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Blink-182

blink-182 is a pop punk band formed in 1992 in San Diego, California, U.S. by Mark Hoppus (vocals and bass), Tom DeLonge (vocals and guitar) and Scott Raynor (drums) in the northern suburb of Poway. Originally, the band's official name was "Blink", however, the numerical three digit suffix was appended early in their career following an objection from a Irish band with the same name. Travis Barker replaced Raynor on drums in 1998, midway through a U.S. tour. The group went on "indefinite hiatus" in early 2005. The possibility of a reunion has not been officially confirmed or denied. Delonge went on to form Angels and Airwaves while Hoppus and Barker spawned +44.

The band is known for its catchy, simple melodies and toilet humor. Songwriters Hoppus and Delonge cite punk rock as their early influences. However, the band's songwriting and production are driven by a pop sensibility. Their last album featured more musical experimentation and lyrical sophistication than previous releases.

History

Early career (1992-1995)

In May 1993, Blink released its first demo tape entitled Flyswatter, recorded in drummer Scott Raynor's bedroom. A 4-track was used to record the material, resulting in poor sound quality. According to Hoppus, only around fifty copies of the demo were produced. Before the end of the year, the band released another demo, Buddha. Around 1,000 copies were produced by Filter Records, Hoppus' boss' independent record company).

In early 1994, Blink signed with Cargo Records. The band recorded their debut full-length album, Cheshire Cat in three days. The album contained a number of updated versions of songs that had appeared on the Buddha demo as well as some originals.

Shortly after the release of Cheshire Cat, Blink was threatened with legal action by a pop band in Ireland of the same name. Blink appended "182" to the end of their name. The band has cited a variety of reasons for choosing 182 - the number is the amount of times Tony Montana utters the word "fuck" in Scarface, the 1985 Timothy Hutton film, Turk 182!, the band's ideal weight and the amount of miles Hoppus had to drive to visit his girlfriend. The band has admitted that they like to invent reasons in interviews, and the numbers were actually picked at random.

Dude Ranch-era (1996–1998)

Blink-182 was signed by MCA in 1996 which later became Geffen Records. After moving to Encinitas, California, the band recorded the album Dude Ranch in 1996 with producer Mark Trombino. The album was released in 1997 and was relatively commercially successful, selling 4 million copies worldwide. The single "Dammit" did well on U.S. modern rock charts. The single Josie was also relatively successful. In 1998, midway through a U.S. tour, Raynor split from the band. There are two common explanations of the split - that Raynor had a serious drinking problem and was asked to go into rehab or leave the band, or alternately, that he departed in order to attend college. Raynor claims he agreed to go to rehab, and that Delonge and Hoppus didn't believe him and subsequently fired him over the phone. Hoppus and Delonge asked Travis Barker of The Aquabats to play with them for the rest of the tour. Barker went on to join the band after the tour.

Mainstream breakthrough (1999-2002)

For the 1999 album Enema of the State, the band hired Jerry Finn as their producer. The album propelled the band into the mainstream, gaining hit singles "What's My Age Again", "All the Small Things" and "Adam's Song" significant amount of airtime on radio and MTV. Enema of the State sold over 10 million copies worldwide, making it their bestselling album to that point. The album was heavily produced and their punk influence was less obvious than ever. As a result, many prior fans felt the band had "sold out" and had strayed from its punk rock roots.

In 2000, the band released The Urethra Chronicles, a DVD which featured behind-the-scenes information.

The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show: The Enema Strikes Back, Blink 182's sole live album, was released in 2000, featuring songs from their three full-lengths. The album included one new studio song, "Man Overboard," among the live renditions. The album quickly went out of print making it much sought after. A limited edition of the album was printed in October 2006.

The band continued their commercial success with Take Off Your Pants and Jacket in 2001. A European tour in winter 2001 was cancelled in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. Rescheduled dates in early 2002 were also cancelled due to Delonge's back problems.

Untitled-era (2003–2004)

After taking some time off in 2002, recording of the next record began in early 2003. The band released its fifth studio album on November 18, 2003. The album featured the hit singles "Feeling This", "I Miss You", "Down", and "Always". Barker has said that the band left the album untitled (rather than self-titled) to represent a new Blink 182[1]. It showcased a style of music more complex and layered than anything Blink 182 had done previously. It received significant airplay on radio and Fuse. The Cure front man Robert Smith, often cited as a major influence on the band, appeared on "All of This". During late 2003, the band embarked on the "Dolla Bill" tour, named for the inexpensive ticket costs. A tour with No Doubt in the summer of 2004 was also very successful. The album has sold over 9 million copies worldwide.

Indefinite hiatus, Greatest Hits and new bands (2005-present)

In mid-February 2005 the band cancelled a performance at Music for Relief's Concert for South Asia. Shortly thereafter, the band announced they were going on an "indefinite hiatus". The band members were vague on reasons for the split, causing rumors among fans that the hiatus was a permanent one.

Geffen Records released a Greatest Hits compilation on November 1 in the U.S. One previously unreleased track was included "Another Girl Another Planet" (a cover song originally by The Only Ones. The song was used as the theme song to Barker's new reality TV show, Meet the Barkers. Also included was the previously issued "I Miss You" B-side and Untitled album bonus track "Not Now". The album immediately reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200 in the United States.

Three weeks later Delonge announced his new band, Angels and Airwaves. He claimed it would be "the greatest rock'n'roll revolution of this generation" and "more emotional than Blink 182 and Box Car Racer put together." In his reason for why Blink 182 was on indefinite hiatus, Delonge suggested the mounting tension between himself and Hoppus, ultimately caused by DeLonge's desire for a break with his family and Hoppus' feelings of betrayal from the formation of Box Car Racer. He also announced his plans to create a film about the final days of blink-182 [2]. Angels and Airwaves released their debut album We Don't Need to Whisper on May 23rd, 2006, where it debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200. The band went on tour in the summer of 2006, with Taking Back Sunday as co-headliner.

Hoppus and Barker's new project +44 surfaced on December 13, 2005 with the song, "No It Isn't". Incidentally, the song was leaked on the same day that Angels and Airwaves were slated to release their first song (and also Tom Delonge's 30th birthday), though the release of the latter was delayed. Mark was at first hesitant to admit any correlation between the song and breakup, claiming that the song's title was but has since admitted the song was about Tom and the breakup of the band.

In August 2006, Hoppus gave an extensive interview with b182.com. The interview focused on Blink-182 and the hitherto-unexplained events that had led to the band's split. Contrary to DeLonge's statements, Hoppus said that the band had been getting along at the time of their final album. Hoppus went on to say that DeLonge requested a half-year respite from touring to spend time with his family, despite a planned spring U.S. tour. Hoppus and Barker hesitantly conceded, leading to the cancellation of the upcoming tour. DeLonge said he would only record in his home studio in San Diego, and proposed sending Pro Tools files back and forth. Hoppus declined, saying Blink-182 was ceasing to be a band. DeLonge supposedly had the band's manager inform his bandmates that he had left the band. Hoppus stated that he and Barker eventually formed +44 at the end of the European leg, due to the fact that they did not want to wait for Delonge's break to be over to make music.

Regarding a possibility of reconciliation, DeLonge said that he would love to rebuild his relationship with Hoppus and Barker. Hoppus also could not say whether there was a possibility for the former bandmates to rebuild their broken relationship.

Discography

Main article: blink-182 discography


Official websites

Other

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