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AboutBlink-182 is a pop punk band from San Diego, California formed in 1992 by Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus, and Scott Raynor. In 1998, Raynor was replaced by Travis Barker, and in early 2005 DeLonge left the group, initiating an indefinite hiatus. DeLonge went on to form Angels & Airwaves, while Hoppus and Barker formed +44.

The band reunited in 2009, however DeLonge left the group again in 2015, with Alkaline Trio guitarist/vocalist Matt Skiba joining the lineup.

Early years (1992-1998)

In May 1993, Blink recorded their first demo tape, entitled "Flyswatter", in drummer Scott Raynor's bedroom. A 4-track was used to record the material. According to Hoppus, only around fifty copies of the demo were produced to give to their family and friends. Before the end of the year, the band released another two demos, one commonly known as Demo #2 while the other was entitled Buddha. Of this last record around 1,000 copies were produced by Filter Records, an independent record company headed by Hoppus's boss.

In early 1994, Blink signed with Cargo Records. The band recorded their début full-length album, "Cheshire Cat" in three days. The album contained a number of updated versions of songs such as "Carousel", "Strings", "Sometimes" and "TV" that had appeared on the "Buddha Promo Tape" 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. In order to avoid a dispute, Blink appended "182" to the end of their name. The band has cited a variety of reasons for ultimately choosing 182, with some of the more common explanations being the number of times Tony Montana utters the word "fuck" in Scarface, references to the 1985 Timothy Hutton film, Turk 182!, the band's ideal weight, the number of half the days in a year and the number of miles Hoppus had to drive to visit his girlfriend. However, DeLonge has stated that it is just a number that they "pulled out of their ass".

After moving to Encinitas, California, the band recorded the album "Dude Ranch" in 1996 with producer Mark Trombino. blink-182 recorded the album under Cargo Records, but signed with MCA which later became Geffen Records in 1996, in order to handle increased distribution. 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, however drummer Scott Raynor later left the band. There are two common explanations for his removal - that Raynor had a serious drinking problem and was asked to go into rehab or face ejection, or alternately, that he departed in order to attend college. Raynor claims he agreed to go to rehab, but that DeLonge and Hoppus were doubtful of his sincerity and subsequently fired him over the phone.

Hoppus and DeLonge had asked drummer Travis Barker of blink-182's support band The Aquabats to fill in for Raynor for the remainder of the tour, thus he had to learn all of the songs in a matter of hours before the show. He ultimately went on to join the band permanently afterwards, leaving The Aquabats.

In 1999, blink-182 hired Jerry Finn as its producer and recorded "Enema of the State". This album propelled the band into the mainstream with hit singles "What's My Age Again?", "All the Small Things" and "Adam's Song". All gained a significant amount of airtime on radio and MTV. Enema of the State went on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide making it the band's best-selling album to that point.

In 1999 the band also had small parts in the film American Pie, though Travis Barker was incorrectly credited as Scott Raynor.

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 live album, was also released in 2000, featuring songs from their three full-length records. The album also included one new studio song, "Man Overboard," among the live renditions. The album quickly went out of print making it a much sought after item. A limited edition was printed in October 2006.

The band continued its commercial success with "Take Off Your Pants and Jacket" in 2001, which was in the same vein as "Enema of the State". However, a European tour in winter 2001 was canceled in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. Rescheduled dates in early 2002 were also canceled due to DeLonge's problems with his back.

In 2002, blink-182 co-headlined the Pop Disaster Tour with Green Day, along with supporting acts Jimmy Eat World and a little known band called Kut U Up. The tour was documented, from Kut U Up's point of view, on the DVD Riding In Vans With Boys.

After taking some time off in 2002, recording of the next record began in early 2003. The band released its next studio album on November 18, 2003. It featured the hit singles "Feeling This", "I Miss You", "Down", and "Always". According to Barker, the "Untitled" record was supposed to represent a new blink-182. It received significant airplay on radio and TV. 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 (It was originally planned to be completely free but later realised that it would be necessary to charge something for the ticket). A tour with No Doubt in the summer of 2004 was also very successful.

Indefinite hiatus and new bands/spinoffs (2005-2009)

In mid-February 2005 the band inexplicably cancelled a performance at Music for Relief's Concert for South Asia (a show put on to aid victims of the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake). Shortly there after, before a planned final US spring tour, on February 22, 2005, the band announced they were going on an "indefinite hiatus".

Geffen Records released a Greatest Hits compilation on November 1, 2005 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 also used as the theme song to Barker's new reality TV show, Meet the Barkers. Included was the previously issued "I Miss You" B-side and blink-182 album bonus track "Not Now". The album reached number 6 on the Billboard 200 in the United States.

DeLonge announced his new band, Angels & Airwaves. As his reason for why blink-182 went on indefinite hiatus, DeLonge suggested the mounting tension between himself and Hoppus, ultimately caused by DeLonge's desire for a break with his family coupled with Hoppus' feelings of betrayal after the formation of Box Car Racer. He also announced his plans to create a film about the final days of blink-182. Angels & 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.

Hoppus and Barker's new project +44 surfaced on December 13, 2005 with the song, "No It Isn't". Coincidentally, the song was released on +44's official MySpace on the same day that Angels & Airwaves were slated to release their first song (and also Tom DeLonge's 30th birthday), though the release of the latter was delayed. Initially, Hoppus was hesitant to admit any deliberate correlation between the song and breakup, but has since admitted the song was about DeLonge and the breakup of the band. +44 released their first album "When Your Heart Stops Beating" on November 14, 2006 and debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200.

In August 2006, Hoppus gave an extensive interview with B182.com. The interview focused on blink-182 and the unexplained events that had led to the band's hiatus. 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 final spring U.S. tour. Hoppus and Barker hesitantly conceded, leading to the cancellation of the upcoming tour. Further problems arose in discussions regarding the band's future recording endeavors. It was at this point that Hoppus felt that blink-182 had ceased functioning as a band.

Hoppus went on to state that he and Barker eventually formed +44 at the end of the European leg out of frustration for DeLonge's constant reluctances.

In 2007 blink-182 featured alongside Rancid and Green Day in a documentary, One Nine Nine Four, about modern punk music.

Travis Barker was asked if the band would get back together. He said "I don't know, I haven't talked to Tom in a long time. I do however talk to Mark everyday."

On November 18th, 2008, after Travis Barker was in a small plane crash, Mark Hoppus updated his blog, himynameismark, with this statement:
"in the midst of everything else that has happened lately, tom, Travis, and i have all spoken together. first through a number of phone calls, and then a couple of weeks ago we all hung out for a few hours. they've all been great, very positive conversations. we're just reconnecting as friends after four years of not talking. it's a good thing."

He also stated that this did't mean a blink-182 reunion, but after several years they have finally begun speaking to each other again. Hoppus also talked about Travis Barker's brush with death in a plane crash in September 2008 and the death of their great friend and longtime producer Jerry Finn.

Reunion years (2009–2014)

Blink-182 officially announced their reunion while presenting at the 2009 Grammy Awards, also marking their first live performance on stage together in nearly five years.

The trio embarked on a reunion tour of North America from July to October 2009, Barker, suffering from a fear of flying after his accident, traveled via bus domestically and by an ocean liner for overseas dates.

The recording process for Neighborhoods, the band's sixth studio album, was stalled by its studio autonomy, tours, managers, and personal projects. It was finally released in September 2011 and peaked at number on Billboard 200 at #2. Their label Interscope was reportedly disappointed with album sales.

The band continued to tour in 2010's. They headlined the 10th Annual Honda Civic Tour in North America from in 2011 with My Chemical Romance and launched a 20th Anniversary Tour the next year.

The 20th Anniversary Tour went to Europe twice, North America, and Australia. Drummer Brooks Wackerman filled-in for Barker, as he was not yet ready to fly.

Additionally, the trio pursued a tenth anniversary celebration of Blink-182 with a series of shows, and played the Reading and Leeds Festivals.

They left longtime label Interscope following those tours and self-releasing their next project, Dogs Eating Dogs, an EP.

Tom DeLonge's final performance with the group was at the Wine Amplified Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 11, 2014. Although DeLonge abruptly quit sometime in mid-2014, he rejoined the following day.

The group planned to begin writing their 7th album in January 2015, which had continually seen delays. "I'd do interviews and I just felt awful for fans because they were promised albums for years and we couldn't do it," Barker later said.

A record deal was finalized and sessions were booked before DeLonge's manager informed the band he intended to spend more time on "non-musical activities" and indefinitely depart the group. In his own statement, DeLonge remarked that he "Never planned on quitting, [I] just find it hard as hell to commit." After these events, Barker summarized the band's reunion: "Why Blink even got back together in the first place is questionable."

2015–present

Hoppus and Barker decided to continue on without DeLonge, and enlisted Alkaline Trio vocalist/guitarist Matt Skiba to "fill in" for three shows in March 2015.

After legal battles with DeLonge were worked out, Skiba joined Blink-182 as an official member and began preparations for new music. The resulting album, California, was produced by John Feldmann. California was recorded between January and March 2016. "We all wanted to write the best record that we could [...] It does feel like a new beginning. It feels like when we used to tour and sleep in the van because that's all we wanted to do is play rock music," said Hoppus.

Upon its July 2016 release, California became the band's second number-one album on the Billboard 200, and first in 15 years; it also reached the top for the first time in the United Kingdom. Its lead single, "Bored to Death", became the group's first number one single in 12 years.

The band supported the album with a large headlining tour across North America between July and October 2016, and a European leg in June and July 2017.

A deluxe edition of California—essentially a double album including songs left off the original album—was issued in 2017. California earned the band their first nomination for Best Rock Album at the Grammy Awards.

Critical reviews of the album, however, were mixed; many considered Feldmann's input and the throwback nature of the songs as formulaic.

The trio moved from independent service BMG to major-label Columbia for their eighth studio effort, NINE, released in 2019. While Nine builds upon their partnership with Feldmann, it also utilizes additional outside producers and songwriters. Musically, the LP augments the band's pop punk sound with hip hop-inspired programming, as well as electronics.

In the interim, the trio embarked on a celebratory tour marking the twentieth anniversary of their breakthrough effort, Enema of the State. In recent years, each member has explored side projects as well. Skiba returned to Alkaline Trio for their ninth album, Is This Thing Cursed? (2018), while Hoppus formed Simple Creatures, an electropop outfit with All Time Low frontman Alex Gaskarth, with whom he released two EPs throughout 2019.

Lastly, Barker has focused his energies in collaborating with rappers Lil Nas X, Machine Gun Kelly, and XXXTentacion, among others. Blink have also worked with several artists, jointly issuing singles with XXXTentacion, Lil Wayne, Goody Grace, Steve Aoki, Powfu, Oliver Tree, and the Chainsmokers.

In 2019, New York Times Magazine listed Blink-182 among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

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