Barman Toby Aird with Billie Joe Armstrong

PUNK rock royalty came to Islington last weekend as Green Day’s lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong made a surprise appearance at an Angel pub.

Completely unprompted, the singer surprised the band Borderline Toxic on stage at the Slim Jim’s Liquor Store and sang his band’s song Basket Case with them.

Kerry Glass, the band’s lead singer, said: “We start off doing covers to get the crowd going. It was just one of those nights when the band started off strong. We just knew that we sounded good, and the energy was right, the crowd was instantly all hyped up.

“Then I started singing Basket Case. Everyone was singing, and then he just got up on stage. The drummer was ready to throw a stick at him to get him off, because it’s not unlike people to try and get on stage at Slim Jim’s. But the band didn’t even miss a beat, they just went with it.”

She added: “Green Day was the first band to get me into rock music when I was 11 years old. So, it was a very surreal moment for me.”

According to Senan O’Rourke, 43, the manager of Slim Jim’s, rock venues are struggling and appearances like this help to keep them alive.

Steve O’Rourke outside Slim Jim’s Liquor Store

“Sadly, London over the last three or four years has lost a lot of rock and roll joints. There’s Crowbar, Big Red, and other places like that. But, there’s not many of us left. It’s like a dying genre of a bar,” said Mr O’Rourke.

He said that these kinds of appearances are good for business, and added: “I see a lot of our performers play that kind of music here, and it just kicks right off. It goes down very well.”

Ms Glass founded Borderline Toxic with her drummer, Pete Ray Biggin, during the pandemic. She said that a lack of rock venues makes it tough for a band that’s just starting out.

“It’s really hard, because a lot of the nights in London are promoter-run,” she said. “You’ll go on the bill with a lot of other bands. But a lot of time you’re just playing to the people that you’ve brought down. What’s really missing in London is a proper, proper rock night.”

With this in mind, Borderline Toxic have teamed up with Slim Jim’s to create “proper rock nights”, the first of which is happening on June 23.

Slim Jim’s has been open for 15 years, and it’s not uncommon for celebrity musicians to darken its doors.

“We had Post Malone in here two weeks ago,” said Mr O’Rourke. “He was here on a Tuesday when it was quiet and we weren’t doing any gigs. We had Steve Harris, the lead guitarist from Iron Maiden, a couple of weeks ago as well, just hanging out with some friends. But obviously, Billy Joe was probably the biggest one – that was massive.”