It’s been 30 years since Californian high-school ratbags Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus joined forces in DeLonge’s garage and founded a band that would go on to become one of the most successful on the planet.
Now, after a nearly 10-year absence from the trio, DeLonge is once again teaming up with Hoppus and longtime drummer Travis Barker to reform Blink-182’s most iconic lineup.
To celebrate the news, they’ve announced a massive global tour that, yes, will be headed to Australia early in 2024.
Announcing the reformation in true, schoolboy Blink-182 style, they released the innuendo-laden video below:
Rumours of the band’s reunion have been circulating heavily as DeLonge has been teasing fans with old photos of the band on Instagram, although avoiding confirmation that they are getting back together.
Not only are we getting the chance to relive our youths, but the band is also bringing us new tracks soon. A new single, ‘Edging’, is scheduled to drop on Friday with a new album not far away.
DeLonge seemed pretty confident about it, announcing on Instagram that the band has “just made the best album of [their] career.”
The last time they toured Australia was in 2013 at Soundwave Festival. This show was however without Barker, who suffered a near-fatal plane crash in 2008 and had still not gotten over his fear of flying. Barker is now comfortable with air travel and will join the rest of the gang on tour.
Blink-182 was a mainstay of the 90s punk movement and propelled pop-punk into the stratosphere. Their 1994 debut, Buddha, was all fast riffs and rapid lyrics, a style they would mellow out in later records. Their breakthrough record, 1999’s Enema of the State, brought them international success with hits like ‘What’s My Age Again?’, ‘All the Small Things’ and ‘Anthem’.
DeLonge left the group initially in 2005, citing creative differences, and formed the group Angels and Airwaves later in the year. Hoppus and Barker moved on to their own project, +44, although neither band achieved anywhere near the success that Blink had.
They performed together as a group again in 2009, releasing the album Neighbourhoods in 2011 and they enjoyed a bit of a resurgence until DeLonge once again left the group in 2015. He pursued his interests in UFO’s, founding a company dedicated to research into extraterrestrial life. The group continued with Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba taking over on vocals.
The past few years have been difficult for the group, with Hoppus undergoing treatment for cancer. He was declared cancer free at the end of 2021 and there has been frequent speculation about a revival of the original group ever since.
The tour kicks off in Mexico in March of next year, with the boys making it to Aus the following year where it looks like the tour is ending following a couple of shows in New Zealand.
The key dates for the diary are:
Friday 9 February – RAC Arena, Perth
Sunday 11 February – Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Tuesday 13 February– Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
Friday 16 February – Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney
Monday 19 February – Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Tickets for the tour will start to go on sale on October 13, with general sale going live at 1 pm AEDT on October 20. Head to their website for ticket links.
Related: Why We Need Glastonbury Music Festival Now More Than Ever
Related: Spotify Blend Lets You Combine Your Music Taste With Your Mates’ or Fave Musicians’
Read more stories from The Latch and subscribe to our email newsletter.
