After a four year hiatus Blink 182 is back and ready to get back in the studio. The punk rock band announced the reunion at the 51st Grammy Awards ceremony on Feb. 8.
The California based formed in 1992 with Tom DeLonge (vocals, guitar), Mark Hoppus (vocals, bass) and Scott Raynor (drums). Raynor was replaced with Travis Barker in 1998, during a tour. DeLonge and Hoppus met in high school in 1992, that same year they recruited Raynor for drums and was named Duck Tape.
Blink 182 is known for their teen angst and dirty humor. Their first major single “What’s my age again?” topped the charts in 1999 and was heavy rotation on MTV and other music channels. Their third album, Enema of the State, shot them into mainstream. That album produced other chart toppers for the band; “All the small things” and “Adam’s song” were anthems to teens.
In 2001 they released their highly anticipated follow up Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. The album sold more than 350,000 copies in its first week. After the success of that album the band found it hard to do a follow up. The fifth studio album was released in 2003 and spawned the hits, “Feeling this”, “I miss you”, and “Always”.
After the fifth album the band toured on the “DollaBill” tour. Tickets were only a dollar. Along with Blink 182, No Doubt toured with them in 2004 before their major hiatus.
In 2005 DeLonge wanted to spend more time with his family, but the band had numerous of appearances and tour dates to fulfill. The band’s manager informed the other two remaining members of the band that DeLonge had quit the band.
Ironically in 2006 DeLonge released an album We don’t need a Whisper with his new band Angels and Airwaves. The album debuted on the charts at number four. The second album was released in 2007; a DVD following the days of the demise of Blink 182 was featured with the album.
The band has been in the studio working on their latest album, which at press time is still untitled. It’s also slated for a 2009 release and plans for a major tour this summer.
Blink 182 fan Bradley Tate said, “I think that their albums weren’t just labeled as ‘humor’ or ‘serious’ I think really it was a balance of both. There were some catchy ridiculous songs but also on the same album there were songs about things that we deal with in everyday life like the song ‘Stay Together for the Kids’. I think this album will be more mature just because they've grown older and gone through more but I don’t think they'll lose their humor it just a part of them. "