Here at Already Heard we stick to our guns and keep our news coverage to strictly UK-related news. However occasionally we sometimes make an exception and this is one of those times.
Love them or hate them, Blink-182 are one the most influential pop-punk bands of all time. So when news breaks that one of its founding members has reportedly quit the band, we thought it’d be ideal to pass on the news to you, the Already Heard reader.
Original Story|Update 1|Update 2|Update 3|Update 4
On Monday evening (26th January) news broke that guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge would not be appearing with the band at the Musink festival in March, with Matt Skiba from Alkaline Trio taking DeLonge’s place.
Following this announcement, several sources released a statement from Blink-182 which gave fans the impression that DeLonge had quit the band.
The statement said “We were all set to play this festival and record a new album and Tom kept putting it off without reason. A week before we were scheduled to go in to the studio we got an email from his manager explaining that he didn’t want to participate in any Blink-182 projects indefinitely, but would rather work on his other non-musical endeavors.”
However it seems DeLonge’s departure is not definite, as he has responded to news story and states he has not left the band:
“To all the fans, I never quit the band. I actually was on a phone call about a blink 182 event for New York City at the time all these weird press releases started coming in… Apparently those releases were ‘sanctioned’ from the band. Are we dysfunctional- yes. But, Christ….
The ONLY truth here is that I have commitments that limit my availability this year. I love Blink-182 and I’m not leaving.”
It seems the story is still developing and we will certainly keep you up to date on any developments. For fans of the band, it is certainly unfortunate to hear these stories.
Blink-182 were expected to begin recording a new album this year, yet various news sources have given the impression that the making of the album has been delayed on several occasions. Whereas DeLonge’s other band Angels and Airwaves released their 5th album, ‘The Dream Walker’ late last year. It is expected they will go on tour in support of the album but no dates have yet be announced.
UPDATE 7.30am 27/01/15: Bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker have done a detailed interview with Rolling Stone. The interview confirms DeLonge has indeed quit Blink-182. Hoppus discussed the bands activity in the last two years:
"I’ll walk you through the past two years of Blink-182 history: For the past two years, we’ve been working with a bunch of different labels to try and get a record deal because the three of us collectively decided that we wanted to make a record with a partner. A few months ago, Travis has this festival that he is co-owner of and presenting and he asked Tom and I if we would play and we said, “No problem.” At the end of December, we were finalizing our record deal. On Christmas Eve, all three people signed the record deal. We had been talking about where we wanted to record, what producers we want to use, what day we want to start. This is all through e-mail. I don’t think either of us have spoken to Tom in person in months, but everything’s been moving positively.
We’re booked January 5th to go into the studio. On December 30th, we get an e-mail from Tom’s manager saying that he has no interest in recording and that he wants to do his other, non-musical stuff and that he’s out indefinitely. There’s a flurry of e-mails going back and forth for clarification about the recording and the show and his manager sends [an e-mail] back saying, “Tom. Is. Out.” Direct quote. This is the exact same e-mail we got back in 2004 when Tom went on indefinite hiatus before.”
Whilst Barker goes on to call DeLonge "disrespectful and ungrateful” and even questions why the band got back together in 2009:
“I think he’s just bummed because Mark and I were finally honest. We always covered up for him before. It was always, “We’re going to record an album,” then “Tom refuses to get into the studio without a record deal.” So everyone does hella amounts of work to get a record deal and now Tom isn’t part of Blink-182. 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. Everyone should know what the story is with him and it’s been years with it. When we did get back together after my plane crash, we only got back together, I don’t know, maybe because I almost died. But he didn’t even listen to mixes or masterings from that record. He didn’t even care about it. Why Blink even got back together in the first place is questionable.”
To read the full Rolling Stone interview, head to this link.
UPDATE 9.25am 27/1/15: Following the publication of the Rolling Stone interview, DeLonge tweeted – then deleted – the following:
“A year ago Mark and I spent a week on the phone with managers debating parting with Travis… Don’t pretend there isn’t more to this story.”
UPDATE 10.55pm 27/1/15: Mark Hoppus has been interviewed by Alternative Press where he clarifies the band’s situation and admits it is confusing. Hoppus also believes DeLonge no longer wants to be in Blink-182:
“I think that Tom doesn’t want to do Blink. I don’t think he has fun doing it. I think he has a good time when he’s onstage, but I think that other than that, he just doesn’t enjoy it. That’s just my guess and my observation from the past, whatever, three years?”
UPDATE 11.15pm 27/1/15: Tom DeLonge has posted a lengthy message explaining his situation with the band. DeLonge states that all 3 members are “accountable” for the situation and that their relationship has “always been dysfunctional”.
The guitarist goes on to say that he was willing to record a new Blink-182 album, however due to contractual obligations related to Angels and Airwaves, he was unable to commit to recording the album.
DeLonge also says he believes Hoppus and Barker thinks he (DeLonge) is “controlling”. He was unaware of yesterdays press release before finishing with the following quote:
“And even as I watch them act so different to what I know of them to be, I still care deeply for them. Like brothers, and like old friends. But our relationship got poisoned yesterday.
Never planned on quitting, just find it hard as hell to commit.”
