At the 2009 Grammy Awards, Blink-182 made the announcement that fans have been waiting for since they took a hiatus in 2005 – the band is back together with a new album in the works and plans for a tour in Summer 2009! Tickets to see these pop punk legends live won’t be around for long, so if you want to make sure you’re one of the lucky few, nab your Blink-182 tickets now!
In 1992, Blink-182 was formed; though at the time, the band's name was only Blink. With Tom Delonge on guitar, Mark Hoppus on bass and Scott Raynor on drums, they were bound to become a success. After releasing a demo called Flyswatter in 1993, they were contacted by an Irish band of the same name that forced them to give up the name Blink. They avoided a lawsuit by adding 182 to the end of their name and have grown to be the band we know and love today.
The band released their first full-length album, Cheshire Cat, in 1994. Two years later, they signed a record deal with Cargo Music and MCA Records, and in 1997, they released Dude Ranch, which would set the stage for their future success. The album went platinum, and by the time 1998 was over, Blink-182 had become one of the most popular pop-punk bands to hit the airwaves.
Shortly after Dude Ranch was released, Scott Raynor left the band and was replaced by Travis Barker. It wasn't long before they were back in the studio and working on their next release. In 1999 Enema of the State was released to rave reviews. The boys were back and they were better than ever. In a matter of months, the album had reached platinum status and the singles, 'What's My Age Again?', 'All the Small Things' and 'Adam's Song' were getting more radio play than anyone had ever expected. They were making appearances on Saturday Night Live, the The Tonight Show and their faces had graced the cover of the Alternative Press and Rolling Stone magazines.
They followed the way every great band does, with a live album. The band embarked on a summer tour where The Mark, Tom and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back!), was recorded. The album itself, filled with classic Blink tunes, a couple new tracks and a ton of hilarious ad-libs, sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide. The summer tour that birthed the album sold a third of a million tickets.
The band came home from tour and headed right back to the studio to work on their 2001 release, Take off Your Pants and Jacket. Kicking off in the same fashion of Enema of the State, there were three singles that boosted this albums success. 'The Rock Show', 'Stay Together For The Kids' and 'First Date' all got radio play in every major market across the United States. The band had a method for success and stuck to it for the release of their next album. Three singles from the self-titled album began to make themselves known via radio stations across the country.
Blink-182 has become a bit of a phenomenon, and their empire spans well beyond platinum selling albums. They have sold out concerts across the United States, Asia, Europe and Australia, and have done quite well with their website ventures, selling clothing, skates, videos and music. The band’s platinum success has insured their place in music history. With a whole lifetime of music and tours ahead of them, don't expect to see Blink-182 disappear from the music scene anytime soon.
