the release of the band’s 2004 concept album, American Idiot. Others appear to have recently discovered the electric charm of America’s most reliable rock trio. The band’s universal appeal, then, gives way to some incredible sights at their long-awaited Marlay Park concert.