Blink-182 is an American pop punk band consisting of vocalist and bass guitarist Mark Hoppus, vocalist and guitarist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. They have sold over 27 million albums worldwide since forming in Poway, California in 1992. With original drummer Scott Raynor they released their debut album Cheshire Cat in 1994 and achieved moderate success with its follow-up, 1997's Dude Ranch, which went on to sell over one million copies. Raynor was replaced by Barker midway through a 1998 tour.

The band achieved greater success with 1999's multi-platinum selling Enema of the State, which reached #9 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of the singles "What's My Age Again" and "All the Small Things", the latter of which became the highest-charting song of their career by reaching #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Blink-182 gained popularity for their irreverent sense of humor, and the follow-up album Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (2001) reached #1 in the United States, Canada, and Germany. The eponymously-titled Blink-182 followed in 2003 and was a stylistic shift for the group, infusing experimental elements into their usual pop punk formula which resulted in a more mature sound.

DeLonge left Blink-182 in early 2005, sending the band into indefinite hiatus. He went on to form Angels & Airwaves while Hoppus and Barker formed +44. Hoppus also pursued a career as a television host while Barker continued working in music as a producer and solo artist. Blink-182 reunited in February 2009 and are currently recording a sixth studio album.

Blink-182
Left to right: Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge, and Travis Barker.
Background information
Also known as	Blink (1992–1994)
Origin	Poway, California, United States
Genres	Pop punk
Years active	1992–2005, 2009–present
Labels	Grilled Cheese, Cargo Music, Kung Fu, MCA, Geffen, Interscope
Associated acts	Box Car Racer, +44, Angels & Airwaves, Transplants
Website	blink182.com
Members
Mark Hoppus Tom DeLonge Travis Barker
Past members
Scott Raynor

Formation (1992–1993) :

After moving to San Diego in the summer of 1992, Mark Hoppus was reunited with his sister Anne, to whom he expressed his desire to be in a band. Anne attended Rancho Bernardo High School, where she became friends with new student Tom DeLonge who had been previously expelled from Poway High School for showing up drunk at a basketball game. DeLonge often expressed the desire to be in a band as well, so in August 1992 Anne introduced him to her brother Mark Hoppus.[1] The two played for hours in DeLonge's garage, showing each other songs they had previously written, and writing new songs together – one of which would become the track "Carousel".[1] To impress DeLonge, Hoppus climbed to the top of a streetlight outside of DeLonge's home – however, he broke both ankles on the way down, resulting in being in crutches for the next few weeks.[1] The two decided they needed to officially start a band, so DeLonge recruited friend Scott Raynor, whom he had met at a party.[2] The three began playing together and called themselves Duck Tape, until DeLonge thought of the name Blink.[1]

The band practiced constantly, which angered Hoppus's girlfriend.[1] She told him he had to choose between the band and her, so he left the band just as it was starting. DeLonge then informed Hoppus that he borrowed a 4-track from a friend and he and Raynor were using it to make a demo tape. Upon hearing this, Hoppus decided he would leave his girlfriend and return to the band. The demo tape, titled Flyswatter, was recorded in May 1993 in Raynor's bedroom. The 4-track used to record the material resulted in poor sound quality. According to Hoppus only a small number of demos were released, primarily to their family and friends. The same year, the band recorded another demo tape, this one untitled and known simply as Demo #2. It featured re-recordings of a few Flyswatter songs and also included new songs, some of which would go on to be re-recorded and re-released on the band's albums Buddha, Cheshire Cat, and Dude Ranch.

Buddha, their third and final demo, was recorded in 1993 over three rainy nights on a 24 track recording system at Double Time Studios in San Diego, California, according to the CD's liner notes. It was released on cassette in 1993 with around 1,000 copies of the tape produced by Filter Records, an independent record company headed by Hoppus's boss. The album was one of the few Blink-182 productions released with the band name as Blink. A remastered version was released on Kung Fu Records in 1998 (with three of the original tracks omitted and two new tracks added).

Early days in the band included carrying and tuning their gear at every gig and living in a van.[3] The band's first goal was to headline SOMA, a San Diego all-ages club only (then) capable of holding 1,500 people. After eventually playing other small clubs in Southern California, Hoppus recalls "[we] worked our way up from there."[4] DeLonge called clubs constantly in San Diego asking for a spot to play, as well as calling up local high schools convincing them that Blink was a "motivational band with a strong anti-drug message" in hopes to play at an assembly or lunch.