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Picture the year - it is 1984. Stuff happened. The miners strikes began. Reagan decided chemical weapons weren't cool. Virgin Atlantic took to the sky for the first time. Bob Geldof launched Band Aid. Ghostbusters is in cinemas. The list goes on. But what is really important is that it's the year when Offspring formed.
The setting is Orange County and vocalist Dextor Holland and bassist Greg K put together a band. They are joined by guitarist Noodles (aka Kevin Wasserman) and drummer Ron Welty bringing out a self-titled album in 1989. My personal favourite song from it being Jennifer Lost the War.
Followed up in 1993 by Ignition and a year later by the much loved Smash (due to it's harder sound which I thought took it away from punk a little). The band already had a large fanbase in the US on the independent record label Epitaph. Not that Epitaph are small, they have Bad Religion, Distillers and NOFX among others.
This relationship was running out of time though. Eventually the band decided to move and left for Columbia Records in 1996 and in 1997 released Ixnay on the Hombre. It wasn't as popular but on the plus side did have Gone Away on (fantastic track).
Moving on to 1998, Americana hit the shelves. It showed the bands lighter side with Pretty Fly for a White Guy and Why Don't You Get a Job as well as some awesome songs in the form of Have You Ever, End of the Line, Americana and Pay the Man.
Conspiracy of One followed in 2000 and the band originally planned to make it free to download on the internet before it was released in shops. Predictably the record company was not happy however and Sony Music threatened a lawsuit. So long that plan.
In 2004 Offspring released Splinter led by the single Hit That. It driffed from the traditional punk sound that appealed to the bands original fanbase although was not a total loss with Long Way Home. The band were back in the studio in March 2005.
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