Bullet in a Bible

Bullet in a Bible is a live album by American rock band Green Day, released on November 15, 2005 by Reprise Records. It was directed by Samuel Bayer, who was the director of all the videos from American Idiot.

Bullet in a Bible
Live album / video album by Green Day
Released	November 15, 2005
Recorded	June 18–19, 2005
Venue	National Bowl, Milton Keynes
Genre	Punk rock pop punk alternative rock
Length	64:57
Label	Reprise
Producer	Rob Cavallo Green Day
Green Day chronology
American Idiot (2004) Bullet in a Bible (2005) 21st Century Breakdown (2009)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[2]
IGN	7.9/10[3]
Pitchfork Media	3.0/10[4]
PopMatters	[5]
Sputnikmusic	3/5[6]

Background and release

Bullet in a Bible documents one of the two biggest shows that Green Day have performed in their career; playing in front of a crowd of over 130,000 people at the Milton Keynes National Bowl in United Kingdom on June 18–19, 2005. Billie Joe Armstrong, the band's frontman, can be seen with a few tears during the closing of Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) and Wake Me Up When September Ends, due to either the sheer amount of people at this concert, the story behind Wake Me Up When September Ends, or quite possibly a combination of the two.

This was also the hottest weekend of the year, as the United Kingdom was currently in the middle of a heatwave, with temperatures reaching 33 degrees Celcius.[7] There have been anecdotal reports of people passing out due to heatstroke during the day.

The band was supported by Jimmy Eat World, Taking Back Sunday, and Hard-Fi during their American Idiot world tour. Fourteen of the twenty songs performed at these shows were included on the disc; missing out "Jaded", "Knowledge", "She", "Maria", "Homecoming" and "We Are The Champions". However, "She" was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 as part of their coverage of the event.

Bullet in a Bible was released as a double-LP set on November 10, 2009, as part of the band's 2009 vinyl re-release campaign.

Green Day have released most of the videos from this concert on their YouTube page - except for Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Wake Me Up When September Ends, and the other songs which have been omitted from the album release.

Commercial performance

Bullet in a Bible peaked on the Billboard 200 at number eight and spent 14 weeks on the chart.[8] It has also reached top 10 positions in many European countries.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Billie Joe Armstrong; all music is composed by Green Day, except where noted.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"American Idiot"	4:32
2.	"Jesus of Suburbia"	9:23
3.	"Holiday"	4:12
4.	"Are We the Waiting"	2:49
5.	"St. Jimmy"	2:55
6.	"Longview"	4:44
7.	"Hitchin' a Ride"	4:03
8.	"Brain Stew"	3:02
9.	"Basket Case"	2:58
10.	"King for a Day/Shout" ("Shout" written and originally performed by The Isley Brothers)	8:47
11.	"Wake Me Up When September Ends"	5:03
12.	"Minority"	4:19
13.	"Boulevard of Broken Dreams"	4:44
14.	"Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)"	3:26
Total length:		64:57

Personnel

Green Day Billie Joe Armstrong – lead vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, harmonica Mike Dirnt – bass, backing vocals Tré Cool – drums, percussion, backing vocals

Additional musicians Jason White – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, backing vocals Jason Freese – keyboards, piano, acoustic guitar, trombone, saxophone, accordion, backing vocals Ronnie Blake – trumpet, timpani, percussion, backing vocals Mike Pelino – rhythm guitar, backing vocals on St. Jimmy

Production

CD Rob Cavallo – producer Green Day – producers Doug McKean – engineer Chris Lord-Alge – mixing Dmitar Krnjaic – assistant engineer Keith Armstrong – assistant engineer John Van Nest – editing Ted Jensen – mastering

DVD Samuel Bayer – director Tim Lynch – producer Pat Magnarella – executive producer Kim Dellara – executive producer Tim Royes – editor Chris Dugan – additional filming Design Wade Brands – photography Chris Bilheimer – packaging, menu design

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2005–06) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[9] 8 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[10] 5 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[11] 34 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[12] 15 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[13] 15 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] 26 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 21 French Albums (SNEP)[16] 21 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 7 Greek Albums (IFPI)[18] 4 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[19] 38 Italian Albums (FIMI)[20] 8 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[21] 5 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[22] 30 Portuguese Albums (AFP)[23] 9 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 7 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 11 UK Albums (OCC)[26] 6 US Billboard 200[8] 8

Year-end charts Chart (2005) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[27] 75 French Albums (SNEP)[28] 154 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[29] 57 UK Albums (OCC)[30] 64 Chart (2006) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[31] 62 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[32] 62 European Hot 100 Albums (Billboard)[33] 87 Greek Foreign Albums (IFPI)[34] 43 US Billboard 200[35] 149

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[36] DVD edition	Platinum	8,000^^
Australia (ARIA)[37]	Platinum	70,000^^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[38]	Gold	15,000^*
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[39] DVD edition	Gold	25,000^*
Germany (BVMI)[40]	Gold	100,000^^
Germany (BVMI)[41] DVD edition	7× Gold	175,000^^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[42]	Gold	10,000^*
Ireland (IRMA)[43]	4× Platinum	60,000^^
Italy 2006 sales	—	100,000[44]
Mexico (AMPROFON)[45]	Gold	50,000^^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[46]	Gold	7,500^^
Portugal (AFP)[47]	Gold	10,000^^
Sweden (GLF)[48]	Gold	30,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[49]	Platinum	300,000^^
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Bullet in a Bible at AllMusic
2. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
3. IGN review Archived 2009-04-16 at the Wayback Machine
4. "Green Day: Bullet in a Bible". Pitchfork.
5. "PopMatters review".
6. Downer, Adam (16 February 2006). "Green Day: Bullet In a Bible". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
7. "UK basks in hottest day of summer". 2005-06-19. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
8. "Green Day Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
9. "Australiancharts.com – Green Day – Bullet in a Bible". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
10. "Austriancharts.at – Green Day – Bullet in a Bible" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
11. "Ultratop.be – Green Day – Bullet in a Bible" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
12. "Ultratop.be – Green Day – Bullet in a Bible" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
13. "Danishcharts.dk – Green Day – Bullet in a Bible". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
14. "Dutchcharts.nl – Green Day – Bullet in a Bible" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
15. "Green Day: Bullet in a Bible" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
16. "Lescharts.com – Green Day – Bullet in a Bible". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
17. "Officialcharts.de – Green Day – Bullet in a Bible". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
18. Hits of the World - Greece. Billboard. 118. January 7, 2006. p. 54. Retrieved January 28, 2021 – via Google Books.
19. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2005. 47. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
20. "Italiancharts.com – Green Day – Bullet in a Bible". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
21. "Charts.nz – Green Day – Bullet in a Bible". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
22. "Norwegiancharts.com – Green Day – Bullet in a Bible". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
23. "Portuguesecharts.com – Green Day – Bullet in a Bible". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
24. "Swedishcharts.com – Green Day – Bullet in a Bible". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
25. "Swisscharts.com – Green Day – Bullet in a Bible". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
26. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
27. "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2005". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
28. "Top de l'année Top Albums 2005" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
29. "Årslista Album – År 2005" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
30. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2005". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
31. "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Albums 2006". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
32. "Jahreshitparade Alben 2006". austriancharts.at. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
33. "2006 Year-End European Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
34. "Annual Chart — Year 2006 Top 50 Ξένων Aλμπουμ" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on February 2, 2007. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
35. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
36. "Discos de Oro y Platino" (in Spanish). Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on 31 May 2011.
37. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2005 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020.
38. "Austrian album certifications – Green Day – Bullet in a Bible" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
39. "Brazilian video certifications – Green Day – Bullet in a Bible" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil.
40. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Green Day; 'Bullet in a Bible')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
41. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Green Day; 'Bullet in a Bible')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
42. "香港唱片銷量大獎 2006". IFPI Hong Kong. Archived from the original on 2 July 2012.
43. "The Irish Charts - 2006 Certification Awards - Multi Platinum". Irish Recorded Music Association.
44. "LE CIFRE DI VENDITA 2006" (PDF). Musica e dischi. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 6, 2014.
45. "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Type Green Day in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Bullet in a Bible in the box under TÍTULO
46. "New Zealand album certifications". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
47. "Portuguese album certifications – Green Day – Bullet in a Bible" (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Archived from the original on 20 November 2010.
48. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2006" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
49. "British album certifications – Green Day – Bullet in a Bible". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Bullet in a Bible in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.

External links

• Bullet in a Bible at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)
• The Killers "offended" by Green Day