Blink 182

Biography

In 1992, when Hoppus moved to San Diego, California and was thinking of starting a band, he was introduced to Delonge by Mark's sister, Anne Hoppus. They decided that they needed to look for a drummer, and DeLonge discovered Scott Raynor, a drummer from his school. After considering a number of names (such as Notwithstanding) the band agreed to call themselves just blink. This would later have the numbers "182" added onto the end to avoid legal conflicts with an existing Irish band called blink (see below). The "182" has been said many times to not mean anything, it was just a random number that the band came up with. Flyswatter / Buddha / Cheshire Cat Towards May, 1993 blink released an EP known as Flyswatter, recorded using a boom box in Raynor's bedroom, which explains the poor sound quality. In an interview, Hoppus said that around eighty copies had originally been produced. Before the end of the year, the band released another demo cassette known as [[Buddha(album)|]]. Around 1,000 copies of this were produced by Kung Fu Records. In early 1994, blink released their first full-length album, Cheshire Cat, released on Grilled Cheese Records. The album contained many new versions of songs that had appeared on the Buddha demo. Shortly after the release of Cheshire Cat, blink were threatened with legal action by a techno band in Ireland of the same name. In order to avoid a lengthy lawsuit, blink added the numbers 182 to the end of their name. Although there are rumours as to why these numbers were chosen (for example, that it is the number of times Al Pacino utters the word “fuck” in Scarface, or that they represent Hoppus' ideal weight), all the band members but one have made it clear that the numbers were picked at random. In one interview, Travis stated that the "182" was the U.S. radio codeword meaning 'homicide' (apparently confusing "182", the radio codeword for conspiracy, for "187"). During the pop punk boom of the 1990s, blink-182 were signed by MCA which later became Geffen records. Dude Ranch After moving to Encinitas, California, the band recorded the album Dude Ranch with producer Mark Trombino. The album was a hit, and two singles from it ("Josie" and "Dammit") rose to the top of the U.S. airplay charts. In 1998, the band met a slight setback. Raynor, who had a serious drinking problem at the time, was reportedly asked to leave the band and go into rehab, although there are also reports that he decided to leave to go to college. Raynor claims he agreed to go into drug rehab, but the rest of the band kicked him out over the phone because they didn't believe that he would do it. Whatever the explanation, he left midway through a U.S. tour. He was replaced by Travis Barker, who had been playing with support band The Aquabats. It is widely believed that the single "Man Overboard" on the band's live album speaks directly to Raynor's rift with Mark and Tom. Enema of the State In 1999 the album Enema of the State was released. The CD was successful, propelling the band to pop punk fame, and gaining a large amount of airtime on MTV and Total Request Live (TRL). This was largely due to the commercial success of the songs "What's My Age Again?", "Adam's Song", and "All the Small Things"; and particularly to the infamous music video for "What's My Age Again" which featured the band streaking. They sold seven and a half million copies of the album worldwide, which made it their best-selling album up to that point. The sound on Enema of the State was rooted in the same genre as earlier punk-rock bands such as NOFX, Green Day, and The Offspring, but it was more accessible to the mainstream, with a punky-feel. Many original fans felt that the band had strayed from their punk rock roots. The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show: The Enema Strikes Back blink-182's only live album, The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show was released in 2000, it is no longer in print, and is sought after by collectors. The songs are from the group's first three albums: Cheshire Cat, Dude Ranch, and Enema of the State. The album also includes some newer joke songs. The album also contains twenty-nine bonus tracks, which are all joke tracks of Mark, Tom, and "Satan" talking. A combined track of all 29 joke tracks called "Words of Wisdom" is available. Take off Your Pants and Jacket 2001 saw blink-182 continue their commercial success, recording Take off Your Pants and Jacket (the strange title was a punning reference to masturbation), which followed the same basic formula of "Enema of the State". In 2001, blink-182 appeared on the cover of CosmoGirl, and won a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award. In 2002, bands such as Good Charlotte, New Found Glory, and Simple Plan began following the same route as blink-182, marking the expansion of the pop-punk genre. Mark Hoppus participated in the making of Simple Plan's debut album, No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls. After touring for the promotion of this record, the band decided to take a break. During this time the members of the band took different paths, Mark passed more time with his newborn son Jack, while Tom and Travis were involved in a side-project called Box Car Racer, in addition to this, Travis worked on The Transplants. Both bands explored other musical styles. According to latest interviews with Tom, Box Car Racer project caused much friction between him and Hoppus, which was one of the main reasons the band abruptly broke. blink-182 (self titled album) After taking some time off in 2002, following the record tour, the band released their fifth self titled record on November 18, 2003. Described as a self-meditation on romantic decay, the album featured the hit singles "Feeling This" (previously named "Action"), "I Miss You", "Down", and the 1980s-influenced "Always". Travis Barker has confirmed that the band left the album untitled (rather than self-titled) to represent a new blink-182. It showcased a style of music deeper than anything blink-182 had done previously, but still got a good deal of play on pop stations and MTV. Critics have deemed their sound similar to that of The Police and U, although members of the band claim they took most of their influence from The Cure, whose front man Robert Smith had appeared on "All of This". Listeners called the riffs heavier and the lyrics more profound. The lyrical content of their songs is often humorous and uplifting. A tour with No Doubt in the summer of 2004 was very successful. In many ways it also helped blink-182 break away from the common pop punk genre, dismissing predictable similarities that could be seen from band to band. blink-182 were now on a pedestal next to Green Day overlooking the genre they helped to create despite the album's lack of commercial success. This would be the first sign of the decline in the regular pop punk scene which was later followed by Green Day's huge commercial success American Idiot, an album very dark and experimental like the one from blink-182, but with a more political theme that was able to launch them to new heights. Greatest Hits Blink-182 released their "Greatest Hits" on November 1, 2005. Tracks from their previous records, from "Cheshire Cat" to their last untitled album, are on it. Also included were two previously unreleased tracks - "Not Now" which was recorded during the "Untitled" sessions and previously exclusive to the iTunes Music Store, the U.K. edition of the album and the Australian version of the "I Miss You" single, and the other, "Another Girl, Another Planet", a cover of the band The Only Ones used as the theme from Meet the Barkers. The first U.K. single is a double 'a' side of Not Now and Dammit, the latter of which has never been released as a single in the UK. The single is released on Monday 28th November 2005.