Blink 182 originated in the fall of 1991, when bassist/vocalist, Mark Hoppus, was introduced to guitarist/vocalist, Tom DeLange by Mark’s younger sister. Hoppus’s early childhood was marked by constant moving and world travel, as his father was a high-tech weapons engineer. In the late 1980s when Hoppus was 14, his family moved to San Diego and he bought a bass guitar and began playing songs by the Cure and the Descendants. By the time he re-met DeLange, he had just dropped out of college.

DeLange was raised in an upper-middle class home near the San Diego area, where he worked on several different construction sites, before he was introduced to Hoppus. After the addition of Scott Raynor, the trio which would become known as Blink 182—at that time called Blink—was born. The group began playing in clubs in and around San Diego. The band’s early shows had a touch of risqué about them—befriending the Orange County punk group, The Vandals, Blink released a cassette-only debut recording (Buddha) under their label in 1994.

Less than one year later, Blink was recognized by Cargo Records, who took the band on for a one-album deal. The 1995 release, entitled Cheshire Cat, garnered a huge following as a live act if nothing else. MCA signed Blink in 1996, tremendously impressed by their mass following in Australia. Blink changed its name slightly to Blink 182 and released its major label debut, Dude Ranch in 1997. The album immediately went Platinum in Australia, while achieving gold status in Canada and the USA.

Making quite a name for themselves through heavy radio play and a non-stop touring schedule, Blink 182 gained a following here in the US, that mirrored their fame in Australia. During 1997, Dude Ranch became one of the Top Five most played songs at radio stations around the nation; LA, Seattle, New York, San Francisco and Boston.In January of 1999, started to work on a follow up to Dude Ranch in their hometown of San Diego. Raynor had already departed from the band (on good terms) and was replaced by Travis Barker. Enema of the State , released in July of ’99, tagged the group as solid punkers.

There was much criticism that followed Blink 182, even as their latest album climbed higher and higher on the charts. They were said to ask female fans to bare their breasts at concerts, which forced punk-oriented fan magazines as well as other media, to disassociate themselves from Blink 182.

In the meantime, Blink 182 is gearing up for a fall and winter tour with silver chair. The guys had one of their songs, “Dammit (Growing Up)”—featured in the movie, Can’t Hardly Wait, and they also made a cameo on the movie, American Pie. If the present is any indication of what the future holds…we can expect to see much more of Blink 182—in film, TV and of course, music!