| 18.2 facts about BLINK-182! |
| Written by Sarah Mudgway | ||||
| Wednesday, 28 September 2011 16:31 | ||||
1. When BLINK-182 first started out, the band went by the name ‘Duck Tape’. This later was changed to ‘Blink’ however, after receiving threats of legal action from an Irish band of the same name... and thus, the band became known as ‘blink-182’. 2. When starting out in their career, guitarist/vocalist TOM DELONGE would call up local high schools and try convince them that they were a motivational band with a strong anti-drug message in order to play lunchtime shows. 3. Original drummer Scott Raynor left the band in 1998, with the reason for his departure always being unclear. In an interview, DeLonge mentioned that Raynor was let go due to a drinking problem, however Raynor has since stated that he left the band as he didn’t like the mainstream success they were reaching. 4. The band co-headlined the first ever Honda Civic Tour in 2001 alongside Everclear, and in 2011 - ten years later - the band are once again co-headlining the tour, this time alongside My Chemical Romance. 5. In the music video for ‘Josie’, the woman MARK HOPPUS kisses and takes his lunch from is his real mother. This video also stars a very young Alyssa Milano. Watch the ‘Josie’ music video below... 6. If you listen to the song ‘Reckless Abandon’ with the right ear-phone only, you can hear people talking in the first twenty seconds or so. When you listen to the song with both ear-phones in, the talking fades into the background as it’s overpowered by the instruments. 7. In the video 'Man Overboard', the band arrive at a club called 'FenixTx'. This is a band that Mark used to manage in 1999 before the success of the album 'Enema Of The State'. Watch the ‘Man Overboard’ music video below... 8. The man selling "blink" drinks in the video for 'Dammit' is their long time manager Rick Devoe. 9. The song ‘Feeling This’ was first thought of by having Mark and Tom separated into two different rooms without talking to each other. When they got out, they realised they had both written about sex. The song came out with two versions of sex in it - the lustful side and the romantic side. 10. Panic! At The Disco started out by making blink-182 covers. Many other bands have listed blink-182 as influences, such as All Time Low, Paramore and Fall Out Boy. You can see Mark Hoppus from blink-182 in the music video for All Time Low’s song ‘Weightless’ where this influence is brought up directly. Watch All Time Low’s ‘Weightless’ music video below... 12. The members of blink-182 have been involved in many side projects - including Boxcar Racer (DeLonge and Barker), +44 (Barker and Hoppus), Angels & Airwaves (DeLonge), Transplants (Barker) - as well as solo projects, producing albums (for bands such as Motion City Soundtrack), hosting TV shows, appearing in TV shows and films, as well as many other activities! 13. In the Brazilian and Latin American versions of the album Greatest Hits, there is a bonus track not included on any other version - 'Aliens Exist', live from a concert in Los Angeles. 14. Travis Barker’s mum Gloria died of cancer on Travis' first day of high school. The first tattoo he ever got was a memorial of her. 15. The song 'A New Hope' was originally called 'Princess Leia'. The name of the song is also a reference to 'Star Wars 4: A New Hope'... 16. In an interview, Tom DeLonge stated that if it wasn’t for Travis Barker’s involvement in a plane crash, the band would not be back together. 17. blink-182 took a trip to Springfield in the 14th season of 'The Simpsons', playing themselves in the episode ‘Barting Over'. Check out a video of the band recording their voice-over lines below... The cast of ‘Who’s Line Is It Anyway?’ have also parodied the band in one of their episodes: 18. All three members of the band now have children and are, or have been, married. The album cover for ‘Neighborhoods’ features the names of their children, as well as some friends and family. 18.2 Their sixth studio release ‘Neighborhoods’ is out now in New Zealand! Click HERE to read our review of the new album. |
