Simple Plan's triumphant return to Australia as part of their 15th anniversary tour

Earlier this year, the angsty teenager inside us all were screaming with joy upon news that Simple Plan were heading to Australia this April.
The multi-platinum pop punk act announced they were binging their No Pads, No Helmets… Just Balls 15th anniversary tour Down Under, in what amounted to fantastic news for anyone who ever rocked a side fringe in 2002.
This album is full of SP’s pop-punk classics and we are loving the fact they are bringing it back in its entirety, 15 years later, which vocalist Pierre Bouvier explains.
“We definitely thought about it [a tour] when the ten-year anniversary came around of the album, but we thought that it wasn’t quite long enough; we didn’t feel like it was that nostalgic yet,” he explains. “Our first album was the beginning of it all, it was by far our biggest album, in the state especially. Originally our 15th anniversary tour was really meant to just be in the US for a few weeks and that was going to be it,” he continues. “We didn’t really intend to make it this World Tour, but after doing it in America, we realised how much impact this album and these songs actually have on people, and how many people out there would probably appreciate watching us play the whole thing from top to bottom and have a trip down memory lane and just be a teenager again.”
And with that, Simple Plan expanded their US tour and took the show to Mexico, Canada, Europe for the rest of 2017, and now, they’re on their way to Australia to celebrate the amazing adventure they’ve had as a band, and as friends, for the past 15 years.
Alongside Bouvier, the Canadian pop punk legends have managed to hold onto the original line up with Chuck Comeau(drums), David Desrosiers (bass, backing vocals), Sebastien Lefebvre (guitar, backing vocals) and Jeff Stinco (lead guitar). With five albums, more than 10 awards and countless hits later, they have also managed to stick to their roots and simultaneously stay relevant to their dedicated fans all these years later.
“I think the core of that is because we’re five guys who just really enjoy pop punk style of music,” Bouvier explains. “We are lucky enough that our first two albums seemed to really hit home with a lot of people and not just with one song, but with a lot of them. I’m thinking songs like ‘I’d Do Anything’, ‘Perfect’, ‘Addicted’, ‘Welcome to My Life’, or ‘Shut Up’ – all those songs came out within the span of four or five years and I think that really solidified a bond with people that they cared about more than just one song.
“From there, it was always our desire to try to create material that our fans would love and that we would enjoy, we’re five perfectionists in the band and we really work hard to make songs that we think are good enough,” he continues. “A lot of the time it ends up being a slow process because, if you notice our albums come out at the average of every three or three and a half years which is a little bit long, but we’re really just trying to make it special. I think it works; most of our fans who have been following us from the beginning probably enjoy almost all of our albums, and that’s the key. We try to stick to what we do best and I think our fans appreciate it.”
Bringing their No Pads, No Helmets… Just Balls album to life, the multi-platinum pop punk act will be performing the album in its entirety and in its original order, from ‘I’d Do Anything’, ‘The Worst Day Ever’ all the way through to ‘Addicted’, ‘One Day’ and ‘Perfect’.
“For people who loved this album, they’re going to feel like they’re totally immersed into it once again. Just like the album, the show is all stripped down, it’s very pop punk show with energy and having a laugh,” he says.
“Those songs really stand the test of time and for me, I’m so comfortable singing them now because I’ve sung them so many hundreds and thousands of times,” he smiles. “For me, it’s an album that I think I’ll always enjoying playing.”
Prepare the nostalgia. SP we’re addic, we’re addicted to you.
They’ll be joined by special guests Real Friends and Eat Your Heart Out at Melbourne’s Forum on Monday April 23 & Tuesday April 24 (sold out). Tickets via ticketmaster.com.au.
Written by Talia Rinaldo