On Air Now
Radio X Chilled with Michael Lavin 9pm - 1am
Here's why there's a unicorn on the cover of the new Green Day album
8 February 2020, 19:00 | Updated: 8 February 2020, 19:01
Billie Joe Armstrong has explained that the fictitious creature has a very important job...
Billie Joe Armstrong has explained why there'a a drawing of a unicorn on the cover of the new Green Day album - he's there to censor the sweary title.
The US pop-punk trio's thirteenth album is due this week and it masquerades under the name Father Of All... but on the cover of the LP is a rough drawing of a unicorn vomiting rainbow-coloured puke over the word "MOTHERF**KERS"
The frontman told Kerrang magazine the reasoning behind the appearance of the fantastical creature: "For the adults, it’s called Father Of All Motherf**kers, and then for the kids and for the censorship, it’s Father Of All…”
But the Bad Word was something of an afterthought. Armstrong continued: “It’s always been Father Of All…, pretty much.
"I did the artwork and I scribbled ‘Father Of All Motherf**kers’ on the American Idiot album cover.
"Someone said, ‘You’re never going to be able to get ‘Motherf**kers’ on there,’ and I go, ‘Well, just make everybody happy and just put a f**king unicorn on it!’
"And then I drew a unicorn and put it over it. So it’s kind of funny, because the unicorn has become this icon.”
Father Of All... is released on Friday 7 February and will be supported by Green Day's Hella Mega Tour, which sees the veteran rock band accompanied by Fall Out Boy and Weezer. Their dates in Glasgow, London and Huddersfield in June have all sold out.
