Happy days are here again

IN THE dingy bowels of a Dublin music venue, a heavily tattooed young man best known to the wider public for having dated Paris Hilton is waxing philosophical.

“On this record I just wanted to be a fan of music again,” says Good Charlotte’s Benji Madden. “You get into this industry and people tear you apart. You start to forget why you wanted to do it in the first place. You get jaded. I had a spiritual reawakening where I thought, ‘fuck it man — I want to be a fan of music again’.”

He’s discussing the group’s latest album, Cardiology, a spry punk-pop affair recorded in the months after his split from Hilton. If Benji, who formed Good Charlotte with twin Joel at high school in Maryland, was venting his hurt on the LP, the pain is well hidden. With its bouncy melodies and upbeat lyrics, Cardiology is anything but a break-up record. He may be wreathed in green and black ink but, when it comes to romance at least, Madden isn’t one for flaunting his emotions on his sleeve.