In the world of music, newer bands tend to look up to groups who came before them, especially in the rock music scene. However, it was not the case between Billie Joe Armstrong and Johnny Rotten; find out more about their feud below.
According to Grunge, Rotten, who now goes by the name John Lydon, is the frontman of one of the biggest bands in the United Kingdom, the Sex Pistols.
On the other hand, Billie Joe Armstrong is the vocalist of the California-founded trio Green Day. Both bands became iconic in their respective decades as they amassed millions of fans from around the world.
Billie Joe Armstrong Considers Sex Pistols as One of His Early Inspirations
Ahead of the release of Sex Pistols' biopic titled "Pistols," produced by Hulu, Armstrong credited the rival band for their contribution to the music scene in an interview with the Rolling Stone.
The Green Day vocalist noted that the other band's album, "Nevermind the Bollocks," was one of the first records that introduced him to the world of punk rock.
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He loved how the song was produced, especially its guitar riffs and how Rotten uses his voice to exude emotions.
"[The Pistols debut] just had a huge impact... Everything about it, from the lyrics to the guitar sounds to the songs, I thought was just perfect," he said. (via Grunge)
How Did The Feud Between Billie Joe Armstrong, Johnny Rotten Start?
Elsewhere in the interview, he then took a different route and opened up about how the band "killed punk" before it went mainstream back in the day.
"The Sex Pistols killed punk before it had the opportunity to go mainstream back then. What they had proved is that punk rock was not meant for the masses," he said, referring to the band's "Fulthy Lucre Live" reunion tour, which he thought was only for money.
He also used lyrics from Sex Pistol's song "Anarchy in the U.K." where he told the press: "I am the anti-Christ/Please buy our merchandise."
Johnny Rotten was not pleased with the comments made by the vocalist as he hit back, saying Green Day wouldn't exist if it weren't for his band.
The banter didn't stop there as Armstrong replied to the musician through an interview with Spin Magazine in 1997, saying he agreed with the statement mentioned above, but if it wasn't for his band, the Sex Pistols "wouldn't have done their big reunion tour. To each his own."
Even years after the interview, Rotten went on to tell the Los Angeles Times in 2011 that Green Day was a copycat of his band.
However, there was one moment when the singer openly made comments about the group's "Filthy Lucre Live" tour in 1996, which was their reunion series of concerts.
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