Green Day: Saviors front cover put Belfast riot front and centre

Green Day fans in Northern Ireland are hoping the pop-punk giants' new album may signal a return to Belfast, after spotting that the cover features an image of a riot in the city.

The band announced their latest album Saviors on Tuesday.

And eagle-eyed fans soon zeroed in on the picture on the cover - a young boy holding a rock during 1978 street disorder on the Falls Road.

The picture is an edited version of a shot taken during the Troubles.

The conflict lasted almost 30 years and cost the lives of more than 3,500 people.

It was taken by photographer Chris Steele-Perkins and some users on social media site X, former known as Twitter, have already pinpointed exactly where it was taken.

One user of the social media site Reddit said: "They haven't been to Belfast since 2017, this better mark a return".

Many social media users have also pointed to Green Day taking inspiration from the Northern Ireland punk scene, including bands such as Protex, Rudi and Stiff Little Fingers, as a possible explanation for the band's use of photo.

Not everyone was so impressed however - one Reddit user said that it was an example of "wealthy comfortable Americans using gritty imagery of civil strife to show how edgy [they are]".

The possible political flavour of the new album, due for release next January, is nothing new for Green Day.

In 2004, their album American Idiot, and the single by the same name, expressed anger at the US war in Iraq and the presidency of George W Bush. Both were huge hits.

First formed in 1986 in California, the band have gone on to become one of the world's most famous rock bands and have had three albums hit number one in the UK.