Blink 182

Blink 182 biography

Blink-182 is an American rock band consisting of vocalist and bass guitarist Mark Hoppus, vocalist and guitarist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. They have sold over 28 million albums worldwide since forming in Poway, California in 1992. With original drummer Scott Raynor they released their debut album Cheshire Cat in 1994 and achieved moderate success with its follow-up, 1997's Dude Ranch, which went on to sell over one million copies. Raynor was replaced by Barker midway through a 1998 tour.

The band achieved greater success with 1999's multi-platinum selling Enema of the State, which reached number 9 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of the singles "What's My Age Again?" and "All the Small Things", the latter of which became the highest-charting song of their career by reaching number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Blink-182 gained popularity for their irreverent sense of humor, and the follow-up album Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (2001) reached number 1 in the United States, Canada, and Germany. The eponymously-titled Blink-182 followed in 2003 and marked a stylistic shift for the group, infusing experimental elements into their usual pop punk formula, resulting in a more mature sound.

DeLonge left Blink-182 in early 2005, sending the band into indefinite hiatus. He went on to form Angels & Airwaves while Hoppus and Barker formed +44. Hoppus also pursued a career as a television host while Barker continued working in music as a producer and solo artist. Blink-182 reunited in February 2009 and their sixth studio album, Neighborhoods, was released in September 2011.

History

Formation (1992-93)

After moving to San Diego in the summer of 1992, Mark Hoppus was reunited with his sister Anne, to whom he expressed his desire to be in a band. Anne attended Rancho Bernardo High School, where she became friends with new student Tom DeLonge who had been previously expelled from Poway High School for showing up drunk at a basketball game. DeLonge often expressed the desire to be in a band as well, so in August 1992 Anne introduced him to her brother Mark Hoppus. The two played for hours in DeLonge's garage, showing each other songs they had previously written, and writing new songs together - one of which would become the track "Carousel". (However, according to Raynor, he and DeLonge started the band together, which Hoppus later joined.) The three began playing together and called themselves Duck Tape, until DeLonge thought of the name Blink.

The band practiced constantly, which angered Hoppus's girlfriend. She told him he had to choose between the band and her, so he left the band just as it was starting. DeLonge then informed Hoppus that he borrowed a 4-track from a friend and he and Raynor were using it to make a demo tape. Upon hearing this, Hoppus decided he would leave his girlfriend and return to the band. The demo tape, titled Flyswatter, was recorded in May 1993 in Raynor's bedroom. The 4-track used to record the material resulted in poor sound quality. According to Hoppus, only a small number of demos were released, primarily to their family and friends. The same year, the band recorded another demo tape, this one untitled and known simply as Demo 2. It featured re-recordings of a few Flyswatter songs and also included new songs, some of which would go on to be re-recorded and re-released on the band's albums Buddha, Cheshire Cat, and Dude Ranch.

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