A One Direction Member Watched This Green Day Performance ‘Religiously’
A member of One Direction was a major fan of Green Day as a teenager. During an interview, he revealed he watched one of their live performances “religiously.” He also revealed how Green Day inspired him as a member of One Direction.
This Green Day album was the first album a One Direction member ever bought
Louis Tomlinson was a member of One Direction from 2010 to 2016. During a 2015 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Tomlinson discussed the artists who influenced him. “As a songwriter — as I’ve said before — Ed [Sheeran] is really inspiring in his ability,” said Tomlinson. “And then growing up on Green Day, that kind of got me into performing. And maybe also Robbie Williams — he’s a fantastic performer. Watched a lot of his stuff.”
Tomlinson discussed the first album he purchased. “The first album I bought would probably have been … although it was a live DVD, Green Day’s Bullet in a Bible,” he recalled. “One of the Green Day albums, for sure.” Bullet in a Bible is a live album/video album that captures a Green Day performance in the United Kingdom.
For context, Green Day released Bullet in a Bible in 2005, the year after the band released its seminal album American Idiot. Bullet in a Bible includes performances of many of the songs from American Idiot, including the title track, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” and “Wake Me Up When September Ends.”
“I used to be obsessed,” Tomlinson tells EW. “I was probably around 18 — that’s when I started getting into Green Day, I reckon. That’s quite old to buy my first album. I didn’t download them illegally, though!”
How Green Day inspired Louis Tomlinson as a member of a band and as a solo artist
One Direction didn’t make music similar to Green Day’s. Tomlinson said Green Day influenced his live performances more than it influenced his music. “I just watched the DVD religiously,” he recalled. “The show they put on was so incredible.”
During a 2019 interview with Billboard, Taylor Weatherby asked Tomlinson if pop-punk music influenced his debut solo album, Walls. “I was singing Green Day songs when I first started, so naturally my voice was molded to that kind of sound and especially that kind of chorus,” Tomlinson replied. “It’s always something that I’m conscious of.”
‘Bullet in a Bible’ impacted people who weren’t in One Direction
It appears Tomlison wasn’t the only one who enjoyed Bullet in a Bible. The live album reached No. 8 on the Billboard 200, staying on the chart for 14 weeks. Bullet in a Bible became a hit in the United Kingdom as well. The Official Charts Company reports the album reached No. 6 in the U.K., staying on the chart for 16 weeks. While Bullet in a Bible isn’t as famous as other Green Day albums like Dookie or American Idiot, it left an impact on one of the most famous boy bands of all time.
