Photo: Press
It's been a while in the wilderness for Good Charlotte. In 2011, 15 years of riding high among Generation Y's pop-punk vanguard, they split - seemingly never to return.
"In 2011 we felt like we were done," frontman Joel Madden tells us. "We felt like we’d done everything we needed to do and we, at that point, felt like we didn’t have much left to say and that’s when as an artist you start to question, why am I doing this? As much as money is a good thing, that can’t be the driver of why you play a show or make a record. Energetically, I feel like you have to want to be there, or it just all falls apart."
But now, they're back, and on fine form - clearly loving every minute of it. With a new lease of life and reinvigorated sound, this summer sees Good Charlotte back on the road, and back to take what's theirs with new album, Youth Authority.
We catch up Joel Madden to find out where they've been, and where they're going...
Photo: Ray Hill
Good Charlotte are back after quite some time apart, what were the reasons behind why you were away for so long?
"With Good Charlotte I think we all agreed that we’d spent so many years from 1996 to 2011 just working on this band, that was our life. Then at the end of it we all sat there and were like, who are we in real life? It can’t just be that we’re just in a band. Also at the time we were in the business everyone was just beating the horse and we fucking lost our way a little bit. That’s not to say we weren’t genuine with it, we were just kids when we started from a little town and then we kind of got into it, learned a hell of a lot and by 31 we had that confidence where we were like - no I’m not doing that anymore, I don’t want to do that and I don’t care how much the pay cheque is. I think we rebelled against that and in 2011 we just shut it down, like fuck this we’re done. We shut down the website, we shut down the merchandise website and we took it back and it felt special, like it’s ours forever and if we never make another record with Good Charlotte we’re all fine with that as long as we’re genuine with each other.
"It was a really liberating feeling as a band to control ourselves. Then we all went into our lives and tried to find out who we were outside of the band. I think we really have discovered who we are; our wives and children are really our salvation and my family is my religion. We kind of all started doing different shit, me and Benji went and did the Voice in Australia and we produced a record that we really loved and it was all for us."
"Then last year we all got together because we still get together once a year or whatever, as our kids are all growing up and we were like, what if we all just go and make a record? We’re all independent now, so there’s no pressure. We all talked about it and I said to the band that I was the only one kind of on the fence and I said I don’t want to do this if we don’t mean it, I’ve got to make a fucking record that we really love.
"We’re only playing shows that we want to play, we’re only doing shit that we care about and that’s the experience we want to have. Then we went in and made this record and all of us had a good time and we all love the record. We were all happy with the result so we played some shows and so far all the shows have been really fun, it feels like there’s a different energy with it all right now.
You sound so excited about the new album Youth Authority record. What was inspiring you, and what were the driving forces behind the album?
"I think there’s a return to spirit that we’ve always had but it got beaten out of us a little bit, but I feel like thanks to our families and each other there’s a real hopefulness in the record that I think we had on our first and second album. We’ve always tried to keep that sense of hope in our lives and it really came back on this record. I think there’s a new energy that I don’t know if we’ve ever had, but there is a new acceptance that we know what we do well and this album is really true to that.
"I don’t think we have any delusions that this is the best Good Charlotte that we’ve ever been. We’re more confident than we’ve ever been, but I don’t think we’re the kind of band either where any of us think we’re geniuses. I think we’re an honest band that work hard and we’ve made a very honest record and I’m proud of that. There’s a fine line between drinking your own Kool-Aid and thinking you’re Beethoven or Mozart, I think that in pop culture we have stayed true to who we are. I think it’s the first time in my career where I’ve felt completely comfortable just being me."
Photo: Ray Hill
Do you feel any pressure to deliver heavier music to your older fans? Can we expect any songs that go back to your punk-rock roots on the new record?
"I think this album is a heavy guitar record, and there’s heavier stuff than we’ve ever done before. There’s a song called WAR that I think musically is heavier than anything we’ve ever done, but is still very melodic. I do think the album is different to what we’ve done before, but you will find a return to some of our punk stuff, I think there are four-five songs on the record that feel almost like throw backs. It’s a return to that energy and spirit, if you put Life Spirit up against all our old songs I don’t know that there’s a song like that that we’ve ever done before."
You recently supported All Time Low on their tour, which seemed to go down really well, how did it feel to be back on the road again after so much time off?
"It felt great and it was really cool to go back out and play with friends. When we told ATL that we were making a record they asked us if it would be done in time because they were touring in the UK and said we should go together. We felt like it was the perfect way for us to return and the whole point for us right now is to have fun and we’re only going to play shows that we feel are special. We felt like it really was a different way to come back instead of a Good Charlotte return tour, we were like let’s just go and support our friends."
You’re at Reading and Leeds festival this year, what can fans expect from that performance?
"Yeah, we’re playing on a stage at Reading and Leeds that I really love and I feel really good about that, it’s going to be a special ticket. We’re protecting the specialness of it, because I can’t guarantee how many more tours we’re gonna do and that we’ll be on tour forever, so everything we do from here on out we just want to be memorable."
What can we expect from these summer shows?
"We want everyone who got a ticket to feel like it’s worth the money and that they saw Good Charlotte at their most memorable. We don’t necessarily want to conquer the world, we don’t feel like we want to make something come back, we just want to put out a special record and put on some special shows."
You mentioned before you had a side project, called the Madden Brothers, do you have any plans to release any more material?
"I can never say never because we write music together all the time. The Madden Brothers record was a truly creative project. I do feel like with Good Charlotte that’s my only band and I will never be in another band and I feel so happy in Good Charlotte right now that I don’t feel that I have a need to make music anywhere else right now. If we make another record after this, it’ll be another Good Charlotte record. I think if we stay on track we probably will make another Good Charlotte record, but then I never really saw myself doing this past 41 or 42, but I’m 37 now, so there’s still time."
Photo: Ray HIll
Good Charlotte release new album Youth Authority on 15 July.
As well as performing at Reading & Leeds festival this summer, the band will also play the following headline shows. Tickets are on sale from 9am on Friday 17 June and are available here.
Wed August 24 2016 - GLASGOW O2 Academy Glasgow
Thu August 25 2016 - MANCHESTER O2 Ritz
Sat August 27 2016 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Institute
