Blink 182 T-ShirTS

Blink-182 was a pop punk band originally formed in 1992 by Tom DeLonge (vocals and guitar) who quickly recruited Mark Hoppus (vocals and bass) and Scott Raynor (drums) in Poway, California, a northern suburb of San Diego. Originally, the band's official name was "Blink", however, the numerical three digit suffix was appended early in their career following an objection from an Irish band with the same name. Travis Barker replaced Raynor on drums in 1998, midway through a U.S. tour. The group effectively broke up in early 2005, portraying it as an "indefinite hiatus". DeLonge went on to form Angels and Airwaves while Hoppus and Barker spawned +44.

Blink-182 is known for its catchy, simple melodies and lyrical toilet humor. Songwriters Hoppus and DeLonge cite punk rock bands such as The Descendents and Screeching Weasel as their early influences, however, Blink-182's songwriting and production was driven by a pop sensibility. Their last album featured more musical experimentation and lyrical sophistication than previous releases.

In May 1993, Blink recorded its first demo tape, entitled Flyswatter, in drummer Scott Raynor's bedroom. A 4-track was used to record the material, resulting in poor sound quality. According to Hoppus, only around fifty copies of the demo were produced to give to their family and friends. Before the end of the year, the band released another demo, Buddha. Around 1,000 copies were produced by Filter Records, an independent record company headed by Hoppus's boss.

In early 1994, Blink signed with Cargo Records. The band recorded their debut full-length album, Cheshire Cat in three days. The album contained a number of updated versions of songs such as "Carousel", "Strings", "Sometimes" and "TV" that had appeared on the Buddha demo as well as some originals.

Shortly after the release of Cheshire Cat, Blink was threatened with legal action by a pop band in Ireland of the same name. In order to avoid a dispute, Blink appended "182" to the end of their name. The band has cited a variety of reasons for ultimately choosing 182, with some of the more common explanations being the number of times Tony Montana utters the word "fuck" in Scarface, references to the 1985 Timothy Hutton film, Turk 182!, the band's ideal weight, the number of half the days in a year and the number of miles Hoppus had to drive to visit his girlfriend. However, DeLonge has stated that it is just a number that they "pulled out of their ass".

For the 1999 album Enema of the State, Blink-182 hired Jerry Finn as its producer. The album propelled Blink-182 into the mainstream, granting the hit singles "What's My Age Again?", "All the Small Things" and "Adam's Song" a significant amount of airtime on radio and MTV. Enema of the State went on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide making it Blink-182's bestselling album to that point.

In 1999 Blink-182 had small parts in the film American Pie, though Travis Barker was incorrectly credited as Scott Raynor.

In 2000, Blink-182 released The Urethra Chronicles, a DVD which featured behind-the-scenes information. The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show: The Enema Strikes Back, Blink-182's sole live album, was also released in 2000, featuring songs from their three full-length records. The album also included one new studio song, "Man Overboard," among the live renditions. The album quickly went out of print making it a much sought after item. A limited edition was printed in October 2006.

Blink-182 continued its commercial success with Take Off Your Pants and Jacket in 2001, which was in the same vein as Enema of the State. However, a European tour in winter 2001 was canceled in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. Rescheduled dates in early 2002 were also canceled due to DeLonge's problems with his back.

In 2002, Blink-182 co-headlined the Pop Disaster Tour with Green Day. The tour was documented on the DVD Riding In Vans With Boys.

After taking some time off in 2002, recording of the next record began in early 2003. Blink-182 released its next studio album on November 18, 2003. It featured the hit singles "Feeling This", "I Miss You", "Down", and "Always". According to Barker, the untitled record was supposed to represent a new Blink-182. It received significant airplay on radio and TV. The Cure front man Robert Smith, often cited as a major influence on the band, appeared on "All of This". During late 2003, the band embarked on the "Dolla Bill" tour, named for the inexpensive ticket costs (It was originally planned to be completely free but later realised that it would be necessary to charge something for the ticket). A tour with No Doubt in the summer of 2004 was also very successful.

In mid-February 2005 Blink-182 inexplicably cancelled a performance at Music for Relief's Concert for South Asia (a show put on to aid victims of the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake). Shortly there after, before a planned final US spring tour, on February 22, 2005, Blink-182 announced they were going on an "indefinite hiatus".