Blink-182 is an American pop punk band from San Diego, California, formed in 1992.[1] The band formed as "Blink" with vocalist and bass player Mark Hoppus, vocalist and guitarist Tom DeLonge and (former) drummer Scott Raynor. In 1998, midway through a U.S. tour, current drummer Travis Barker replaced Scott Raynor.
The group formed in the Poway suburb of San Diego in the early 1990s, and released several self-recorded demo tapes, promoting them with various shows around the San Diego area. After releasing debut album Cheshire Cat (1994), the band achieved moderate success with Dude Ranch (1997), now having sold over a million copies. However, the trio achieved even greater success with the multi-platinum selling Enema of the State (1999). The band gained popularity for their irreverent sense of humor, displayed in the music videos for "All the Small Things" and "What's My Age Again". Their following two albums maintained their success; Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (2001) and Blink-182 (2003) before DeLonge left the group in early 2005, initiating an indefinite hiatus. DeLonge went on to form Angels & Airwaves, while Hoppus and Barker continued playing music together in +44. After Travis Barker almost died in a plane crash, Blink-182 reunited in February 2009 and a new album is in the works.[2]
Blink-182 has sold over 25 million albums worldwide.[3][4][5]
After being expelled from Poway High School for showing up drunk at a basketball game, Tom DeLonge attended Rancho Bernardo High School where he became friends with Anne Hoppus. DeLonge often expressed the desire to be in a band, so in August 1992 Anne introduced him to her brother Mark Hoppus, who also wanted to be in a band.[6] 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".[6] To impress DeLonge, Hoppus climbed to the top of a streetlight outside of DeLonge's home - however, he broke both ankles on the way down, resulting in being in crutches for the next few weeks.[6] The two decided they needed to officially start a band, so DeLonge recruited friend Scott Raynor, who he had met at a party.[7] The three began playing together and called themselves Duck Tape, until DeLonge thought of the name Blink.[6]
The band gained notoriety for humorous stage shows and eventually was signed to small record label Cargo Music, where they released their first full-length album, Cheshire Cat, in February 1994. Recorded in three days and fueled by both new songs and re-recordings of songs from previous demos, Blink began to gain fame outside of California throughout 1995 and 1996. "M+M's" and "Wasting Time" from Cheshire Cat were released as singles, but both failed to chart. Although the album never made a commercial impact, it is cited by bands and fans as an iconic release.[10]
