Interview: Wheatus frontman Brendan B. Brown on plotting a collab with Ed Sheeran, being inspired by Liam Payne and Teenage Dirtbag at 25
Wheatus are embarking on a 25th anniversary UK and Ireland tour, playing their self-titled debut album in full and taking requests from the crowd.
As Wheatus mark the 25th anniversary of their cult hit Teenage Dirtbag, frontman Brendan B. Brown reflects on the song’s enduring appeal, the changing landscape of pop music, and what’s next for the band. “I have yet to be exhausted by Teenage Dirtbag,” Brown says. “It’s still fun, it’s still a thing we look forward to and have great responsibility over.”
The band recently performed the track with Ed Sheeran, and Brown confirms a studio collaboration is on the horizon. “I talked to him about it yesterday,” he reveals. “I think we certainly will.” Wheatus are also preparing to record their seventh studio album in 2026, with acoustic and covers records planned ahead of that.
Brown notes the current demand for nostalgia and critiques the state of modern music, calling much of it “formulaic” and “AI-ish.” He adds, “Trends were more identifiable 20 years ago, and they aren’t so much anymore.”
The band’s UK and Irish anniversary tour kicks off in November, with original member Phil Jimenez rejoining for a special Wembley Arena performance. Brown also shared stories of recent performances with Alice Cooper and Good Charlotte, and expressed hopes to work again with longtime friend James Bourne of Busted, who has been absent from the Busted vs McFly tour due to ill health.
Teenage Dirtbag has turned 25 and is still adored. There's never been more demand for nostalgia, has there?
I think everyone's a little exhausted on the internet, maybe looking toward a simpler time, or recalling things from a simpler time. I think music, with the exception of hip-hop and R'n'B, has kind of become a little bit stale and predictable, formulaic, sort of AI-ish. So a lot is missing, some of it has no guts. So there's a bit of that. But, yeah, I also think that trends were more identifiable 20 years ago, and they aren't so much anymore.
Do you ever tire of performing it?
I have yet to be exhausted by Teenage Dirtbag. It's a fun song to perform. It's a challenging song to perform, so you can't really phone it in. And we intend to deliver it with album quality. So, it's still fun, it's still a thing we look forward to and have great responsibility over.
Your vocals are so high-pitched, and you've recently been singing higher than the crowd. How has that been?
Yeah, I did that with Ed Sheeran back in July. I find it easier to hear myself above the crowd sometimes if I sing a higher harmony, and that's all there is to it. You know, not trying to show off, I'm just trying to hear myself.
What was it like entering Ed Sheeran's world when you performed Teenage Dirtbag with him and his old band?
He was quite a gentleman. Invited me to be a part of his immense spaceship show, and I was happy to jump up there. Quite honorued to be included. And his crew and his people are all really lovely, hard-working. It was impressive to see him do those shows. A lot of the pop artists use a lot of safety net mechanisms, backing tracks, or light shows, other distractions, and he's just raw dogging them shows by himself. Man, it's just him up there. So it's kind of crazy to watch that happen.
After sharing a stage, is getting into the studio together on the cards?
I think we certainly will. Yeah, I would love to. I talked to him about it yesterday, in fact.
Can we expect new music?
At the moment, we're about to record our seventh album, probably in 2026, but before that, we're going to do an acoustic record and a covers record. So those are the goals. But we're in transition a bit in terms of our recording space. We've always done everything at home, and at this point, we're kind of bursting at the seams where we are, we might have to find a place that's a little bit more accommodating. So once that's done, we'll probably turn into a little music factory again.
And what does Wheatus sound like in 2026?
There are three songs on streaming right now that are from the collection of songs for the seventh album. One is called Tipsy. It's a song I was inspired by Liam Payne to write. I had a conversation with him. Another song called Michelle, which is on our live record, and then another tune, a sort of experimental jazz-metal song called Lullaby, which is on its own little EP single release. Those are sort of experimental demo versions of tracks from album seven.
What was it like performing with shock rock icon Alice Cooper recently?
That was so terrifying, man, the Alice one was the scariest of them all. That was just like, holy s***.
And you also did Teenage Dirtbag with Good Charlotte?
The Good Charlotte guys are lovely friends. They're wonderful people. You know, it's funny. In the first decade of doing this for a living, we crossed paths, but we weren't finished becoming what people we would be. And now that we've kind of washed up on the shores of middle age, we'll look at each other and say, Yeah, you made it, didn't you? Let's be friends. And it's a different kind of camaraderie.
Who else is left on your bucket list to work with?
One of my favourite people on Earth is James Bourne from Busted. He's my good friend. We've been very good friends for a very long time, and I know that he's been unable to tour with the band at the moment, and I am hopefully looking forward to his return. But I would love to sit and collaborate with my friend James a few more times before we finish these journeys around the sun.
You kick off your 25th anniversary headline UK and Irish tour in November. Do you have anything special in store for fans?
Yes, Phil Jimenez, from the original lineup, is gonna be joining us on stage at Wembley Arena. Very excited about that. So that should be fun.
How do you look after your health with all the touring you do?
Yeah, no drinking. Save the Guinness that Ed [Sheeran] made me have yesterday. It was just the one, I barely ever drink, and that was my barely for the year, you know, so barley, I should say. But yeah, no smoking. Early to bed, lots of water, take my vitamins, lots of good fats, avocado, smoked salmon, just try and stay away from sweets, although that's more and more difficult. If you've got a giant Fruit and Nut staring at you in the dressing room.
Grab remaining tickets to the Wheatus 25th anniversary tour here.
