Blink 182's Mark Hoppus Talks About Reforming For UK Tour
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
Written by Jon Stickler
American punk-pop rockers Blink 182 have unveiled the dates for their first UK headline arena tour in seven years.
The trio, who formed in 1992, reformed in 2009, and played two special headline shows at the Reading and Leeds festivals earlier this year, will take to the UK roads in July 2011 for a five-date arena tour. Speaking to BBC's newsbeat about the tour, singer and bassist Mark Hoppus revealed that the confirmation of the shows now act as a “due date” for completion of their new album.
Blink 182's return to the UK live scene follows Tom DeLonge's decision to quit the band five years ago, promting the announcement of an “indefinite hiatus”. Hoppus explained, "Travis and I wanted to keep going but Tom didn't want to keep going on the terms that Travis and I wanted to keep going on. I think that everything was overwhelming to everybody."
In addition to the hiatus, Blink 182 endured more tradegy including the death of their producer and the surviving of a near fatal plane crash for drummer Travis Barker. "When something that awful happens then you really realise that all the stuff we were angry about that long ago really was nothing," said Hoppus. "After Travis and his plane crash we definitely all wanted to reconnect as friends. The band was just like this giant elephant in the room that nobody wanted to talk about ....and then we were like, 'What are we going to do? Are we going to do this?' I said I think we should be Blink-182 again. It's too fun and great not to."
Blink 182's reformation came as the trio realised that "it was time to let the past be the past". Annoucing in 2009 that Blink 182 would return, Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker and Tom Delonge are now currently working on new material for a new album expected in summer 2011. Hoppus continued. "After having a hiatus for five years all the nonsense we were arguing about before went away. It gave us a chance to appreciate how lucky we are to be in Blink-182 and respect one another."
Speaking about the forthcomin new album, Hoppus explained, "This is something we've put in place to help us finish the record we're working on right now. We're starting the next chapter with new music. The album is both stepping forward and I also see it as reminiscent of songs we've written in the past. It'll have a wider spectrum than on any other Blink album. When we first started off, all of us were single, all of us were young and excited punk rock kids. Now all of us are married, all of us have children and we're just punk rock adults instead. The past five years have helped us understand each other as people."
Blink 182 are working on “10 songs right now” with three or four already finished. No collaborations are planned for the album. Blink 182 will return to the UK touring scene, ready to unleash a completed brand new album, with five UK shows confirmed for July 2011. Full details of the tour are listed below.
Blink 182's 2011 UK Shows:
Manchester MEN Arena - Friday July 8th 2011
Newcastle Arena - Tuesday July 12th 2011
Nottingham Arena - Wednesday July 13th 2011
Birmingham LG Arena - Friday July 15th 2011
London 02 Arena - Monda July 18th 2011
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