Based in San Diego, California, USA, Blink-182's highly melodic and entertaining thrash rock broke through onto the mainstream charts in the late 90s. The band was originally formed by Mark Hoppus (b. 15 March 1972, USA; bass/vocals), who had moved to San Diego to study, and Tom DeLonge (b. Thomas Matthew DeLonge, 13 December 1975, USA; guitar/vocals). Hoppus and DeLonge were joined by drummer Scott Raynor, and began a non-stop gigging schedule on the local punk circuit. The self-released Fly Swatter EP appeared in 1993, and was followed by the cassette "Buddha" demo, released by Filter Records in a run of less than a 1,000 (the material was reissued in a slightly different format three years later by Kung Fu Records). Several of the songs from the demo tape subsequently appeared on the band's full-length debut, Cheshire Cat, which was released by the Grilled Cheese label in 1994. Shortly afterwards the trio was forced to adopt the new moniker Blink-182 following the threat of legal action by an Irish techno outfit already recording as Blink. Despite the enforced name change, the trio's popularity continued to grow owing to support slots with several leading punk bands including No FX and Pennywise, and their ubiquitous presence on the skating and snow boarding scenes. They also developed a reputation for stripping off during live shows. A steady flow of singles and EPs confirmed both the trio's penchant for gloriously immature lyrics, and their ability to craft great tunes.
Blink-182's commercial breakthrough arrived with 1997's Dude Ranch. The album included the endearing hit "Dammit (Growing Up)", which enjoyed constant radio play alongside material by other hardcore bands, including the Offspring, Green Day and Smash Mouth. Following the release of Dude Ranch, founding member Raynor was replaced by Travis Barker (b. 14 November 1975, USA). Barker appeared on the band's major label debut, Enema Of The State, which debuted in the US Top 10 in June 1999 and went on to sell over a million copies in barely two months. The album was helped by two highly catchy hits, "What's My Age Again?" and "All The Small Things".
Following the release of a stop-gap live set, the band confirmed the commercial appeal of their scatological punk rock when their fifth album, Take Off Your Pants And Jacket, debuted at the top of the US charts in June 2001 (and continued in the fine tradition of rock bands getting dirty puns into the mainstream). DeLonge and Barker concurrently enjoyed success as part of Blink-182 soundalikes, Box Car Racer, while the latter also joined Rancid frontman Tim Armstrong in the Transplants. The trio reunited to record 2003's self-titled album, on which their trademark infantile humour was largely eschewed in favour of more mature themes, most notably on lead-off single "I Miss You". In February 2005, the trio announced that Blink-182 was being put on an indefinite hiatus. DeLonge resurfaced in 2006 with Angels And Airwaves.
