50 Fun Facts About My Chemical Romance

Gerard Way was interning for which company in New York City on September 11, 2001?

He had pitched the network an animated series called The Breakfast Monkey, which it declined; the attacks pushed him toward music instead.

Mikey Way worked at which store when he saw the Irvine Welsh title that inspired the band's name?

He later worked at Eyeball Records, the New Jersey indie label that would put out the band's first album.

The band's name comes from the subtitle of which Irvine Welsh book?

The 1996 collection is subtitled Three Tales of Chemical Romance; Mikey had to sharpen his bass skills in about a week after being asked to join.

Which Thursday frontman produced the debut album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love?

The band befriended him while playing New Jersey shows; the record was cut at Nada Recording Studio in New Windsor, New York.

Which band did Frank Iero front before joining My Chemical Romance in 2002?

The name nods to Holden Caulfield's prep school in The Catcher in the Rye.

Which song did Gerard Way write to express his feelings about 9/11?

An early demo of it later surfaced on the 2014 greatest hits collection.

Who produced the band's major-label debut, their 2004 second album?

Benson also produced The All-American Rejects and Daughtry; the record was cut at Bay 7 Studios and Sparky Dark Studios in California.

Which album's liner notes describe 'a man, a woman, and the corpses of a thousand evil men'?

The loose narrative continues 'Demolition Lovers' from the debut, with the couple separated between heaven and hell.

'Helena' was written after the death of which relative of Gerard and Mikey Way?

Elena died the same day the band finished touring; the song's subtitle is 'So Long & Goodnight'.

Which future (500) Days of Summer director made the videos for all three singles from the band's 2004 album?

He also returned to shoot the 'Teenagers' clip in 2007.

Which Wes Anderson film inspired the movie-trailer-style second video for 'I'm Not Okay (I Promise)'?

Gerard Way described the song itself as a cry for help trapped in a pop song.

The video for 'The Ghost of You' cuts between a USO dance and the band charging into which battle?

Its budget of just over $1 million made it one of the most expensive music videos ever produced at the time.

In the World War II video for 'The Ghost of You', which band member's character is shot and killed?

The director cited Saving Private Ryan and Memphis Belle as inspirations for the clip.

Which singer guests on 'You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison'?

He was one of Gerard Way's closest friends in the scene at the time; the two also duetted on a cover of 'Under Pressure'.

Bob Bryar met the band while working as a sound technician for which group?

Bryar, a Chicago native, had worked crew jobs since 2000 and had never been in a signed band before.

Which original drummer was replaced by Bob Bryar a month after the second album's release?

He co-founded the band with Gerard Way and played on the first two albums.

Most of The Black Parade was recorded in which reputedly haunted location?

The isolation there took a heavy toll on the bassist, who left the sessions for a time to recover.

Which producer, best known for his work with Green Day, produced The Black Parade with the band?

The band went on to reunite with him for the follow-up album in 2010.

The Black Parade's protagonist, known as 'The Patient', is dying of what?

The concept has death arriving in the form of his fondest childhood memory, a parade.

The Black Parade debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. Which album kept it from the top spot?

It sold 240,000 US copies in its first week, more than six times the best week of the band's previous album.

Which actor plays The Patient in the 'Welcome to the Black Parade' video?

In 2017 MTV viewers voted the clip the greatest music video of the 21st century.

What was the working title of 'Welcome to the Black Parade'?

Several critics compared the finished song to Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.

What position did 'Welcome to the Black Parade' reach on the Billboard Hot 100?

It also topped the UK Singles Chart, the band's only number one there.

Which showbiz legend performs on 'Mama' from The Black Parade?

She plays the voice of Mother War in the album's storyline.

How did Gerard Way break his foot during filming of the 'Famous Last Words' video?

Bob Bryar fared worse, suffering third-degree burns to his leg that later became infected.

What is the hidden track after 'Famous Last Words' on The Black Parade called?

The music-hall style number is not listed in the album's liner notes.

Which Black Parade song, inspired by Gerard Way's fear of teens on the subway, did executives want as lead single?

Way admitted it almost did not fit on the record; it ended up as the fourth single and went 6x Platinum in the US.

What is the title of My Chemical Romance's 2008 live DVD/CD of their final 2007 Mexico show and a Maxwell's gig?

The Black Parade World Tour ran to 133 shows, with the band playing the album in full as its alter-ego group.

Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys is set in California in what year?

The band's real-life reunion was announced in the very year the album's story takes place.

On Danger Days, the Killjoys fight which evil corporation?

Its agents include masked Draculoids and the exterminator Korse.

What is Gerard Way's Killjoy persona on Danger Days?

Frank Iero, Mikey Way and Ray Toro took the other three names, respectively.

Which celebrated comic-book writer plays the villain Korse in the Danger Days music videos?

The 'Na Na Na' video, co-directed by Gerard Way, won Best Video at the 2011 Kerrang! Awards.

The Danger Days single 'Sing' was covered as the closing number of an episode of which TV series?

That cover reached number 49 on the Hot 100, higher than the band's own version, which peaked at 58.

Who produced the shelved 2009 sessions that were eventually released as Conventional Weapons?

Gerard Way felt the record lacked a vision without a story or setting, so the band scrapped it and started over.

In which month and year did the band announce its break-up on its official website?

The final Conventional Weapons single had come out only weeks earlier.

Which unreleased track on the 2014 greatest-hits set was the band's last song before splitting?

The compilation debuted at number 9 on the Billboard 200 and also included an early demo of 'Skylines and Turnstiles'.

The band's reunion show on December 20, 2019 took place in which city?

Announced on Halloween, the Shrine Expo Hall show sold out within minutes and grossed over $1.4 million.

After several pandemic postponements, the reunion tour finally opened in May 2022 at which venue?

The Cornwall show also marked the first live performance of 'The Foundations of Decay'.

Roughly how long is 'The Foundations of Decay', the surprise single released in May 2022?

It was the band's first release since 2014 and topped the UK Rock & Metal chart.

The 2025 Long Live The Black Parade stadium tour opened on July 11 in which city?

Every show had a different opener, from Alice Cooper and Devo to 100 gecs and Evanescence.

The Long Live The Black Parade show is built around a fictional authoritarian country. What is it called?

It is ruled by the Grand Immortal Dictator, and Gerard Way's character is stabbed in the throat mid-show by a clerk dressed as a Pierrot.

Which artist drew Gerard Way's comic series The Umbrella Academy?

The Brazilian artist's twin brother is also a comics artist; the series debuted in a 2007 Free Comic Book Day issue.

The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite won which comics-industry prize for Best Limited Series in 2008?

The premise begins with 43 superpowered infants born to women who showed no signs of pregnancy.

What is the title of Gerard Way's 2014 solo album?

It reached number 16 on the Billboard 200 and drew heavily on Britpop and shoegaze.

Frank Iero plays guitar in which supergroup with Anthony Green and members of Thursday and Coheed and Cambria?

They made their live debut at Riot Fest 2022 and released Past Lives that November.

What is the title of Ray Toro's 2016 debut solo album?

Toro, who is of Puerto Rican-Portuguese heritage, recorded it mostly at home over three years.

Gerard Way married bassist Lindsey Ballato, better known as Lyn-Z, in 2007. Which band does she play in?

They wed backstage on September 3, 2007 after a Projekt Revolution show in Colorado.

How many Grammy nominations has My Chemical Romance received?

It came in 2008 for The Black Parade's limited edition box set, in the packaging category rather than for the music.

The band covered which Bob Dylan song for the 2009 film Watchmen, with a video directed by Zack Snyder?

The cover topped the UK Rock & Metal chart and Snyder's clip shows the band playing a theatre amid a riot.

In 2008 British MCR fans planned a march on which newspaper for branding the band a 'cult of self-harm'?

Gerard Way himself has publicly rejected the emo label in far less printable terms.