Green Day - Green Day Cancel Voodoo Fest Gig And Open Up On Billie Joe Rehab

Green Day Cancel Voodoo Fest Gig And Open Up On Billie Joe Rehab

Green Day have announced that they have to pull out of a headline slot at the October 27 Voodoo Music + Arts Experience festival in New Orleans, with lead singer, Billie Joe Armstrong in rehab for substance abuse.

Mike Dirnt, the bassist for the band, admitted releasing three albums in quick succession was more than they could handle: "With hindsight 20/20 it was a tremendous undertaking," he told BBC Radio 1 host Zane Lowe. "Although we were having fun we didn't take our nose out of the book for a long time. I think it catches up with you a little bit ... We definitely just jumped off a moving train." Armstrong’s admittance to rehab was predicated by his outburst during Green Day's September 21 performance at iHeartRadio, and Dirnt opened up on that too. "There were signs of things hitting the fan," he said. "We hadn't slept in forever and Billie had definitely had the worst of it. He'd been going through his own struggles ... We were there with him but you can only handle things on your own ... At the end of the day when we got off the road the most important thing was my friend's life."

Green Day fanatics will be hoping Billie Joe gains a full recovery, and quickly, as their live show is touted as being a special one indeed. The band still plan to release the next album in the series, ¡Dos! on November 13, so punk-fans will have to make do with that, in the meantime.