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Here at Already Heard<\/b> 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.<\/p>\nHere at Already Heard<\/b> 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.<\/p>\n
Love them or hate them, Blink-182<\/b> 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\u2019d be ideal to pass on the news to you, the Already Heard<\/b> reader.<\/p>\n
Original Story<\/a>|Update 1<\/a>|Update 2<\/a>|Update 3<\/a>|Update 4<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n On Monday evening (26th January) news broke that guitarist\/vocalist Tom DeLonge<\/b> would not be appearing with the band at the Musink festival in March, with Matt Skiba<\/b> from Alkaline Trio<\/b> taking DeLonge’s place.<\/p>\n Following this announcement, several sources released a statement from Blink-182<\/b> which gave fans the impression that DeLonge had quit the band.<\/p>\n The statement said \u201cWe 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\u2019t want to participate in any Blink-182 projects indefinitely, but would rather work on his other non-musical endeavors.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n However it seems DeLonge\u2019s departure is not definite, as he has responded to news story and states he has not left the band:<\/p>\n “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\u2026 Apparently those releases were \u2018sanctioned\u2019 from the band. Are we dysfunctional- yes. But, Christ\u2026.<\/i><\/p>\n The ONLY truth here is that I have commitments that limit my availability this year. I love Blink-182 and I\u2019m not leaving.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n Blink-182<\/b> 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\u2019s other band Angels and Airwaves<\/b> released their 5th album, ‘The Dream Walker’<\/i> late last year. It is expected they will go on tour in support of the album but no dates have yet be announced.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n UPDATE 7.30am 27\/01\/15:<\/b> Bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker have done a detailed interview with Rolling Stone<\/a>. The interview confirms DeLonge has indeed quit Blink-182<\/b>. Hoppus discussed the bands activity in the last two years:<\/p>\n "I\u2019ll walk you through the past two years of Blink-182 history: For the past two years, we\u2019ve 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, \u201cNo problem.\u201d 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\u2019t think either of us have spoken to Tom in person in months, but everything\u2019s been moving positively.<\/i><\/p>\n We\u2019re booked January 5th to go into the studio. On December 30th, we get an e-mail from Tom\u2019s manager saying that he has no interest in recording and that he wants to do his other, non-musical stuff and that he\u2019s out indefinitely. There\u2019s 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, \u201cTom. Is. Out.\u201d Direct quote. This is the exact same e-mail we got back in 2004 when Tom went on indefinite hiatus before.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n Whilst Barker goes on to call DeLonge "disrespectful and ungrateful”<\/i> and even questions why the band got back together in 2009:<\/p>\n “I think he\u2019s just bummed because Mark and I were finally honest. We always covered up for him before. It was always, \u201cWe\u2019re going to record an album,\u201d then \u201cTom refuses to get into the studio without a record deal.\u201d So everyone does hella amounts of work to get a record deal and now Tom isn\u2019t part of Blink-182. It\u2019s hard to cover for someone who\u2019s disrespectful and ungrateful. You don\u2019t even have the balls to call your bandmates and tell them you\u2019re 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\u2019s been years with it. When we did get back together after my plane crash, we only got back together, I don\u2019t know, maybe because I almost died. But he didn\u2019t even listen to mixes or masterings from that record. He didn\u2019t even care about it. Why Blink even got back together in the first place is questionable.”<\/i><\/p>\n To read the full Rolling Stone interview, head to this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n UPDATE 9.25am 27\/1\/15:<\/b> Following the publication of the Rolling Stone interview, DeLonge tweeted – then deleted – the following:<\/p>\n “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.”<\/i><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n UPDATE 10.55pm 27\/1\/15:<\/b> Mark Hoppus has been interviewed by Alternative Press<\/a> where he clarifies the band’s situation and admits it is confusing. Hoppus also believes DeLonge no longer wants to be in Blink-182<\/b>:<\/p>\n “I think that Tom doesn\u2019t want to do Blink. I don\u2019t think he has fun doing it. I think he has a good time when he\u2019s onstage, but I think that other than that, he just doesn\u2019t enjoy it. That\u2019s just my guess and my observation from the past, whatever, three years?”<\/i><\/p>\n