Blink-182 is one of the most recognizable acts of the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Poway, California band first earned notoriety for their extremely high energy and toilet humor in most of their early songs.
While the line up has changed, Blink-182 remains the pop-punk pioneer that they have been for the last decades. Here are a few highlights from the influential band's career.
A Blink from the San Diego Suburbs
What would become Blink-182 was first formed in Poway, a suburb near San Diego, California. Guitarist Tom DeLonge met the drummer Scott Raynor at a school band competition. DeLonge also met Kerry Key, a fellow punk rock aficionado. Key was then dating Anne Hoppus, sister to bassist Mark Hoppus.
Mark and Tom connected instantly and started jamming together, which resulted in a couple of the band's songs. One of the songs born from these sessions was the popular song "Carousel." The trio of DeLonge, Hoppus, and Raynor would continue practicing and writing music together. They first christened their band Duck Tape and Figure 8, before settling to "Blink."
A Steady Rise From All The Small Things
Blink was steadily performing, opening for bands performing at the local venue "Soma." By 1994, the trio had already released the album "Buddha." While it was a demo album, members consider it their first legitimate release.
By 1995, the indie-oriented Cargo Records decided to sign Blink. However, only Hoppus was officially signed since Raynor was still underaged and DeLonge was at work at the time. It was here that the band would record and release their debut album, "Cheshire Cat," in 1995. "Cheshire Cat" was recorded only for three days. One of the singles, "M+M's," earned positive response and their label offered a budget for a music video shoot. Cargo later asked the band to change their name, which the members did by adding a random number - 182.
A year of touring and opening for larger acts has started to bear fruit. The band was now in the sights of major labels Interscope, MCA, and Epitaph. MCA promised complete artistic freedom, winning the bidding war. They started on their second album, "Dude Ranch," which was released in 1997. It was gold-certified a year later, but non-stop performances have put a strain on the members.
Scott Raynor was fired by the other two due to his unreliability. He started drinking in response to his personal problems. He was later replaced by Travis Barker, then playing drums for their tourmate The Aquabats.
Mainstream Success With Enema of the State
By the release of their third album, "Enema of the State," in 1999, Blink-182 was already largely known among punk-rock circles across the country. However, the hits "Adam's Song" and "All The Small Things" would further propel the band towards mainstream fame. The upbeat punk-rock theme "All The Small Things" became a crossover hit after topping the Modern Rock Tracks chart and entering the Billboard Hot 100 at the sixth spot.
While non-believers dismissed them as a joke, with their playful and nasty music videos playing a large part, Blink-182 continued with its growing presence. They held their first arena tour and made a cameo appearance in the "American Pie" film.
Blink-182 later worked on "Take Off Your Pants and Jacket," released in 2001. Their fourth album saw even greater successes as the first Blink-182 album to top the album charts in the US, Canada, and Germany.
Later, creative differences started driving a wedge between the members, especially DeLonge and Hoppus. Tom's attempts at experimenting with his music led to the side project Box Car Racer, later releasing an album under the same name. Travis Barker was his partner in most of the songs on the side project's only album. This work would worsen the divide and force the band into a hiatus.
Blink-182, DeLonge's Departure, and Barker's Crash
The band decided to regroup in 2003 to record their self-titled fifth studio album. However, DeLonge would express his conflict in 2005, moving on to take a six-month break from touring with the band. When he returned to the public eye later in the year, he announced his new band "Angels & Airwaves."
While Blink-182 wasn't able to move forward, Hoppus and Barker joined the supergroup +44, together with Shane Gallagher and Craig Fairbaugh. The band "Blink-182" was kept under sheets up until 2008. It was also the same year that Travis Barker and friend Adam Goldstein figured in an airplane crash where they were the only survivors. The rest of the year went to Barker's recovery, both physically and mentally.
Blink-182 would reunite together at the 2009 Grammy Awards. They also returned to the studio and worked on the sixth album "Neighborhoods." The band would continue touring and performing . By 2015, the lineup was made up of Hoppus and Barker, with Matt Skiba replacing Tom DeLonge.
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