Popular punks with a conscience, The Offspring burst out of obscurity with their 1994 album 'Smash', which went on to sell over nine million copies worldwide. However, this was the culmination of seven years of constantly touring the toilet venues of the world and building up a reputation as a fantastic live act.

Bryan 'Dexter' Holland wanted to be a doctor before his brother gave him a copy of a punk compilation called 'Rodney On The ROQ'. After that, he spent a lot of his time devouring punk fanzines and listening to bands like Agent Orange and The Adolescents. Holland introduced his cross-country team companion Greg Kriesel to the music he was listening to and the two decided to form a band with two other runners. They called it Manic Subsidal.

When their guitarist jumped ship, the band recruited their old school janitor Kevin 'Noodles' Wasserman, who was amazed that these diligent students were playing punk rock. As well as his guitar playing, Noodles also came in handy as he was over 21 and so could buy beer for the younger three members. When their drummer started missing gigs due to his studies, 16-year-old Ron Welty, who'd just moved to the neighbourhood, begged Holland to let him take over on the traps. The Offspring line-up was complete.

In 1987, the band paid a local label, Nemesis, to release a 7" single, 'I'll Be Waiting'. The covers of the 1,000 singles were all hand-stuck by the band and their friends during a marathon drinking session. It took them nearly two years to release their next material, the 'Baghdad' single and their self-titled debut album. They also recorded a track for the 'Flipside' series of compilations, which were released by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz's label Epitaph.

Gurewitz, however, wasn't impressed enough to offer them a deal - until he heard the demos for their second album. 'Ignition' was released in 1993 to great critical acclaim. 1994 saw the band break through commercially, with the singles 'Come Out And Play' and 'Self Esteem' receiving massive MTV and radio rotation.

Their third album 'Smash' became the biggest-selling independent album of all time. They also re-released their debut album on their own label, Nitro, and recorded a cover of The Damned's 'Smash It Up' for the soundtrack of 'Batman Forever'.

After a lot of soul-searching, The Offspring signed to Columbia in 1996, releasing their fourth album, 'Ixnay On The Hombre', the following year and scoring further minor hits with 'All I Want' and 'Gone Away'. During this time, they maintained their frenetic touring schedule. The first single from their fifth album 'Americana', 'Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)', surprised everyone when it stormed to the top of the UK charts in January 1999.

Its follow-up, the hilarious 'Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da' soundalike 'Why Don't You Get A Job' went to Number 2, and The Offspring became Top Of The Pops regulars. Last summer, they played Woodstock 99 as well as scoring another hit with 'The Kids Aren't Alright'.

2000 saw the band embroiled in a battle with Columbia when they announced they were going to make their album 'Conspiracy Of One' available free over the internet prior to its release. The record label eventually won, although several tracks, including first single 'Original Prankster', were offered on various sites.

The band is now on the road again on a massive world tour. Despite being accused of selling out when they left Epitaph, The Offspring have proved their commitment to a number of political and social causes, not least when they recently gave $1,000,000 of their own money to the winner of a fan competition. Their humorous lyrics are also a refreshing change to a lot of the earnest 'for real' punk bands.

The Offspring - don't take them too seriously.