Joel Madden says Ben Lee helped shape Good Charlotte’s early days, crediting the Aussie artist with inspiring the band’s songwriting and showing him what was possible.
Joel Madden has credited Ben Lee with playing a pivotal role in the formation of Good Charlotte, revealing on a recent episode of his Artist Friendly podcast that Lee’s lyricism and mentorship were foundational in the band’s early days. We guess you could say the band…caught his disease.
Speaking with Ben Kweller, Madden said, “I don’t know if Good Charlotte would have existed if it weren’t for Ben Lee.” He pointed to Lee’s early albums Grandpaw Would and Breathing Tornados as key influences on his songwriting, calling them “formative” records that shaped his creative direction as a teenager.
Madden then shared a story from when he and his twin brother Benji (also of Good Charlotte) were 16 or 17. Lee, who was opening for Cracker at the time, invited them backstage after they handed him a demo tape and some stickers. “Ben was one of the few people who was like, ‘Woah, cool – come backstage.’ And we were like, ‘Woah,’” Madden said. “We asked if we could play one of our songs for him. Now that I think about it, how many people would have said yes to that?”
“Even more importantly, meeting him and him bringing us backstage, it lit a spark that kept us going. Most kids with talent don’t make it because they quit,” he continued. “He showed us it was possible. That moment was confirmation – we’d been backstage once, so we knew we’d be backstage again. No one could tell us otherwise.”
Madden went on to describe the impact Lee had on his mindset as both an artist and a mentor. “I give Ben a lot of spiritual credit. There are very few people like that in my career. They don’t always realise that one action, one word, can change someone’s entire perception of what’s possible.” He added: “He also taught me to take the time to talk to some kid or whatever. Now I always do.”
Lee responded to the podcast clip on Instagram, saying, “So many feelings came up watching this clip of my friend @joelmadden telling my other old friend @benkweller about the role I played in his journey.” He described the story as an affirmation of his belief in supporting emerging creativity. “When you spot genuine creativity and enthusiasm, it’s your opportunity to open up to it and support it, and that can lead somewhere magical.”
Lee also praised Madden’s instinct, calling it his “intuitive genius.” “We all get opportunities, but we don’t all walk through the door,” he wrote.
The throwback story lands right as Lee prepares to hit the road across Australia this spring to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Awake Is the New Sleep, the album that gave us “Catch My Disease” and “We’re All in This Together.” The tour kicks off September 25 and runs through to October 18, hitting 12 cities nationwide.
Madden has consistently spotlighted Australian talent on Artist Friendly, previously sitting down with G Flip for an in-person episode. The podcast continues to be a platform for artists to reflect on the people and moments that shaped them – and in Madden’s (and Good Charlotte’s) case, it started with a backstage moment and a Ben Lee song.
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