If asked to describe the pop punk scene, which bands come to
mind? All Time Low maybe, possibly even Simple Plan. But there’s one band that
have overlooked all of them, one band that made pop-punk accessible and
appealing to the masses of people that wanted and needed it. Blink-182. But
after recent events, it seems as though the Blink-182 that fans worldwide have
loved for years has ended, and a different Blink-182 is about to emerge. The
story behind it is not a pretty one.
Over the last few days, reports, rumours and speculation
have seen social media go crazy over the band after is emerged that Tom DeLonge
(co-founder, co-lead singer and guitarist) had ‘left the band’. This news
happened after the band’s publicist had reported that DeLonge “didn’t want to participate in any Blink-182
projects indefinitely, but would rather work on his other non-musical
endeavours”. Not wanting to participate indefinitely was the reason Tom
gave to fellow bandmates Mark Hoppus (co-singer and bassist) and Travis Barker
(drummer) in early 2005 following recording disputes and a desire to spend more
time with family. This was when the band eventually split, leading to Hoppus
and Barker forming their side project +44. The band didn’t speak again until a
tragic plane crash almost took Barker’s life in 2008, and the band released
their 2011 comeback album Neighbourhoods- however, this was recorded with the
band completely separate with each member sending files to each other. But
things weren’t as rosy as they first seemed, as recording for the 2012
Christmas EP, Dogs Eating Dogs, was repeatedly disrupted as tensions grew.
Fast forward to the last couple of days, and countless music
outlets have reported that Tom DeLonge had quit the band again. DeLonge caused
even more confusion among reporters and fans after posting on Instagram stating
that he’d “never quit the band”, but a Rolling Stone interview with Hoppus and
Barker soon set the record straight as they explained everything that had been
happening between the trio which had led to this. This gave a deep and
interesting look into the mindset of each member and of the band as a whole,
especially after Barker had this to say about DeLonge: "It's hard to cover for someone who's
disrespectful and ungrateful. You don't even have the balls to call your
bandmates and tell them you're not going to record or do anything
Blink-related. You have your manager do it." He then went on to add: “Why Blink got back together in the first
place is questionable.”
It had seemed
that 2015 would be a massive year for Blink-182, with work on a new album which
was set to return to their mid-2000’s sound. After that, a world tour would have
followed and a few dates for spring had even been booked. But now the Blink-182
that fans worldwide have grown up listening to, the band that has given so much
to so many people, is now gone. The spring dates will now include Alkaline Trio’s
Matt Skiba as a replacement for DeLonge. Both Hoppus and Barker have said how
they’re interested in taking the band further and to continue its legacy, but
the idea of DeLonge ever rejoining could possibly be out of the question.
It’s a little
ironic how the theme that filled so many songs and taught people so many things
would be the theme that would change the band forever. Growing up. With their
lives changing over the years with families and countless other projects, this
has led to each member having busy schedules. It’s not hard to see and isn’t at
all surprising that something like this would eventually happen. A lack of time
as a band caused rifts between members, and it was only a matter of time before
something set of a spark that made the whole band explode. Some bands make it
through adulthood intact, and some don’t. It’s just a sad reality and a real
shame that Blink-182 is one of the bands that have taken a tumble at the final
hurdle.














