Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong tells British Summer Time crowd 'rock and roll can change the world' - and takes a pop at Donald Trump

Fiona Simpson2 July 2017

Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong said "rock and roll music can change the world" as he hit out at US president Donald Trump during a headline performance in central London.

The lead singer invited fans on stage, led raucous sing-a-longs and hosed the crowd with water during a whirlwind and nostalgia-tinged set at British Summer Time in Hyde Park.

As he thanked the 60,000-strong crowd for supporting the band throughout their 30-year career, Armstrong said he "doesn't need any politicians telling me what to think".

Celebrating the crowds diversity he added: "We all come from different backgrounds ... everyone's got some shit they don't want to talk about.

"We come here we drink together and we get f***** up together.

"You can call me naive all you want but I firmly believe rock and roll music can change the world."

He added: "No sexism. No racism. No homophobia. And no Donald Trump!"

And returning for an encore which included an extended version of American Idiot, he bellowed "F*** you Donald Trump" to a roar from fans.

During the band's performance of Boulevard Of Broken Dreams, Armstrong was left sitting on the edge of the stage redundant with the crowd taking over vocal duties.

Meanwhile Longview - from the band's 1994 album Dookie - was performed by an eager young female fan plucked from the crowd.

He was replaced again during a cover of Operation Ivy's Knowledge after inviting a teenage fan to take over guitar duties.

It is part of the band's Revolution Radio tour promoting their 12th studio album of the same name and comes a day ahead of Justin Bieber's headline slot in Hyde Park.

In a dig at the Canadian pop star, Armstrong thanked those who had performed earlier, adding it had been "a lot better than it will be tomorrow".

Fans took to social media hailing the set “amazing” and “one of the best memories I’ll ever have.”

Grace Woods wrote on Twitter: “Saw Green Day yesterday and it was awesome.”

While Rosie Clark added: “Green Day were absolutely incredible.”

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