Platinum pop-punks the Offspring: 'We're outcasts among outcasts'

They scored a UK No 1 single and the biggest-selling independent album ever. Thirty-seven years into their career, the California band ponder middle-aged sex - and being denied respect

It's very fashionable now to say, When we were young, we didn't fit in,'" says Dexter Holland, frontman for multi-platinum punk-rockers the Offspring, Zooming from the band's plush Orange County recording studio. But it really was true for us in high school, where everything was about looks, athleticism and popularity. I mean, look at us!"

Kevin Noodles" Wasserman, guitarist and Holland's long-standing foil, leans in and taps his milk bottle-lensed specs. And you should have seen me back when I had braces and headgear," he grins.