royal blue mersey 
25-04-2024 17:56
25-04-2024 17:56
"Welcome to Paradise" - The Story of Green Day and Everton’s Sean Dyche
If you’re hearing Everton and the rock band Green Day being mentioned in the same breath and are mightily confused as to what is going on, worry no more.
It all started a few days ago when manager Sean Dyche went on the Football, Music and Me segment of The Overlap podcast. He spoke with Geoff Shreeves who ends up having one-on-one conversations with big names from the the world of football and music.
During the interview, when he got to the part where he was asked about memorable concerts he has been to, he spoke effusively about watching the American punk rockers in concert and how much he enjoyed them.
“Green Day! Knock it out. It just feels like two hours of high-octane, non-stop, smashing the life out of song after song. You can’t not like it, I’m telling you!
“That’s my advice for you: anyone who’s not seen Green Day, I don’t care what music you’re into, just buy a ticket and see Green Day.
“I saw them with Stuart Pearce — me and Woanie [Ian Woan, his long-time assistant coach] — he said, ‘You’ve got to see Green Day’. He almost bullied me into seeing Green Day. And I went, ‘Right, okay..’ and he was right. They were just a different class. Absolutely high octane.”
The day after the interview was published, it was brought to the attention of the Green Day lead man Billie Joe Armstrong, who responded on his Instagram story with a doctored picture of himself at Finch Farm signing an Everton contract. All of that got pushed to the back of the Evertonian’s minds, and likely Dyche’s as well with the Blues preparing to take on Liverpool in the Merseyside Derby last night.
However, in keeping with the high-octane, non-stop style of Green Day, Dyche’s Toffees quelled the threat of Jurgen Klopp’s heavy metal football to come away 2-0 victors, marking their first Goodison derby win since October 2010.
After the final whistle, as the stands of the hallowed old ground emptied out, there was a special treat for the manager as their hit ‘Welcome To Paradise’ blared out on the tannoy.
Sean Dyche revealed this week that he is a big Green Day fan, so they played a bit of "Welcome To Paradise" in Goodison Park at the end of Everton's 2-0 win against Liverpool. pic.twitter.com/8ZWflVkJRN — James Nalton (@JDNalton) April 24, 2024
Hours after the game, Billie Joe was back on social media congratulating the Blues on their famous win.
“Hello, Everton. What’s up? This is Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day.
“I just want to say congratulations to everybody. You kicked Liverpool’s ass, and a fantastic victory.”
It didn’t quite end there. During his pre-match press conference this afternoon ahead of Saturday’s clash against Brentford, the BBC’s Giulia Bould asked Dyche about the instant connection with the band and if he was aware of the congratulatory message from Billie Joe.
“I am. This is all by accident. I didn’t design it, it was an interview scenario about football and music. It was actually about Stuart Pearce who got me into it and told me ‘You have to go and see them’ and I did.
“He told me exactly what I said on the podcast and I did, and they were terrific. I just happened to mention that Green Day took me by surprise.
“I wasn’t expecting it to then get picked up by someone who then listened to it and then go to the singer of the band. What’s come next, that’s the power of social media I suppose.”
So there you have it, the story of how the worlds of Everton and Green Day have somehow intersected. If Sean Dyche is still in charge of the Blues when we are moving into our new digs at Everton Stadium on Bramley-Moore Dock to begin the 2025-26 season, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Green Day and another few of the bands the manager listed out to come and play at the new arena.
It all started a few days ago when manager Sean Dyche went on the Football, Music and Me segment of The Overlap podcast. He spoke with Geoff Shreeves who ends up having one-on-one conversations with big names from the the world of football and music.
During the interview, when he got to the part where he was asked about memorable concerts he has been to, he spoke effusively about watching the American punk rockers in concert and how much he enjoyed them.
“Green Day! Knock it out. It just feels like two hours of high-octane, non-stop, smashing the life out of song after song. You can’t not like it, I’m telling you!
“That’s my advice for you: anyone who’s not seen Green Day, I don’t care what music you’re into, just buy a ticket and see Green Day.
“I saw them with Stuart Pearce — me and Woanie [Ian Woan, his long-time assistant coach] — he said, ‘You’ve got to see Green Day’. He almost bullied me into seeing Green Day. And I went, ‘Right, okay..’ and he was right. They were just a different class. Absolutely high octane.”
The day after the interview was published, it was brought to the attention of the Green Day lead man Billie Joe Armstrong, who responded on his Instagram story with a doctored picture of himself at Finch Farm signing an Everton contract. All of that got pushed to the back of the Evertonian’s minds, and likely Dyche’s as well with the Blues preparing to take on Liverpool in the Merseyside Derby last night.
However, in keeping with the high-octane, non-stop style of Green Day, Dyche’s Toffees quelled the threat of Jurgen Klopp’s heavy metal football to come away 2-0 victors, marking their first Goodison derby win since October 2010.
After the final whistle, as the stands of the hallowed old ground emptied out, there was a special treat for the manager as their hit ‘Welcome To Paradise’ blared out on the tannoy.
Sean Dyche revealed this week that he is a big Green Day fan, so they played a bit of "Welcome To Paradise" in Goodison Park at the end of Everton's 2-0 win against Liverpool. pic.twitter.com/8ZWflVkJRN — James Nalton (@JDNalton) April 24, 2024
Hours after the game, Billie Joe was back on social media congratulating the Blues on their famous win.
“Hello, Everton. What’s up? This is Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day.
“I just want to say congratulations to everybody. You kicked Liverpool’s ass, and a fantastic victory.”
It didn’t quite end there. During his pre-match press conference this afternoon ahead of Saturday’s clash against Brentford, the BBC’s Giulia Bould asked Dyche about the instant connection with the band and if he was aware of the congratulatory message from Billie Joe.
“I am. This is all by accident. I didn’t design it, it was an interview scenario about football and music. It was actually about Stuart Pearce who got me into it and told me ‘You have to go and see them’ and I did.
“He told me exactly what I said on the podcast and I did, and they were terrific. I just happened to mention that Green Day took me by surprise.
“I wasn’t expecting it to then get picked up by someone who then listened to it and then go to the singer of the band. What’s come next, that’s the power of social media I suppose.”
So there you have it, the story of how the worlds of Everton and Green Day have somehow intersected. If Sean Dyche is still in charge of the Blues when we are moving into our new digs at Everton Stadium on Bramley-Moore Dock to begin the 2025-26 season, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Green Day and another few of the bands the manager listed out to come and play at the new arena.