‘Bucket list’ gigs opening for Green Day side project.
Breakout Birmingham band Lovebreakers will mark the release of their second album Wonder by opening two sellout London shows for Green Day’s side project The Coverups.
The Brummie four-piece, who cite the Californian music stars amongst their musical influences, will share a stage with the American rock trio’s frontman and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, at London’s legendary The Garage and 100 Club venues this week.
The Coverups – formed around the same time as Lovebreakers – is a live band also featuring Green Day touring guitarist Jason White, tour manager Bill Schneider (bass), and acclaimed audio engineer Chris Dugan (drums) amongst others, that perform small, rare intimate shows.
Lovebreakers bassist Christian O’Reilly met two-time Grammy Award-winning engineer Chris Dugan, who has credits on seven Green Day albums including American Idiot and 2024 release Saviors, whilst on tour in California with a previous band.
Christian said: “Chris came to see our show at Berkeley venue 924 Gilman Street – we hung out and quickly became friends. I would send Chris any music I was working on. He instantly took a liking to Lovebreakers and was really supportive.
“Chris has done a fantastic job mastering and mixing Wonder. We’re super proud of how it sounds and a huge part of that is down to his magic. When he texted me two weeks ago at 11 pm, asking if we were available to open up for The Coverups, as you could imagine, we couldn’t say ‘yes’ quick enough. Needless to say, that night I don’t think any of us got much sleep, such is the excitement for the shows.”
Lovebreakers hail from the UK rock and metal heartlands of Birmingham and formed in 2017. Their songs caught the attention of Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day, who hand-picked the band’s cover of Baba O’Riley for his Oakland Coffee Spotify playlist, as well as LA-based producer, Davey Warsop, who invited the band out to California in 2019 to record their first album.
Their debut full-length album Primary Colours was recorded in Costa Mesa, California. The album has a vibrant sound, drawing upon influences such as Tom Petty, The Clash and The Replacements. Primary Colours received radio play from nationwide stations such as BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music and Radio X.
After reaching the ears of Mike Ness, frontman of legendary punk band Social Distortion, Lovebreakers were invited to open up for them on a mammoth six-week European tour, playing sold-out arenas and huge clubs in the summer of 2022.
Remembering the first time meeting Mike, frontman Jack Perry said: “At first, it was pretty frightening because we respect those guys massively. Mike sat with us and we all just hung out. We spoke about music and he even played on a new guitar I had for the tour. To play big stages with my favourite rock and roll bands are bucket list moments for sure. The opportunity to play on the same show as Billie Joe Armstrong is quite surreal too.
“Green Day are one of the reasons I picked up the guitar in the first place and they have been an ongoing inspiration for Lovebreakers. They continue to release music which still sounds fresh and exciting. In my opinion, they just keep getting braver and better.”
Lovebreakers, comprising Jack (vocals and guitar), Christian (bass), Chino (lead guitar) and Nathan (drums), have created a timeless, feel-good rock’n’roll style which has already drawn support from fans and industry. They have completed their own headline tours across the UK as well as on the European continent, into 2024, with Elvana.
The band have signed to management agency EVO, run by James Abdou and Matt Campbell, joining global reggae stars UB40 on the roster. Their second record Wonder will be released on March 1st 2024 via Gunner Records (EU) and Wiretap Records (US).