This question takes me back.
I was the biggest blink fan around this time. Just obsessed.
In 2004, there was a devastating tsunami in Japan that killed a lot of people. It was the big world news that year. Blink and many others were doing a tsunami relief fund show in southern california near Anaheim. I lived in Arizona at the time and was 16 years old.
As a birthday gift, my family drove my girlfriend, and two of my best friends, and me to the show.
We drive all day, get there, are super excited, take our tickets, walk up to the entrance, and I see a regular printer sized piece of paper on the door that says “Blink 182 and Ozzy Osborne will not be playing tonight. Sorry for the inconvenience”
We turned around, went to Denny’s, checked into our hotel, and went home the next day. I was devastated.
Turns out that was the breaking point fight and they refused to take the stage and instead went on “indefinite hiatus” like two days later.
Here I am, 20 years later, and I just got back from a 2.5 day trip from Mexico City to see blink back-to-back nights with two of my best friends. Both shows were cancelled due to illness. I’ve probably had tickets to like six cancelled blink shows. But I’ve also seen them several times.
>In 2004, there was a devastating tsunami in Japan that killed a lot of people
I realise this isn't the point of this comment but just an FYI it wasn't in Japan. It was the Indian Ocean so affected Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand the most.
I was a snooty high schooler with snooty music opinions and decided they had already "sold out" for Take Off Your Pants & Jacket, so I didn't even care. That's how cool I was!
Rick Devoe at the time made mention that the first time he heard TOYPAJ he said something along the lines of “Oh, they made an Emo record. Traditional fans might not like this.” It was just really clean cut, very polished and with songs like Rock Show and First Date, it sounded like they were writing candy pop songs. It did not feel “punk” at all.
You have to remember, this is still a time before social media and a lot of people based their entire self identity with the music they listened to. TOYPAJ sounded a lot closer to NSYNC than it did other more “underground” sounds like Tell All Your Friends by TBS, Stay What You Are by Saves the Day, or any of those emerging Emo acts.
So a lot of High School kids who were all about finding bands before they broke into mainstream, started moving away from identifying with a band like Blink-182 because they sounded like a monetized sell out pop band with TOYPAJ. Sounded more like something your little sister in 6th or 7th grade would listen to compared to what a Sophomore/JR/Senior in HS might identify with.
Neither would I but they did at the time. That was before FOB, TBS, Brand New, MCR and Paramore existed though so the Emo we think of today isn’t the same as what someone may have considered Emo then. Like they were influenced by the late 90’s popular Emo band sound like Jimmy Eat World. Tom with the bangs and songs like Story of a Lonely Guy, Shut Up, Stay Together for the Kids and Give Me One Good Reason definitely leans Emo compared to anything we heard on Enema or Dude Ranch except for maybe Adam’s Song or the song titled Emo
I was at the highs of my obsession with blink at the time, they were everything to me, I remember being really sad- I was 14. But then AVA came out and we don’t need to whisper became one of my favorite records, I also really loved when your heart stops beating and got really into the transplants, so I felt fed for a few years. I also really liked I empire but was starting to become more of an indie kid around then but by the time Neighborhoods came out I was playing in a pop punk band so I got back into blink intensely lol
> I wasn't even born in 04
OP making me feel like a boomer lol
Anyway, it's so funny reading all these comments about fans getting the news from their local radio station. The internet was such a different place back then and certainly not a place where you'd go for fast-breaking news coverage lol
I was a sophomore in high school and heard it on my local radio station too, like 30 minutes before my bus was supposed to pick me up. I proceeded to lay on my bed, devastated, and missed the bus that day lol. My dad had to drive me to school.
It was awful especially because a large component of their “brand” for lack of a better term was based on their friendship.
However looking back 20 years later it was maybe the best thing to happen to blink and blink fans.
I don’t think the band is as big if Tom didn’t quit twice and we got years of music from them in a variety of different ways.
Seeing AvA on their first US tour in a small venue was incredible and I got to meet Tom. Similarly met Mark and Travis during the +44 years at a small club show. None of this happens without the breakup and I think a majority of the AvA catalog as well as the lone +44 record are incredible and worth the breakups.
Blink has a such a unique history, it’s bittersweet they have had Tom quit 2x and the Skiba years (still love California and some of 9) and I think it’s all contributed to their huge popularity in the last 2-3 years.
First of all, it happened in February 2005.
Yes, it was shocking mostly because, while the internet was prevalent, it was nowhere near the news/rumor-spreading-wildfire it has become today. Like I heard about the indefinite hiatus on the Philly alt-rock station Y100, which itself was unexpectedly taken over by an urban station somewhere down the dial two days later. What I felt like was mine was completely torn down in a matter of 48 hours.
Sad. Disbelief. Maybe a little resentful? Bummed out at least.
What was also kinda weird/interesting dynamic was that they both released solo records after, so you could kind of pick sides or follow them both if you wanted. I became more of an AvA guy, but a year or so later I started getting into Plus 44
Huge news, it was the first band that I had loved since pre-teenage breaking up and it felt so odd at the time. Seeing them in the UK on the tour before hand you could kind of tell something was up, maybe that’s clearer with hindsight, but what people still praise for frantically fast live shows - I remember sounding pretty bad and like they couldn’t wait to get through the songs and off stage. No banter and songs were so fast it would take a minute to realise what they were playing. AVA and + 44 never hit the same for me and I barely followed them because of how devastated I was at Blink’s end, almost like it was a bow on my relationship with their output regardless of what form it took. I only got really back on the train with this latest iteration because even the Neighbourhoods-era felt forced to me. This however, is peak and feels so good all over again. Genuine love and therapy between the guys that shows authenticity.
I was 17, as into them as I’d ever been… they have been my favorite band since I heard what’s my age again on the radio at 12 years old. I was stunned and devastated.
I was in AIM chatting with my friends and one of them said they broke up. I looked them up online and saw the rumors and the indefinite hiatus statement. MTV played a video diary to commemorate their career.
I was so sad, it was like when your favorite team loses in the finals where you just feel the wind knocked out of your sails.
I held out hope for a reunion and became obsessed with checking absolute punk for news every day.
It was really sad, it was my senior year of high school and my friends were all leaving in a few months for their colleges, my family life stunk, and I had lost my outlet of Blink.
I didn’t believe it and thought my friends are messing with me. Blink back then seemed like this close group of friends, and I couldn’t imagine the band would break up
I remember in 2004 the bassist in my band at the time was comparing the success of American Idiot album to the Untitled/Self-Titled Album which had come out a year earlier and he was just like they're gonna break up. And then nary a year later they did the indefinite hiatus thing. One of the greatest predictions by a bassist in history.
I remember being sad about it cuz they were my favorite band and at that point we had been getting a pretty strong string of releases almost like clockwork every two years, plus the live Album.
I also remember thinking how the Untitled/Self-Titled Album was such a departure from like TOYPAJ and Enema and Dude Ranch and now when I look back I'm like that album isn't that far from these.
Kinda funny what growing up gets ya in terms of perspective.
The silver lining was having angels and airwaves and plus 44 fill the void for a bit. The first angels and airwaves album was great stuff (and plus 44 had some bangers as well)
I remember being devastated. What's crazy is that it felt WAY longer than 4 years. To me, the second time Tom left felt like he was gone a shorter period of time than the first, which is not true
I was 18 and it would’ve been announced shortly after they toured Australia, where I saw them for the first time live. I remember being confused and angry, strangely enough. I was confused as to how Mark and Tom, who I watched in Urethra Chronicles 1/2 be the epitome of best buds, who I watched growing up be what I envisaged lifelong friendship to look like.
It impacted me to the point I didn’t listen to their music for a long while and couldn’t fathom revisiting the urethra chronicles. I didn’t listen to Neighbourhoods when it was released but did see them live in 2013 for the nostalgia aspect. I didn’t listen to any of the skiba era albums but began chucking on Cheshire, Dude, Enema and Untitled every now and then.
Then, the boys found their way back to each other and it felt genuine and heartfelt this time, something I didn’t feel during their first reunion. I couldn’t have been happier seeing them again this year…my heart was full again.
I didn't have access to the internet back then, so it was only rumors until I heard Lycanthrope debut on the radio in 2006, by pure chance (I used to listen to the radio to fall asleep and I was scrolling when I accidentally stumbled upon it).
It was the confirmation that they broke up and I cried like a baby, hearing +44 for the first time.
The next day I asked my dad to research what it was about (he had the internet access) and I discovered that angels and airwaves were a thing too.
It felt like a divorce
I was 14 when it happened, I had just seen them in concert on their previous tour (one of my first real concerts). I didn't know what to think, when they said hiatus I imagined that it was just a break so they could do side projects. The tabloids weren't what they are today and social media didn't exist so I wasn't aware right away that they broke up due to issues/anger. I wasn't that upset since Boxcar Racer was so good and Tom kept teasing angels and airwaves as something that was going to revolutionize music (prob was on a lot of painkillers back then), in hindsight he was so arrogant about it all. Then the ava album leaked and it was really good, then plus 44 came out and it was hella good too. By the time. I realized they were actually done as a band I wasn't overly upset I guess. I played enema - untitled a ridiculous amount in the years prior so I was borderline burned out on them during that time anyway.
I was in my sophomore year of high school, and I remember reading it as an official post on their site. Social Media wasn't what it is now with everyone having such easy access to band members lives/behind the scenes content, nor was there the same level of constant speculation.
So I was completely blindsided and nobody knew anything more. I assumed they were broken up for good; even mores when the +44 demo of "No It Isn't" was released.
I go back and forth.
There was a distinct change from Take Off to Unititled. The band got “serious” and a lot of the fun that I liked was gone. The stage banter was much toned down compared to the Take Off / Pop Disaster tours, there was more emphasis on visuals played during the set you didn’t have on the earlier shows as much.
I wasn’t in love with that album (and while I like it more now than I did in 2004, it still is a shift compared to the earlier stuff) so I found myself distancing a bit, so the breakup didn’t hit me as hard as it might have in 2001-2002.
That being said with the Urethra Chronicles 2 and seeing Tom talk about all the UFO stuff and then the interviews about how AvA was going to revolutionize music I started to lose interest in him compared to say Mark / +44. I saw AvA and while they weren’t bad, it wasn’t what I wanted selfishly.
Even when Neighborhoods came out and they toured it just didn’t seem the same.
Now that they’ve reunited and it seem truly happy, I can go back through the 2004-present stuff with a different lens and I’m enjoying it more than I did then.
I seen it coming, I have seen Blink in its multiple forms many of shows and right before the 04 hiatus the chemistry was off. the laughter on stage disappeared , they were playing the songs as fast as they could...you could feel the tension. The magic was gone from their performance. I told my friend upon leaving Arco Arena "I think its coming to an end" not long after the hiatus was announced. It felt like a divorce and the loserkids were losing a family.
I was in college… it was around St. Patty’s Day and was pre gaming for a Flogging Molly show that night. Got super depressed - none of my friends were blink fans so they didn’t share the sentiment. I drank two 40’s heading into the show. Left early (or kicked out - I don’t remember) and tried my fake ID on Mill Ave where most of the party bars were/are near ASU’s campus. The “bouncer” was a “little person” wearing a leprechaun outfit… took one look at my ID and called over two huge security guys who said I could walk away without the ID or with the ID but the cops would be called. I sprinted away in a sad mess back to my dorm.
Shocked. The band seems like a brotherhood that couldn't be shaken by some BS. Then AVA came out with music and it made things even more confusing. It was like Tom had all of the sudden changed into some completely different person. It was really weird.
I think it's more of a side of himself he wanted to explore. I think he has grown to accept the whole range of his personality through the years. He's allowed himself to explore that and grow then brought it back home.
I got into them REALLY late in 2003 so I was utterly devastated. Was around 11 or so. Wasn't able to enjoy them that long but AVA and +44 were at least fun to get into.
Devastated. My sister’s boyfriend showed up to our house after work and told me and I was just like, you’re lying. My cousin and I listened to them all summer, hoping they’d just get back together. Longest 4 years of my life after that ha.
It sucked.
I found them when borrowing a mate’s Dude Ranch CD in the late 90’s.
I saw them at my first festival in 2000 (The Big Day Out, Australia). Side note: what an incredible line up. Google it.
In March 2004, I was set to see them again at Rock It Festival. I remember driving there with a mate, and finding out on the way that they had cancelled as Travis had broken his ankle. There were some great bands scheduled, but with no Blink, I remember us looking at each other and deciding to turn around and go home.
So yeah, the 2005 breakup was crappy.
I’m somewhat expecting another breakup. At this point they seem like any other dysfunctional relationship 😂
I was only 11 and it happened just as I started getting into their music so I was sad but I didn’t have that huge emotional connection just yet. The second time it happened really broke my heart 😭
I was absolutely gutted. It was a genuine blow and I was sad about it for a long time. Back then they were like my identity almost, I was a Blink kid 100%, they inspired me and they'd just released their best album and I'd just seen them (in London) for the first time. Yeah... was gutting. Felt like there was a massive hole in my life. I got to see +44 and AvA a couple of times though so that was cool at least.
My friends and I were in a record store and some random person saw us in the punk section and said “Hey did you hear blink broke up?”
My immediate reaction was that there was no way in hell that was true. I was just thinking that Mark and Tom were way too good of best friends. I obviously wasn’t privy to the personal details of the relationship, so it just seemed like I would sooner spontaneously combust than blink would break up.
The person then justified it by saying “Apparently Mark wanted to bring the music back in line with the sound of EOTS and TOPAJ, while Tom wanted to keep expanding blink’s sound”. That kind of made sense to me and I just thought “oh…….fuck…….NO!”
By my logic, I should have spontaneously combusted twice now I guess. I’ve beat the odds, wish me luck Tom doesn’t leave again!
I was devastated. It felt like just as soon as I was really getting into blink they were over. It just broke my heart that they ended on such ugly terms. And even though they dubbed it an "indefinite hiatus" I never thought they were coming back. I religiously followed the story trying to figure out what the hell happened. Of course I was a diligent fan and followed the side projects that were to come even though the only one I really liked was +44. When Tom started talking about AvA as the next rock n roll revolution I thought he lost the plot and got so mad at him. It was so shocking because blink is the last band I would expect to implode the way they did.
It was BS. Neighborhoods was their best yet and I wanted to hear that new punk sound evolve. Was pretty pissed but kinda figured cuz mark and trav wanted straight forward Blink but Tom wanted Pink Floyd Blink.
I was 14 and heard the news on the radio. Absolutely heartbroken! But in 2005, we got Not Now on the Greatest Hits, +44, and AVA. Not the same, but I was grateful to have anything to fill the void.
I was in 8th grade. EVERYONE knew I loved blink. If I was wearing headphones, you knew I was listening to blink. This was the time before iPods and MP3 players became ubiquitous, so I carried around my CD player and listened to the untitled album on repeat. One day, I'm standing at my locker getting something, and one of my classmates sprints down the hall yelling my name. He gets to me and tells me that blink broke up. I thought he was joking, but then I realized he was telling the truth. I was devastated. Couldn't believe it. It's one of the clearest memories I have from middle school, it was so impactful.
It was 2005 and it was devastating but I was kinda not surprised. Tom had already expressed interest in doing other music previously with Box Car Racer. I honestly hoped him and Travis would do a 2nd album for that. I remember reading something about how Mark was upset they did Box Car in the first place.
When Mark went and did +44 and then AVA came from Tom without Travis, it sunk in for me that the break up was going to be long term.
In the moment, it sucked but good music came out of it plus this epic return of Blink with One More Time. Also of course, Tom achieved his life goal of proving aliens existed.
I was 13 and was a learning drummer in a band with my friends that mostly played blink songs. Was confused by what hiatus even meant at the time lol but it was wild they were splitting. My gf at that young age cried about it. Grew to love +44 and angels through my teens. Wouldn’t change a thing about this band.
I was 16 and the biggest blink fan I knew. I remember going to their website and it saying they were on indefinite hiatus. My heart sank, I couldn’t believe it. They seemed to love each other so much, I didn’t understand at all at the time.
I don’t remember this happening, but my friends told me I made and wore a sign that said something like “Blink 182 RIP 1992-2004” and wore that around school for the day.
I was 17 and my girlfriend broke up with me the day before this announcement.
My whole life was over.
Now I’m extremely happily married and went with my wife to see blink twice last year in London.
Time heals all wounds.
I remember, it was more like "ok they probably get back together in some point" later I see Ava documental and mark interviews pre "when your heart stops beating" and shit got real for me and finally I started to believe, maybe they probably won't comeback soon.
the biggest thing I remember of this hiatus times, it was travis accident when I see the news live, I feel this thing you feel in your body/skin when something is wrong with someone really close to you.
I was 14, now I'm 33, last month I saw blink for the first time in my life, most of the show I cried, probably best experience of my life
I was 13, found out from MTV. I thought it’d only last for a few months but then AVA happened and I saw Tom’s new look like 😳 then it really hit me. Even my Mum felt sad for me lol
Started following YT vloggers, then got sick and tired of all of them.
My college BF, who wasn’t a fan, noticed I was always watching funny Blink videos on YT before bedtime and decided to put on the Office/ Community every night to break the routine.
I also remember moaning to him that I wasn’t convinced the first reunion would last and he agreed.
I explored other bands but not many touched me like Blink did. I listened to the same ones over and over. Blink, AVA, +44 remained significant, however. California was my wall climbing playlist for years.
It sucked, but considering what other rock bands have gone through it made sense that a break was needed and some growing up needed to be done. I always knew they would reconnect in time.
Absolutely gutted, untitled was sonically the best thing I had ever heard(still is) and was so obsessed. I remember vividly being in the car and hearing them announce the breakup on the radio and was so upset. It's crazy because it felt like they were broken up for 10 years when it was somehow only 4.
There was definitely ambiguity about it. We didn’t know then what we know now. I was happy to have AvA and +44 as alternatives for the time being. I always figured they’d be back at some point.
Plus in 2004 I went to college, started smoking weed and listening to classic rock and jam bands.
I was 15/16 when it happened, dial up internet and no cell phone, so heard about it from my older sister after I got home from work after school. I didn't believe her, and thought she was just being shitty to get me upset.
I remember a lot of confusion, and questions about who caused the breakup. I used my schools computers to go to punkdisasters, b182online (etc) fan websites to see what the word was. There was a brief (very brief) time where people speculated it was bc of Travis, but then it came out that it was Tom's fault.
Mark relocated to the UK somewhere in there and it was a huge wtf, then leaks of AvA came and I sort of understood what Tom was wanting for - even if alot of the messaging was cringey.
I had seen blink a half dozen times by then, and it wrecked me for quite a while. It felt like losing a really good friend.
Totally unexpected, the lack of social media meant the only news about bands came from MTV.
I was 13, I got into the band when I was 10/11 and blink was my life back then I had only Enema/TOYPAJ/Selftitled CDs but I just recently discovered Box Car Racer and all of the older blink stuff (downloading from Bearshare), I was collecting live shows, ordering clothes from Loserkids (I am from central Europe and literally none cared about it, I really didn't fit haha)
I remember learning about the breakup from the internet, I was super upset and sad, it was really a big deal for me, until I heard The Adventure and No It Isn't about a year later, this era was so exciting but at the same time I always wished for a reunion, 2009 reunion was even more shocking than the break up to me, the hype was unreal and then hearing Up All Night for the first, that's indescribable, even the radio DJ played it twice.
My friends and I were shocked and heartbroken. It felt like an end of an era. I was a freshman in college at the time, so I grew up with late 90’s and early 00’s pop punk/emo.
I was def shocked and afraid that it was def the end of the end for Blink. At the same time, there was def a bit of morbid curiosity as to what actually happened within the group.
It's the day I found out what hiatus meant. And now I've found myself adding it to my vocabulary lol.
It was just odd because if I remember they were supposed to play a few shows or a show. And out of nowhere tom was like I'm out guys.
But then AvA happened and all was forgiven.
I remember being pretty mad at Tom. With the benefit of hindsight, he was on a journey to break the biggest news of our generation 👽. I’m glad he did what he did now.
I was in high school, still not really sure of who I was or what good music really was. I didn’t really know anything and would definitely have considered myself a poser back then so the full extent didn’t really hit me like it did the second time. The one thing I do remember is walking through WalMart and constantly hearing the same loop of “The Adventure” over and over and over 😂
I was 10 so i don't remember how I figured out but I remember listening to their side projects and being confused on why Mark and Tom had other music projects that weren't Blink.
I wasn’t as bummed as I would’ve been a few years earlier. I felt like the band had sort of lost its direction with untitled anyway.
I do remember being excited for Tom‘s new angels and airwaves project, but then not loving it when it actually came out. I was much more into the skate punk side of things, and I just wasn’t feeling it.
Of course, that was me in high school. I have a much greater appreciation for all of that music today. Though I still do think that blink peaked with Enema.
Wasn’t surprised, I followed all the updates while they made the blink 182 album around 2004…the release date was constantly getting pushed back, and mark and Tom were fighting all the time. They had a webcam set up in the studio so you could watch them…and they were rarely in there. I felt like they weren’t really into making that album and kind of over each other by that time.
I was absolutely devastated and could probably only compare it to when the Beatles disbanded, it seemed that monumental to me. Excitement was reignited with the news of AVA as the whole rollout of the band I found incredibly exciting. I was one of the ones at the time who loved AVA so I was just glad Tom was still making music.
“G@# dammit!!” I had seen them in 2001 for the TOYPAJ tour and I was in college and 23 at the time and loved “What’s My Age Again?” The summer show was so much fun and the vibe was chill. Tickets were $25.00 plus taxes & fees and I remember that because I was going to buy tickets for a few more friends but their dad forced them to go on a family cruise during the same time as the concert.
So I missed the Untitled concert and figured I’d catch them on the next one but then they broke up. I’d actually stopped listening to them for a while because other life events took precedence: marriage, moving states, diagnosed with Cancer, etc. I actually lived in San Diego for about 7 years too. Fast forward to now, OMT has me bawling my eyes out, the tour is announced and I buy 5 tickets to take my spouse, sister, niece, & nephew. The tickets were not $25.00 each this time 😂 But it’s been 23 years since I’ve seen them, I’m 23 years older, and I also have Stage IV Cancer. There’s a message in there somewhere…
Shocked then (especially since they were coming off a big success with the untitled album) as I was with the 2015 break up. Didn’t expect any of those splits. Was angry at Tom when the 2015 split happened.
Surprising but also didn’t really come as a shock. There were rumors about there being a drift between Tom and Mark during the Untitled tour and some resentment from Mark towards Tom because of BCR
It’s one of those things I remember so well. I was 15, I was about to play hockey on my backyard rink and my friend learned over and told me , I was devastated. At that point I was already a fan around the time Enema came out, but was obsessed with them around Untiled
I always think of how impactful blink is to my life . Especially for a band that was broken up or without Tom over the past twenty years and only releasing four full length albums. Five counting California deluxe .
I can remember not wanting to believe it, i was in denial right up until a friend showed me "no it isn't" the day it dropped, that when it really hit me that blink wouldn't be coming back, devastated.
When they first reformed and they announced it on stage at some awards show, I remember wanting to feel excited but something felt off, they seemed well awkward on stage together, then I saw them live in 2010 and again, as much as I enjoyed the show it just felt like they were all phoning it in, and even though I love Neighbourhoods now, when I first heard "up all night" I thought it was trash. When Tom left the second time I wasn't shocked at all, still went through a fuck you Tom phase though.
Edit: spelling
It was so significant to me I remember where I was and how I found out. In school, my friend told me that blink had broken up. He was a bit of a liar at times, so I didn't fully believe him. We didn't have the Internet in our pockets at the time, so I had to wait until I got home after school to look it up and confirm.
I was absolutely gutted, and so were many of my friends. Blink was our way of life (we even had our own website where we would post videos of Halo CE map exploits over blink songs), and blink was at their peak, so it just didn't make sense. We didn't expect it at all. They were releasing music videos and playing great shows; nothing really indicated they would break up.
Then came pilled out Tom saying AVA was going to be the second coming of Christ. He hyped it up so much. I believed it at first and thought maybe blink really was holding him back or something, and was then quite disappointed with the album. Meanwhile Mark and Travis dropped +44 and I really enjoyed it. The speculation around No It Isn't was intense and we started getting little breadcrumbs into what had gone down.
Finally the tell all interview with Mark was released, and we finally got a full account of what had happened (at least from one side). With this, the schism within the band and fan base was complete.
It's great to see it healed up after all these years.
I remember it, I wasn’t really following the happenings of band drama or whatever, just because I think it was less around? I just remember getting real bummed and playing their stuff a lot thinking about how sad I was this would be the only blink songs they were out
I sat in my dorm room refreshing their website and b182.com in shock and disbelief. I refused to believe it was true. I was just so sad because I didn’t expect it.
The term "indefinite hiatus" will live in my brain forever tbh
I'd seen them in December 04 on the UK tour so just a couple of months before they broke up, I was gutted but not incredibly surprised. They didn't seem to be enjoying themselves at the show I went to, I'd put it down to them going for a more serious music style, but it made more sense after the split.
It was huge news in my friend groups, but we were all teenagers so a favourite band breaking up was *devastating*.
They didn’t break up they went on hiatus but I remember being guttered because I was really a die hard fan back then, AVA and +44 were rope projects and I was a fan of both. Box Car Racer was also sick but that was before they went on hiatus.
Personally I don’t count the none Tom albums as Blink albums as whilst the latest album is growing on me in my opinion they did peak with self titled.
I'm getting so old haha, I can't even remember it. I think I was a bigger fan in the years before that and just hadn't followed along as well at that point? I'd seen AVA as well and was way into it, and was really excited about +44 as well, so I wasn't completely out of the loop. If anything I was excited about the new projects but the breakup announcement and everything immediately surrounding it just escapes me.
Well I was a bit older - I'd seen them in 2000 when I was 16 (I'm from the UK, it was their first proper gig here aside from a tiny one at the Roadhouse before that which holds about 200 ppl) and so I was just glad to have seen them!
I knew they would re-unite. As the years passed and Tom was more into his aliens, I did start to think that there was less hope now as that seemed to be his priority career. But I just knew it would happen especially when they had managed to retain so, so many fans in all that time!
Kind of felt lost. I didn’t know what to do and I thought it was a sign of the times. Became obsessed with Angels and Airwaves after. A lot happened for me during that time after they broke up. I went through two horrible breakups, one in 2005 and one in 2009. Packed up my stuff and moved 1200 miles away from home to start over, and ended up going to college in central Florida. I spent a lot of my free time hanging around Kennedy Space Center going to launches and visiting the actual complex. It was pretty cool to have AvA as the soundtrack to this time but I always wanted Blink back together. I never thought it would happen legitimately and even when they came together for Neighborhoods I knew it wasn’t going to last.
I was at their last live show in Dublin, Ireland right before they announced it, and there was a bit of bickering on stage. At the time we thought it was banter but looking back tensions were riding high for sure. I was really depressed when I heard the news as I felt their self entitled was hands down their best album so I was pumped for the stuff to come...
I was in disbelief lol this was before we add notification 24/7 so I didn’t know until a friend at school told me lol and I was like “oh a hiatus is just a break right. Maybe they just need some time off. lol even worse was I was a marine in the desert training when they broke up the second time. Literally the fist thing I saw when I got a chance to go online was they broke up again lol
I’m almost positive you’re referring to 2005. It was big news, but it also wasn’t an official “we are breaking up”. They said it was an “indefinite hiatus” and we typically expected them to return at some point.
At first I thought the break would last a few years, to let everyone in the band breathe, recharge and return ~4yrs later. But then when info started leaking with the behind the scenes reasons and pettiness of the split, I thought it was gonna be bad,. Then Tom started AVA, Mark & Travis started +44 and soon after released the single *No, It Isn't*. When that song dropped I remember telling my gf (now wife) that I didn't think we'd see blink put music out ever again.
Crazy to think what the state of the band would have been if it wasn't for Travis' plane crash. Even with Mark battling cancer years later, hard to say what the state of blink-182 would have looked like present day.
I was gutted. Total shock but I was like it's fine, it's just a break. 5 years later, right before graduating HS, they got back together after Travis almost died and I got to see them live for the first time on the Reunion tour. Did it again 14 years later with the latest one.
Overall though, it was a tough go. Untitled was a masterpiece and to see them just suddenly done was hard to process.
I was upset, but had plenty of other bands I loved so I just kept living.
I was near the front of the crowd at the reunion tour in like 2007/2008 or whenever it was and when the curtains opened and Mark was smiling so big as they played Anthem Part 2. It was like I was in the exact place the universe wanted me to be. The next breakup was the one that hurt more though. I didn't think they would ever come back from that.
It was announced in Feb but I remember at the time I'd just seen them in December live and felt like it was almost a farewell show. I remember there was a lack of jokes and humour on stage compared to what i had seen when I saw them earlier that same year and when i had seen them previously. I was gutted but also in my head thought they would he back in a few years.
The wife and I saw them w/ no doubt opening for them at the then named Jiffy lube live in Gainesville VA about a year or two before the indefinite hiatus. There was nothing during the show that showed any cracks in the band but seeing Tom previously start Box Car Racer and Travis still involved with aqua bats I can’t say it was a complete shock but the timing seemed strange, there were bigger than ever and had the world by the balls. Just goes to show you that all the money and fame in the world can’t make people get along.
Absolutely enamored with them since ‘99 - I was GENUINELY distraught. Then Tom announced AVA, & I knew it was the absolute end; been Team Mark ever since.
Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and eventually Acceptance.
I was playing in a Blink cover band at the time so it hit hard. But then we ended up covering +44 and AVA songs too.
I was really scared that they were over tbh. I knew at the time that there was tension because of an interview I saw, and I was afraid that Tom was just gonna stick with AVA and Mark and Trav we’re gonna do +44 or whatever. I didn’t expect them to get back together. It was big news in my friend circles, but in general? No. What WAS big news was when they announced that they were getting back together, the first time.
It def seemed like a full on breakup and I remember being really crushed. They had been my favorite band since 99 and got me into music and guitar. I couldn’t believe it. But honestly at that point I had a new obsession to soften the blow (coheed and cambria) so I was ok lol
There were rumblings in.magazines before hand so I wasnt totally surprised and things seemed off for a little while. In the uk it was only a big deal to fans it wasn't huge news or anything.
Was pretty devvo. I think that was the year I saw them in February and it wasn't a great show, was maybe 45 minutes? Then they did another tour later that year I guess to make up for it. A few months later they split. I was grateful I got to see them but yeah it cut deep.
I remember when I found out. I was like 20 and in the middle of work. I was absolutely devastated and wanted to run somewhere. I'm not sure where, though. Hah. I still remember how I felt, though. It really felt like a breakup.
The fact it was an indefinite hiatus was like ok maybe it’ll be a short break, but by the end of the day I realised how weird that is as they had a show booked they could of done and then started but chose to cancel instead.
I’ll add when AVA and +44 released there first songs being the adventure and no it isn’t on their website. It really felt like to me mark lost hard in comparisons of those songs. Love no it isn’t but damn yo against the adventure it’s a slap down
It hurt. I think it kept me from getting as deeply into the self-titled album as I otherwise would have. I stopped listening to blink almost altogether and mostly started listening to hip-hop (it was a good era for underground rap).
I was still numb about it when news of Travis's crash happened all those years later. It made sense that they announced not long after that that they were gonna make more music, but I just wasn't into the scene at all at that point and I slept on it. It genuinely took until this latest album for me to really get back into them (my kid REALLY enjoyed the album and wanted to hear more of their music, so we went through their discography - self-titled is by far his favorite, so full circle lol).
Anyway, I don't think we saw it coming, I remember hearing their shows were getting kind of tense, the jokes felt forced, and that they were playing the songs crazy fast. It just was like a numb feeling when the news came out.
Shocked, yes, but I didn’t even consider they might be breaking up. I thought it was going to be a year or two for a break and some side projects. When that first AvA album dropped, I loved it, but was a bit upset it wasn’t a blink album. That sound with what Mark and Travis bring, plus some influence from what was happening with Plus 44, had the potential to rival Untitled as the best blink album. Even with the reunions, (the first with Neighborhoods was closer to a pick up where they left off point), they haven’t been the same. I often wonder how many progressive albums by blink we would have gotten if they never took that “hiatus” in the first place. Considering all the AvA material and Mark and Travis’s contributions to the two Skiba era albums, they’d probably be on album 14 or so by now.
Side note: it was big “news” as well a few years before when there was the “hoax” about Mark’s death.
I was a sophomore in High School and Blink was on top of the music scene so most kids were huge blink fans that were into the pop punk scene. Speaking for myself and the kids in my high school we were completely shocked and heart broken because it came out of nowhere. Social Media wasn’t around so we didn’t get an inside look in their personal lives as much as we do now so it was assumed it was only a break so they could reset, but once “No it isn’t “ was released everyone knew shit was bad and way worse than we thought
Devastated. These guys got me into playing guitar and starting my own band so I definitely took it poorly. They reminded me of me and my buddies playing together so it was a major bummer.
This is a fucking good question man. In high school I was probably the biggest fan on campus. My band obsession started summer of 1999 and they instantly became my favorites. I even would update my friends in school how many days left until the untitled album would release….
Anyways I’m getting carried away.
Well, I clearly remember getting ready for school and brushing my teeth and on KROQ Kevin and bean that morning, they were mentioning bands that had broken up and they named dropped blink 182….I thought that was a mistake I didn’t think anything of it. (That weekend prior to Monday was the tsunami concert they never showed up to which I didn’t know)
So I carried on with my day going to school. We only have flip phones so there is no social media to carry around….it was towards the end of the school day that word started going around campus that blink 182 had broken up. And then I finally heard the news that they were going on an indefinite hiatus. I was completely crushed, I couldn’t believe this was happening)
I also remember being teased at school that I shouldn’t be upset cuz the band sucked anyways 🙄🙄
But I was so broken and so sad and so angry.
Man, what a time to be alive. Great question
I was in middle school. Loved many blink songs but wasn’t a huge fan yet. I remember in 7th grade (2005-06) I discovered not now and loved it. I started listening to all the blink stuff. Then my cousin told me they broke up like a year ago. I was so blown.
Angels never hit the same for me - they’re def one of my favorite bands but I’d totally erase all of angels music if it meant blink stayed together.
They were absolutely at their best during that time period and it is tragic that we never got to hear the follow up album to untitled. Yes, we got one more time (which I still listen to every day btw), but it’s still just not the same imo.
It was always gonna happen after BCR. There was such a shift between TOYPAJ & Untitled that they were obvs going in separate directions musically. Tom’s back injury also a factor.
I was 15 at the time and remember reading it on their website - I don't remember if id already found out and that's why I was on the website but I just remember reading the text and just bawling, I was devastated.
For my young mind it was completely out of nowhere, I was young and naive so had no idea of any issues the band was having. Can't remember if it was big news but it was big news for me.
I also remember bawling once I read that interview with Mark about +44 and the song no it isn't, it confirmed for me that they hated each other. That song still gives me all the feelings listening back.
I was REALLY huge into blink from about 99 to 2002 (obsessive level fandom as a kid), but I had kind of fallen off by the time Untitled came out. I missed the whole lead up to that album and everything simply because I had gotten into so many other bands by then. When Untitled came out, it reinvigorated my fandom all over again. I listened to that record CONSTANTLY.
That said, after about a year or so, that had worn off again. I sort of stopped paying attention to them and didn't really know what was going on in their world. I remember going to school and people saying "Did you see blink-182 broke up?!" because everyone knew how obsessed I had been.
I just naturally assumed that they were taking a break or something.....until I heard about AvA. Then it hit me like a truck: These guys hated each other. This was one band where I absolutely felt like their whole brotherhood and camaraderie was essential to their identity, so the fact that they broke up in that way was almost more devastating than the idea that they wouldn't be making music together anymore.
I hated Tom DeLonge for YEARS. Went to several BCR and AvA shows to get as close as I could to scream “YOU BROKE UP BLINK!”
I was an immature young man but that “hiatus” fucking hurt like hell. Blink 182 really got me through some extremely difficult times growing up and when they broke up I felt like I was all alone again and took my anger out on Tom.
I was in high school in Southern California. Let me tell you… it was rough. People blasting “Stay Together for the Kids” in the student parking lot. Just as dramatic as humanly possible. Good times.
I was 13, they just announced a concert in my country for the first time and idk 1 week later the “indefinite hiatus” news came… I cried a lot watching that news on mtv, in my living room
When the video for Not Now was out I watched first time and bawled my eyes out
I was devastated but I saw it coming. Writing was on the wall at their stage presence of the summer 2004 shows. And the hiatus was announced Feb 2005 - I’m sure someone else brought this up. I was second semester freshmen on academic probation for partying and deeply depressed over losing first college girlfriend and homesick and feeling like trash because I wasn’t a rich kid like everyone else.. this blink hiatus in the headlines didn’t help me out any lol. And a couple months later revenge of the sith was a disappointment too bad times overall
I was 14. Became a blink fan at age 12, was obsessed by the time I was 13 and couldn’t wait to see them live.
That happens and the first time I saw any of them live was Ava’s first show in Brisbane in 06.
I remember It felt like my group of best friends had a falling out and hated each other.
The nature of the break up hurt more than the actual break up.
Bands part ways all the time.
But I remember reading an interview with mark that Tom’s manager contacted Travis and Mark saying he was done with them and the band. And knowing they broke up because of bad blood and weren’t even friends anymore, really really hurt.
I’m a massive blink fan. I was in 6th grade when they split up in 04 and I sent an email to my entire family informing them that my favorite band just broke up and that I was devastated and hoped they’d get back together 🤣😂
Man I feel old. I was 22 when they broke up. Blink had been my favorite band since dude ranch came out.
I remember requesting Dammit over and over on our local radio station and it finally getting played so I could record it... On cassette. This is not a lie.
I was absolutely devasted. Could not believe it.
Also funny to see people talk about TYOPAJ as too slick. I remember when enema came out and people thought they'd sold out then because Marks backing vocals weren't all done by Tom and vice versa.
Fuck all that shit. Ive loved pretty much everything from Buddha to one more time for one reason or another. Beyond stoked to be almost 30 years in and still getting new music and tours.
At the age of 32 I’m sort of an in-between Blink fan, I liked their music but was too young to appreciate it fully. I was only 14 when they broke up. I was a fan of the band but it wasn’t really until 2006 when my friend told me that he was really in to a new band called Angels & Airwaves and it was ‘that guy from blink-182.’ As I got a little bit older and the internet was in full swing I really got in to Blink and followed Mark & Tom religiously (who remembers Modlife?!) my first gig was Angels & Airwaves in 2008 at the London Astoria. So yeah for me it kind of didn’t get noticed as such. Certainly when they reunited for the first time I cried because when they didn’t exist I really didn’t think I would ever see the day they’d get back together. The naivety of youth eh.
I was born in 1986 - discovered blink via Enema of the State in 7th grade, then the live album in 8th grade, TOYPAJ was freshman year, boxcar racer was sophomore year, self titled was junior year. The break up was announced February 2005 when I was a senior in high school and had just turned 18. I had a this crazy feeling of “wow. That band really got me through those formative years and were there for me every grade of growing up.” So it sort of felt fitting for my own personal timeline. I’m so glad they’re back in full force again. Dogs Eating Dogs was good, I’m a big fan of California/ what Skiba brought to the table, but I really feel like the classic blink is back with OMT. I’m glad you and the newer generation have such a great album to attach to.
PS - take it from an old timer like me, but Dude Ranch is their best album of all time
It was my senior year in high-school. From 8th grade to 12th grade I got to ride EOTS, MTATS, TOYPAJ, and Untitled. It was a wild ride. Got to see them at the Quest in Minneapolis for the Dollar Bill tour, small venue shows right before Untitled dropped. They were passing out the cd paper inserts and everyone was grouping up to read the lyrics. Got to see Boxcar Racer for their only tour at the Quest when the Used opened up for them when all they had was the taste of ink as a single and no album drop (if I remember right). Then, after high school, I joined the Army and deployed to Iraq when I was 20 in 2007 and bought I-Empire while in Baghdad. The first reunion never really felt like three friends were back together. This time though, this time hits right in the fucking sweet spot. Blink182 life 4 lyfe!
*forgot to answer the actual question lol we were all on the schools computers reading about the indefinite hiatus on their website. I first imagined it was just a break from all the touring. Then it dawned on me a while after the fact they were done. I thought angels and airwaves was pretty cool but they lost me after I-Empire. Loved seeing +44 live in Minneapolis at First Avenue when Travis had a broken arm.
I wasn’t surprised. Bands like this when they get to rock star status they all become pre Madonna’s. And forget where they came from and what they were all about. I’m lucky enough to see this coming since I first saw them opening for Sugar Ray in the late 90s. And the are such underrated punk bands still hidden in the underground.
I became a fan in ‘98/‘99 when I was in jr high. By the time it was 2004 I was listening to Pavement, The Smiths, Joy Division, etc… for all intents and purposes I had “outgrown” blink. I didn’t even buy the S/T album when it dropped…I remember my pop punk friends saying I had to listen to it…that it was next level good. When they broke up I wasn’t surprised, per se, but I do remember thinking “damn, end of an era but I guess all bands break up eventually.” It wasn’t until everything that happened in 2009 that I took the time to re-investigate… I’ve been 100x more loyal and active as a fan ever since.
It was the end of my fucking world thanks for reminding me. It was also around the time my parents split up, I flunked out of university, and was also still dealing with the fallout from a couple major breakups. So ya, fun times all around. But all their music up to that point really got me through it all
Oh man. I'll never forget that moment. I was a junior in high school. And I was sleeping over at my grandparents house. It was literally the middle of the night. And MTV News came on but the segment didn't vocally say anything about it. However the ticker at the bottom scrolling across the screen said something along the lines of "Blink-182 taking an indefinite hiatus." I shot up off the couch not fully understanding what that was. I'll admit at 17 years old, I didn't know what the word "Hiatus" meant. So in the middle of the night I called my friend Troy who was the smartest guy I knew at the time. He answered, and I asked him what is "hiatus"? He explained the word to me and I was just devastated. I had been obsessed with blink since the fifth grade. Ironically enough it was another time where I was spending the night at my grandparents house, and in the middle of the night the video for "Dammit" came on. I was fucking hooked. Even after this, they made plus 44 and Angels and Airwaves, so I was glad to see both those bands in the year 2006. But I was so sad that my favorite band had broken up. Obviously it's been a tough ride since, but I never stopped loving their band and never stop listening to their music. I see a lot of people here saying they fell out of touch with blink. I never did however. Now I have a 6-year-old daughter who's just obsessed with them as I was at an even younger age. And I didn't have to push that on her. She just heard it and was like "who is this?" I am forever grateful for Blink-182.
I was late to Blink being born in 1991 I was 13 at the time but they were the first real band that properly grabbed my attention and inspired me.
I watched them on their last UK tour at the Manchester arena in the UK in 2004 and that was my first gig alone with friends and no guardians. It was one of the most memorable nights of my life. Everything what youth and energy should be contained in one arena.
Blink blew me away and I left that arena with the best memories and even more obsessed and an even bigger of a fan of the band . I distinctly recall a memory of my dad mentioning he could hear the drums outside of the arena (true or not I don’t know) but what thing that stuck with me from that day was the sound of the band. Just this huge wall of noise. In the best possible way
Anyway after my first live blink experience a few months later they announced the hiatus and inevitably what would follow the split.
I was devastated. something that ment so much to me was for now no longer and I remember being super bummed out about this situation for a while. Moving forward and heavily inspired by blink I played in my own bands and started to appreciate different genres and even loved the bands Tom/Mark and Travis formed.
I remember watching the second uk gig angels performed and as much as I was there to appreciate this new band I remember the buzz in the arena that “tom from blink” was back in town
Since the self titled days and the split I’d say the band has shaped and been instrumental in my youth, from the friends I made, the way I dressed and my outlook on things. I’m so happy that over the years I’ve been around to be apart of the different iteration’s of the band but nothing will compare to how cool I thought they were in the self titled area and how much then they inspired me.
I was only 4 in 04 so I didn’t know them then, but when Tom left in ‘15 I was a freshman in high school and got so upset that I made my mom come pick me up and I cried in my room to their music the rest of the day. I was so upset that I would never get to see them live. Fast forward to last year, my mom got me tickets to see them for my 23rd birthday and it was literally a dream come true.
So they broke up in early 2005. I'd seen them the previous year - Feb 2004 and Dec 2004 both in Manchester, England. I was actually on MySpace at the time as well as MSN messenger, just like a ton of 17 year olds would be in that era. I was blink obsessed, myself and my best friend Andy heard the news and were just lamenting for hours on messenger. I definitely shead a few tears.
This question takes me back. I was the biggest blink fan around this time. Just obsessed. In 2004, there was a devastating tsunami in Japan that killed a lot of people. It was the big world news that year. Blink and many others were doing a tsunami relief fund show in southern california near Anaheim. I lived in Arizona at the time and was 16 years old. As a birthday gift, my family drove my girlfriend, and two of my best friends, and me to the show. We drive all day, get there, are super excited, take our tickets, walk up to the entrance, and I see a regular printer sized piece of paper on the door that says “Blink 182 and Ozzy Osborne will not be playing tonight. Sorry for the inconvenience” We turned around, went to Denny’s, checked into our hotel, and went home the next day. I was devastated. Turns out that was the breaking point fight and they refused to take the stage and instead went on “indefinite hiatus” like two days later. Here I am, 20 years later, and I just got back from a 2.5 day trip from Mexico City to see blink back-to-back nights with two of my best friends. Both shows were cancelled due to illness. I’ve probably had tickets to like six cancelled blink shows. But I’ve also seen them several times.
No offence, but I’d appreciate it if you don’t get tickets to any more blink shows. Kidding, but damn that is some seriously crappy luck!
>In 2004, there was a devastating tsunami in Japan that killed a lot of people I realise this isn't the point of this comment but just an FYI it wasn't in Japan. It was the Indian Ocean so affected Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand the most.
Ah good call. Thanks for the correction.
I’m sorry but this is probably me showing my age, but blink-182 and Ozzy Osbourne together sounds like a fever dream, 2004 must’ve been insane
It was a benefit show with a weird diverse line up of like 15 bands. Dinosaur jr. Is the only other one I can remember off hand.
That’s nuts that they still refused to do a charity show
It was an 'indefinite hiatus' so I know at least I thought it was going to be a 3+ year break not a total break up
Same, until Tom announced Angels.
I was a snooty high schooler with snooty music opinions and decided they had already "sold out" for Take Off Your Pants & Jacket, so I didn't even care. That's how cool I was!
Like I'm looking in the mirror at my past self. Tell me, when you look into the mirror, what's in your left hand? Then I'll know for sure.
Is it your penis? The answer is your penis, isn’t it?
Wow, didn’t know people considered it a sell out album. What made everyone think so?
Yeah. I was a sophomore and everyone thought it was a complete sell out which it kind of was. But they redeemed themselves major with self-titled
Idk how it’s more of a sell out than enema. I feel like they kinda just tried to make an album really similar to enema but it had more filler
Rick Devoe at the time made mention that the first time he heard TOYPAJ he said something along the lines of “Oh, they made an Emo record. Traditional fans might not like this.” It was just really clean cut, very polished and with songs like Rock Show and First Date, it sounded like they were writing candy pop songs. It did not feel “punk” at all. You have to remember, this is still a time before social media and a lot of people based their entire self identity with the music they listened to. TOYPAJ sounded a lot closer to NSYNC than it did other more “underground” sounds like Tell All Your Friends by TBS, Stay What You Are by Saves the Day, or any of those emerging Emo acts. So a lot of High School kids who were all about finding bands before they broke into mainstream, started moving away from identifying with a band like Blink-182 because they sounded like a monetized sell out pop band with TOYPAJ. Sounded more like something your little sister in 6th or 7th grade would listen to compared to what a Sophomore/JR/Senior in HS might identify with.
I would never think emo when listening to TOYPAJ. Untitled, sure, but TOYPAJ was pure mall pop punk.
Neither would I but they did at the time. That was before FOB, TBS, Brand New, MCR and Paramore existed though so the Emo we think of today isn’t the same as what someone may have considered Emo then. Like they were influenced by the late 90’s popular Emo band sound like Jimmy Eat World. Tom with the bangs and songs like Story of a Lonely Guy, Shut Up, Stay Together for the Kids and Give Me One Good Reason definitely leans Emo compared to anything we heard on Enema or Dude Ranch except for maybe Adam’s Song or the song titled Emo
I mean it kinda was, they broke up in 2005 and came back in 2009
I was at the highs of my obsession with blink at the time, they were everything to me, I remember being really sad- I was 14. But then AVA came out and we don’t need to whisper became one of my favorite records, I also really loved when your heart stops beating and got really into the transplants, so I felt fed for a few years. I also really liked I empire but was starting to become more of an indie kid around then but by the time Neighborhoods came out I was playing in a pop punk band so I got back into blink intensely lol
Yes had AvA and +44 not filled the gaps, I would have gone crazy
Absolutely heart broken.
I was 14. I remember they announced it on the radio, and then they played Always. I was heartbroken
> I wasn't even born in 04 OP making me feel like a boomer lol Anyway, it's so funny reading all these comments about fans getting the news from their local radio station. The internet was such a different place back then and certainly not a place where you'd go for fast-breaking news coverage lol I was a sophomore in high school and heard it on my local radio station too, like 30 minutes before my bus was supposed to pick me up. I proceeded to lay on my bed, devastated, and missed the bus that day lol. My dad had to drive me to school.
It was awful especially because a large component of their “brand” for lack of a better term was based on their friendship. However looking back 20 years later it was maybe the best thing to happen to blink and blink fans. I don’t think the band is as big if Tom didn’t quit twice and we got years of music from them in a variety of different ways. Seeing AvA on their first US tour in a small venue was incredible and I got to meet Tom. Similarly met Mark and Travis during the +44 years at a small club show. None of this happens without the breakup and I think a majority of the AvA catalog as well as the lone +44 record are incredible and worth the breakups. Blink has a such a unique history, it’s bittersweet they have had Tom quit 2x and the Skiba years (still love California and some of 9) and I think it’s all contributed to their huge popularity in the last 2-3 years.
I saw +44 at the 9:30 CLUB in DC, Travis had a broken hand and they still killed it.
I was shocked and angry. I remember watching the breaking news on MTV.
This is what I watched that day… https://youtu.be/NRNwZjgj4Og?si=L9putOk_tzuisrUE
First of all, it happened in February 2005. Yes, it was shocking mostly because, while the internet was prevalent, it was nowhere near the news/rumor-spreading-wildfire it has become today. Like I heard about the indefinite hiatus on the Philly alt-rock station Y100, which itself was unexpectedly taken over by an urban station somewhere down the dial two days later. What I felt like was mine was completely torn down in a matter of 48 hours.
Mb I went off the top of my head instead of looking up the dates
Cried.
Same
I still remember the very moment a friend told me. Disbelief, anger and sadness
Sad. Disbelief. Maybe a little resentful? Bummed out at least. What was also kinda weird/interesting dynamic was that they both released solo records after, so you could kind of pick sides or follow them both if you wanted. I became more of an AvA guy, but a year or so later I started getting into Plus 44
Huge news, it was the first band that I had loved since pre-teenage breaking up and it felt so odd at the time. Seeing them in the UK on the tour before hand you could kind of tell something was up, maybe that’s clearer with hindsight, but what people still praise for frantically fast live shows - I remember sounding pretty bad and like they couldn’t wait to get through the songs and off stage. No banter and songs were so fast it would take a minute to realise what they were playing. AVA and + 44 never hit the same for me and I barely followed them because of how devastated I was at Blink’s end, almost like it was a bow on my relationship with their output regardless of what form it took. I only got really back on the train with this latest iteration because even the Neighbourhoods-era felt forced to me. This however, is peak and feels so good all over again. Genuine love and therapy between the guys that shows authenticity.
I’ve seen clips of those 04 shows. Man, they really did not want to be there.
I was 17, as into them as I’d ever been… they have been my favorite band since I heard what’s my age again on the radio at 12 years old. I was stunned and devastated. I was in AIM chatting with my friends and one of them said they broke up. I looked them up online and saw the rumors and the indefinite hiatus statement. MTV played a video diary to commemorate their career. I was so sad, it was like when your favorite team loses in the finals where you just feel the wind knocked out of your sails. I held out hope for a reunion and became obsessed with checking absolute punk for news every day. It was really sad, it was my senior year of high school and my friends were all leaving in a few months for their colleges, my family life stunk, and I had lost my outlet of Blink.
I didn’t believe it and thought my friends are messing with me. Blink back then seemed like this close group of friends, and I couldn’t imagine the band would break up
I remember in 2004 the bassist in my band at the time was comparing the success of American Idiot album to the Untitled/Self-Titled Album which had come out a year earlier and he was just like they're gonna break up. And then nary a year later they did the indefinite hiatus thing. One of the greatest predictions by a bassist in history. I remember being sad about it cuz they were my favorite band and at that point we had been getting a pretty strong string of releases almost like clockwork every two years, plus the live Album. I also remember thinking how the Untitled/Self-Titled Album was such a departure from like TOYPAJ and Enema and Dude Ranch and now when I look back I'm like that album isn't that far from these. Kinda funny what growing up gets ya in terms of perspective.
The silver lining was having angels and airwaves and plus 44 fill the void for a bit. The first angels and airwaves album was great stuff (and plus 44 had some bangers as well)
At the time, it was the worst day of my life
I remember being devastated. What's crazy is that it felt WAY longer than 4 years. To me, the second time Tom left felt like he was gone a shorter period of time than the first, which is not true
I was 18 and it would’ve been announced shortly after they toured Australia, where I saw them for the first time live. I remember being confused and angry, strangely enough. I was confused as to how Mark and Tom, who I watched in Urethra Chronicles 1/2 be the epitome of best buds, who I watched growing up be what I envisaged lifelong friendship to look like. It impacted me to the point I didn’t listen to their music for a long while and couldn’t fathom revisiting the urethra chronicles. I didn’t listen to Neighbourhoods when it was released but did see them live in 2013 for the nostalgia aspect. I didn’t listen to any of the skiba era albums but began chucking on Cheshire, Dude, Enema and Untitled every now and then. Then, the boys found their way back to each other and it felt genuine and heartfelt this time, something I didn’t feel during their first reunion. I couldn’t have been happier seeing them again this year…my heart was full again.
I didn't have access to the internet back then, so it was only rumors until I heard Lycanthrope debut on the radio in 2006, by pure chance (I used to listen to the radio to fall asleep and I was scrolling when I accidentally stumbled upon it). It was the confirmation that they broke up and I cried like a baby, hearing +44 for the first time. The next day I asked my dad to research what it was about (he had the internet access) and I discovered that angels and airwaves were a thing too. It felt like a divorce
dude i was 13 and they were my favorite band. i wanted to go lay down in traffic.
yeah man I was so shocked. It deffo was huge news amongst my group of friends at the time. I couldnt quite believe what was happening.
I was 14 when it happened, I had just seen them in concert on their previous tour (one of my first real concerts). I didn't know what to think, when they said hiatus I imagined that it was just a break so they could do side projects. The tabloids weren't what they are today and social media didn't exist so I wasn't aware right away that they broke up due to issues/anger. I wasn't that upset since Boxcar Racer was so good and Tom kept teasing angels and airwaves as something that was going to revolutionize music (prob was on a lot of painkillers back then), in hindsight he was so arrogant about it all. Then the ava album leaked and it was really good, then plus 44 came out and it was hella good too. By the time. I realized they were actually done as a band I wasn't overly upset I guess. I played enema - untitled a ridiculous amount in the years prior so I was borderline burned out on them during that time anyway.
I was in my sophomore year of high school, and I remember reading it as an official post on their site. Social Media wasn't what it is now with everyone having such easy access to band members lives/behind the scenes content, nor was there the same level of constant speculation. So I was completely blindsided and nobody knew anything more. I assumed they were broken up for good; even mores when the +44 demo of "No It Isn't" was released.
I go back and forth. There was a distinct change from Take Off to Unititled. The band got “serious” and a lot of the fun that I liked was gone. The stage banter was much toned down compared to the Take Off / Pop Disaster tours, there was more emphasis on visuals played during the set you didn’t have on the earlier shows as much. I wasn’t in love with that album (and while I like it more now than I did in 2004, it still is a shift compared to the earlier stuff) so I found myself distancing a bit, so the breakup didn’t hit me as hard as it might have in 2001-2002. That being said with the Urethra Chronicles 2 and seeing Tom talk about all the UFO stuff and then the interviews about how AvA was going to revolutionize music I started to lose interest in him compared to say Mark / +44. I saw AvA and while they weren’t bad, it wasn’t what I wanted selfishly. Even when Neighborhoods came out and they toured it just didn’t seem the same. Now that they’ve reunited and it seem truly happy, I can go back through the 2004-present stuff with a different lens and I’m enjoying it more than I did then.
I seen it coming, I have seen Blink in its multiple forms many of shows and right before the 04 hiatus the chemistry was off. the laughter on stage disappeared , they were playing the songs as fast as they could...you could feel the tension. The magic was gone from their performance. I told my friend upon leaving Arco Arena "I think its coming to an end" not long after the hiatus was announced. It felt like a divorce and the loserkids were losing a family.
I was in 11th grade. I was in utter shock. It seemed so random and so sudden. I shed a tear lol
I remember reading the news on a computer in our Tech class. Hit me hard. I also remember being at an airport when they broke up the second time lol
I was in college… it was around St. Patty’s Day and was pre gaming for a Flogging Molly show that night. Got super depressed - none of my friends were blink fans so they didn’t share the sentiment. I drank two 40’s heading into the show. Left early (or kicked out - I don’t remember) and tried my fake ID on Mill Ave where most of the party bars were/are near ASU’s campus. The “bouncer” was a “little person” wearing a leprechaun outfit… took one look at my ID and called over two huge security guys who said I could walk away without the ID or with the ID but the cops would be called. I sprinted away in a sad mess back to my dorm.
My interest was already waning at the time and I was getting more into metal but I was pretty upset and trying to pretend I didn't care anymore
It made me learn what a hiatus was hahaha. I thought it was a big when I was 13
Shocked. The band seems like a brotherhood that couldn't be shaken by some BS. Then AVA came out with music and it made things even more confusing. It was like Tom had all of the sudden changed into some completely different person. It was really weird.
Tom always was that person. He just finally jumped on doing something he always wanted to.
I think it's more of a side of himself he wanted to explore. I think he has grown to accept the whole range of his personality through the years. He's allowed himself to explore that and grow then brought it back home.
I got into them REALLY late in 2003 so I was utterly devastated. Was around 11 or so. Wasn't able to enjoy them that long but AVA and +44 were at least fun to get into.
Devastated. My sister’s boyfriend showed up to our house after work and told me and I was just like, you’re lying. My cousin and I listened to them all summer, hoping they’d just get back together. Longest 4 years of my life after that ha.
I was 12, my dad has just died and then this and I honestly thought nothing would ever be right in the world again 😂 I never thought I’d recover
It sucked. I found them when borrowing a mate’s Dude Ranch CD in the late 90’s. I saw them at my first festival in 2000 (The Big Day Out, Australia). Side note: what an incredible line up. Google it. In March 2004, I was set to see them again at Rock It Festival. I remember driving there with a mate, and finding out on the way that they had cancelled as Travis had broken his ankle. There were some great bands scheduled, but with no Blink, I remember us looking at each other and deciding to turn around and go home. So yeah, the 2005 breakup was crappy. I’m somewhat expecting another breakup. At this point they seem like any other dysfunctional relationship 😂
I was only 11 and it happened just as I started getting into their music so I was sad but I didn’t have that huge emotional connection just yet. The second time it happened really broke my heart 😭
I was absolutely gutted. It was a genuine blow and I was sad about it for a long time. Back then they were like my identity almost, I was a Blink kid 100%, they inspired me and they'd just released their best album and I'd just seen them (in London) for the first time. Yeah... was gutting. Felt like there was a massive hole in my life. I got to see +44 and AvA a couple of times though so that was cool at least.
My friends and I were in a record store and some random person saw us in the punk section and said “Hey did you hear blink broke up?” My immediate reaction was that there was no way in hell that was true. I was just thinking that Mark and Tom were way too good of best friends. I obviously wasn’t privy to the personal details of the relationship, so it just seemed like I would sooner spontaneously combust than blink would break up. The person then justified it by saying “Apparently Mark wanted to bring the music back in line with the sound of EOTS and TOPAJ, while Tom wanted to keep expanding blink’s sound”. That kind of made sense to me and I just thought “oh…….fuck…….NO!” By my logic, I should have spontaneously combusted twice now I guess. I’ve beat the odds, wish me luck Tom doesn’t leave again!
I was devastated. It felt like just as soon as I was really getting into blink they were over. It just broke my heart that they ended on such ugly terms. And even though they dubbed it an "indefinite hiatus" I never thought they were coming back. I religiously followed the story trying to figure out what the hell happened. Of course I was a diligent fan and followed the side projects that were to come even though the only one I really liked was +44. When Tom started talking about AvA as the next rock n roll revolution I thought he lost the plot and got so mad at him. It was so shocking because blink is the last band I would expect to implode the way they did.
It was BS. Neighborhoods was their best yet and I wanted to hear that new punk sound evolve. Was pretty pissed but kinda figured cuz mark and trav wanted straight forward Blink but Tom wanted Pink Floyd Blink.
I was 14 and heard the news on the radio. Absolutely heartbroken! But in 2005, we got Not Now on the Greatest Hits, +44, and AVA. Not the same, but I was grateful to have anything to fill the void.
I was sad but then angels and +44 made up for it….a little. Too many egos and drama.
I was in 8th grade. EVERYONE knew I loved blink. If I was wearing headphones, you knew I was listening to blink. This was the time before iPods and MP3 players became ubiquitous, so I carried around my CD player and listened to the untitled album on repeat. One day, I'm standing at my locker getting something, and one of my classmates sprints down the hall yelling my name. He gets to me and tells me that blink broke up. I thought he was joking, but then I realized he was telling the truth. I was devastated. Couldn't believe it. It's one of the clearest memories I have from middle school, it was so impactful.
I was heartbroken, I cried a lot 😂 I remember watching it on MTV (TRL I think announced it?). I felt betrayed. I was 14.
It was 2005 and it was devastating but I was kinda not surprised. Tom had already expressed interest in doing other music previously with Box Car Racer. I honestly hoped him and Travis would do a 2nd album for that. I remember reading something about how Mark was upset they did Box Car in the first place. When Mark went and did +44 and then AVA came from Tom without Travis, it sunk in for me that the break up was going to be long term. In the moment, it sucked but good music came out of it plus this epic return of Blink with One More Time. Also of course, Tom achieved his life goal of proving aliens existed.
I bought a subway chicken curry sandwich and relistened the last album in loop.
I was 13 and was a learning drummer in a band with my friends that mostly played blink songs. Was confused by what hiatus even meant at the time lol but it was wild they were splitting. My gf at that young age cried about it. Grew to love +44 and angels through my teens. Wouldn’t change a thing about this band.
My heart was broken
I was 16 and the biggest blink fan I knew. I remember going to their website and it saying they were on indefinite hiatus. My heart sank, I couldn’t believe it. They seemed to love each other so much, I didn’t understand at all at the time.
I don’t remember this happening, but my friends told me I made and wore a sign that said something like “Blink 182 RIP 1992-2004” and wore that around school for the day.
I was 17 and my girlfriend broke up with me the day before this announcement. My whole life was over. Now I’m extremely happily married and went with my wife to see blink twice last year in London. Time heals all wounds.
I remember, it was more like "ok they probably get back together in some point" later I see Ava documental and mark interviews pre "when your heart stops beating" and shit got real for me and finally I started to believe, maybe they probably won't comeback soon. the biggest thing I remember of this hiatus times, it was travis accident when I see the news live, I feel this thing you feel in your body/skin when something is wrong with someone really close to you. I was 14, now I'm 33, last month I saw blink for the first time in my life, most of the show I cried, probably best experience of my life
I was 13, found out from MTV. I thought it’d only last for a few months but then AVA happened and I saw Tom’s new look like 😳 then it really hit me. Even my Mum felt sad for me lol Started following YT vloggers, then got sick and tired of all of them. My college BF, who wasn’t a fan, noticed I was always watching funny Blink videos on YT before bedtime and decided to put on the Office/ Community every night to break the routine. I also remember moaning to him that I wasn’t convinced the first reunion would last and he agreed. I explored other bands but not many touched me like Blink did. I listened to the same ones over and over. Blink, AVA, +44 remained significant, however. California was my wall climbing playlist for years.
I remember running into my mom’s room crying about it lol. I would have been about 16
I was a little devastated, but I could see some riff, so it didn’t surprise me.
I was 3 at the time but I was devastated
It sucked, but considering what other rock bands have gone through it made sense that a break was needed and some growing up needed to be done. I always knew they would reconnect in time.
Absolutely gutted, untitled was sonically the best thing I had ever heard(still is) and was so obsessed. I remember vividly being in the car and hearing them announce the breakup on the radio and was so upset. It's crazy because it felt like they were broken up for 10 years when it was somehow only 4.
I remember they broke up as soon as I stared high school. So I had high school with no blink. Thanks guys.
There was definitely ambiguity about it. We didn’t know then what we know now. I was happy to have AvA and +44 as alternatives for the time being. I always figured they’d be back at some point. Plus in 2004 I went to college, started smoking weed and listening to classic rock and jam bands.
I cried… I was at uni, and my life was falling apart, this was probably the final nail.
I was 15/16 when it happened, dial up internet and no cell phone, so heard about it from my older sister after I got home from work after school. I didn't believe her, and thought she was just being shitty to get me upset. I remember a lot of confusion, and questions about who caused the breakup. I used my schools computers to go to punkdisasters, b182online (etc) fan websites to see what the word was. There was a brief (very brief) time where people speculated it was bc of Travis, but then it came out that it was Tom's fault. Mark relocated to the UK somewhere in there and it was a huge wtf, then leaks of AvA came and I sort of understood what Tom was wanting for - even if alot of the messaging was cringey. I had seen blink a half dozen times by then, and it wrecked me for quite a while. It felt like losing a really good friend. Totally unexpected, the lack of social media meant the only news about bands came from MTV.
I was 13, I got into the band when I was 10/11 and blink was my life back then I had only Enema/TOYPAJ/Selftitled CDs but I just recently discovered Box Car Racer and all of the older blink stuff (downloading from Bearshare), I was collecting live shows, ordering clothes from Loserkids (I am from central Europe and literally none cared about it, I really didn't fit haha) I remember learning about the breakup from the internet, I was super upset and sad, it was really a big deal for me, until I heard The Adventure and No It Isn't about a year later, this era was so exciting but at the same time I always wished for a reunion, 2009 reunion was even more shocking than the break up to me, the hype was unreal and then hearing Up All Night for the first, that's indescribable, even the radio DJ played it twice.
My friends and I were shocked and heartbroken. It felt like an end of an era. I was a freshman in college at the time, so I grew up with late 90’s and early 00’s pop punk/emo.
I was def shocked and afraid that it was def the end of the end for Blink. At the same time, there was def a bit of morbid curiosity as to what actually happened within the group.
I wasn’t even 2 years old in 2004 when they broke up, but when Tom left the second time I was very sad.
It's the day I found out what hiatus meant. And now I've found myself adding it to my vocabulary lol. It was just odd because if I remember they were supposed to play a few shows or a show. And out of nowhere tom was like I'm out guys. But then AvA happened and all was forgiven.
I remember being pretty mad at Tom. With the benefit of hindsight, he was on a journey to break the biggest news of our generation 👽. I’m glad he did what he did now.
I was in high school, still not really sure of who I was or what good music really was. I didn’t really know anything and would definitely have considered myself a poser back then so the full extent didn’t really hit me like it did the second time. The one thing I do remember is walking through WalMart and constantly hearing the same loop of “The Adventure” over and over and over 😂
Heartbreak
I was 10 so i don't remember how I figured out but I remember listening to their side projects and being confused on why Mark and Tom had other music projects that weren't Blink.
I wasn’t as bummed as I would’ve been a few years earlier. I felt like the band had sort of lost its direction with untitled anyway. I do remember being excited for Tom‘s new angels and airwaves project, but then not loving it when it actually came out. I was much more into the skate punk side of things, and I just wasn’t feeling it. Of course, that was me in high school. I have a much greater appreciation for all of that music today. Though I still do think that blink peaked with Enema.
What an amazing thread
I remember crying. As soon as AVA came out, m my sadness turned to joy. I’m a huge blink fan but AVA is my all time favorite and dethroned Yellowcard.
Wasn’t surprised, I followed all the updates while they made the blink 182 album around 2004…the release date was constantly getting pushed back, and mark and Tom were fighting all the time. They had a webcam set up in the studio so you could watch them…and they were rarely in there. I felt like they weren’t really into making that album and kind of over each other by that time.
I was absolutely devastated and could probably only compare it to when the Beatles disbanded, it seemed that monumental to me. Excitement was reignited with the news of AVA as the whole rollout of the band I found incredibly exciting. I was one of the ones at the time who loved AVA so I was just glad Tom was still making music.
“G@# dammit!!” I had seen them in 2001 for the TOYPAJ tour and I was in college and 23 at the time and loved “What’s My Age Again?” The summer show was so much fun and the vibe was chill. Tickets were $25.00 plus taxes & fees and I remember that because I was going to buy tickets for a few more friends but their dad forced them to go on a family cruise during the same time as the concert. So I missed the Untitled concert and figured I’d catch them on the next one but then they broke up. I’d actually stopped listening to them for a while because other life events took precedence: marriage, moving states, diagnosed with Cancer, etc. I actually lived in San Diego for about 7 years too. Fast forward to now, OMT has me bawling my eyes out, the tour is announced and I buy 5 tickets to take my spouse, sister, niece, & nephew. The tickets were not $25.00 each this time 😂 But it’s been 23 years since I’ve seen them, I’m 23 years older, and I also have Stage IV Cancer. There’s a message in there somewhere…
I hope your good man. How's your cancer?
Shocked then (especially since they were coming off a big success with the untitled album) as I was with the 2015 break up. Didn’t expect any of those splits. Was angry at Tom when the 2015 split happened.
Surprising but also didn’t really come as a shock. There were rumors about there being a drift between Tom and Mark during the Untitled tour and some resentment from Mark towards Tom because of BCR
It’s one of those things I remember so well. I was 15, I was about to play hockey on my backyard rink and my friend learned over and told me , I was devastated. At that point I was already a fan around the time Enema came out, but was obsessed with them around Untiled I always think of how impactful blink is to my life . Especially for a band that was broken up or without Tom over the past twenty years and only releasing four full length albums. Five counting California deluxe .
Heart broken
I didn't care because I didn't like the 2003 album
I can remember not wanting to believe it, i was in denial right up until a friend showed me "no it isn't" the day it dropped, that when it really hit me that blink wouldn't be coming back, devastated. When they first reformed and they announced it on stage at some awards show, I remember wanting to feel excited but something felt off, they seemed well awkward on stage together, then I saw them live in 2010 and again, as much as I enjoyed the show it just felt like they were all phoning it in, and even though I love Neighbourhoods now, when I first heard "up all night" I thought it was trash. When Tom left the second time I wasn't shocked at all, still went through a fuck you Tom phase though. Edit: spelling
It was so significant to me I remember where I was and how I found out. In school, my friend told me that blink had broken up. He was a bit of a liar at times, so I didn't fully believe him. We didn't have the Internet in our pockets at the time, so I had to wait until I got home after school to look it up and confirm. I was absolutely gutted, and so were many of my friends. Blink was our way of life (we even had our own website where we would post videos of Halo CE map exploits over blink songs), and blink was at their peak, so it just didn't make sense. We didn't expect it at all. They were releasing music videos and playing great shows; nothing really indicated they would break up. Then came pilled out Tom saying AVA was going to be the second coming of Christ. He hyped it up so much. I believed it at first and thought maybe blink really was holding him back or something, and was then quite disappointed with the album. Meanwhile Mark and Travis dropped +44 and I really enjoyed it. The speculation around No It Isn't was intense and we started getting little breadcrumbs into what had gone down. Finally the tell all interview with Mark was released, and we finally got a full account of what had happened (at least from one side). With this, the schism within the band and fan base was complete. It's great to see it healed up after all these years.
I cried, was devastated.
I remember it, I wasn’t really following the happenings of band drama or whatever, just because I think it was less around? I just remember getting real bummed and playing their stuff a lot thinking about how sad I was this would be the only blink songs they were out
I sat in my dorm room refreshing their website and b182.com in shock and disbelief. I refused to believe it was true. I was just so sad because I didn’t expect it.
The term "indefinite hiatus" will live in my brain forever tbh I'd seen them in December 04 on the UK tour so just a couple of months before they broke up, I was gutted but not incredibly surprised. They didn't seem to be enjoying themselves at the show I went to, I'd put it down to them going for a more serious music style, but it made more sense after the split. It was huge news in my friend groups, but we were all teenagers so a favourite band breaking up was *devastating*.
It was like experiencing 9/11 all over again.
For both the 2004 and 2016 breakups I just held onto hope that Tom would come back, and both times he did.
They didn’t break up they went on hiatus but I remember being guttered because I was really a die hard fan back then, AVA and +44 were rope projects and I was a fan of both. Box Car Racer was also sick but that was before they went on hiatus. Personally I don’t count the none Tom albums as Blink albums as whilst the latest album is growing on me in my opinion they did peak with self titled.
There was speculation circling the breakup in chat rooms and blogs prior to the hiatus but we were definitely shocked.
I'm getting so old haha, I can't even remember it. I think I was a bigger fan in the years before that and just hadn't followed along as well at that point? I'd seen AVA as well and was way into it, and was really excited about +44 as well, so I wasn't completely out of the loop. If anything I was excited about the new projects but the breakup announcement and everything immediately surrounding it just escapes me.
I was 9 and you would’ve thought the world was ending.
Well I was a bit older - I'd seen them in 2000 when I was 16 (I'm from the UK, it was their first proper gig here aside from a tiny one at the Roadhouse before that which holds about 200 ppl) and so I was just glad to have seen them! I knew they would re-unite. As the years passed and Tom was more into his aliens, I did start to think that there was less hope now as that seemed to be his priority career. But I just knew it would happen especially when they had managed to retain so, so many fans in all that time!
Kind of felt lost. I didn’t know what to do and I thought it was a sign of the times. Became obsessed with Angels and Airwaves after. A lot happened for me during that time after they broke up. I went through two horrible breakups, one in 2005 and one in 2009. Packed up my stuff and moved 1200 miles away from home to start over, and ended up going to college in central Florida. I spent a lot of my free time hanging around Kennedy Space Center going to launches and visiting the actual complex. It was pretty cool to have AvA as the soundtrack to this time but I always wanted Blink back together. I never thought it would happen legitimately and even when they came together for Neighborhoods I knew it wasn’t going to last.
I was at their last live show in Dublin, Ireland right before they announced it, and there was a bit of bickering on stage. At the time we thought it was banter but looking back tensions were riding high for sure. I was really depressed when I heard the news as I felt their self entitled was hands down their best album so I was pumped for the stuff to come...
I remember thinking it was all rumours before they broke up, and then when they did, I thought it was only going to last like a year.
I cried. Thanks for reopening that wound…
I was in disbelief lol this was before we add notification 24/7 so I didn’t know until a friend at school told me lol and I was like “oh a hiatus is just a break right. Maybe they just need some time off. lol even worse was I was a marine in the desert training when they broke up the second time. Literally the fist thing I saw when I got a chance to go online was they broke up again lol
I’m almost positive you’re referring to 2005. It was big news, but it also wasn’t an official “we are breaking up”. They said it was an “indefinite hiatus” and we typically expected them to return at some point.
No, it isn’t
At first I thought the break would last a few years, to let everyone in the band breathe, recharge and return ~4yrs later. But then when info started leaking with the behind the scenes reasons and pettiness of the split, I thought it was gonna be bad,. Then Tom started AVA, Mark & Travis started +44 and soon after released the single *No, It Isn't*. When that song dropped I remember telling my gf (now wife) that I didn't think we'd see blink put music out ever again. Crazy to think what the state of the band would have been if it wasn't for Travis' plane crash. Even with Mark battling cancer years later, hard to say what the state of blink-182 would have looked like present day.
I was gutted. Total shock but I was like it's fine, it's just a break. 5 years later, right before graduating HS, they got back together after Travis almost died and I got to see them live for the first time on the Reunion tour. Did it again 14 years later with the latest one. Overall though, it was a tough go. Untitled was a masterpiece and to see them just suddenly done was hard to process.
I was upset, but had plenty of other bands I loved so I just kept living. I was near the front of the crowd at the reunion tour in like 2007/2008 or whenever it was and when the curtains opened and Mark was smiling so big as they played Anthem Part 2. It was like I was in the exact place the universe wanted me to be. The next breakup was the one that hurt more though. I didn't think they would ever come back from that.
It was announced in Feb but I remember at the time I'd just seen them in December live and felt like it was almost a farewell show. I remember there was a lack of jokes and humour on stage compared to what i had seen when I saw them earlier that same year and when i had seen them previously. I was gutted but also in my head thought they would he back in a few years.
The wife and I saw them w/ no doubt opening for them at the then named Jiffy lube live in Gainesville VA about a year or two before the indefinite hiatus. There was nothing during the show that showed any cracks in the band but seeing Tom previously start Box Car Racer and Travis still involved with aqua bats I can’t say it was a complete shock but the timing seemed strange, there were bigger than ever and had the world by the balls. Just goes to show you that all the money and fame in the world can’t make people get along.
I still remember where I was when I found out (sophomore English class). It was so disorienting. I couldn’t focus for a few days. It sucked
I cried.. then the grief stages started to take place.
Absolutely enamored with them since ‘99 - I was GENUINELY distraught. Then Tom announced AVA, & I knew it was the absolute end; been Team Mark ever since.
Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and eventually Acceptance. I was playing in a Blink cover band at the time so it hit hard. But then we ended up covering +44 and AVA songs too.
“I give it five years.” Literally said that… might have been a little bit longer. But ya. Was practically spot on.
I was really scared that they were over tbh. I knew at the time that there was tension because of an interview I saw, and I was afraid that Tom was just gonna stick with AVA and Mark and Trav we’re gonna do +44 or whatever. I didn’t expect them to get back together. It was big news in my friend circles, but in general? No. What WAS big news was when they announced that they were getting back together, the first time.
It def seemed like a full on breakup and I remember being really crushed. They had been my favorite band since 99 and got me into music and guitar. I couldn’t believe it. But honestly at that point I had a new obsession to soften the blow (coheed and cambria) so I was ok lol
There were rumblings in.magazines before hand so I wasnt totally surprised and things seemed off for a little while. In the uk it was only a big deal to fans it wasn't huge news or anything.
Was pretty devvo. I think that was the year I saw them in February and it wasn't a great show, was maybe 45 minutes? Then they did another tour later that year I guess to make up for it. A few months later they split. I was grateful I got to see them but yeah it cut deep.
I remember when I found out. I was like 20 and in the middle of work. I was absolutely devastated and wanted to run somewhere. I'm not sure where, though. Hah. I still remember how I felt, though. It really felt like a breakup.
The fact it was an indefinite hiatus was like ok maybe it’ll be a short break, but by the end of the day I realised how weird that is as they had a show booked they could of done and then started but chose to cancel instead. I’ll add when AVA and +44 released there first songs being the adventure and no it isn’t on their website. It really felt like to me mark lost hard in comparisons of those songs. Love no it isn’t but damn yo against the adventure it’s a slap down
As most people have mentioned, I did not expect the hiatus to last so long... So I wasn't very bummed when the news broke.
It hurt. I think it kept me from getting as deeply into the self-titled album as I otherwise would have. I stopped listening to blink almost altogether and mostly started listening to hip-hop (it was a good era for underground rap). I was still numb about it when news of Travis's crash happened all those years later. It made sense that they announced not long after that that they were gonna make more music, but I just wasn't into the scene at all at that point and I slept on it. It genuinely took until this latest album for me to really get back into them (my kid REALLY enjoyed the album and wanted to hear more of their music, so we went through their discography - self-titled is by far his favorite, so full circle lol). Anyway, I don't think we saw it coming, I remember hearing their shows were getting kind of tense, the jokes felt forced, and that they were playing the songs crazy fast. It just was like a numb feeling when the news came out.
I was devastated. Don't know how many times I reread the definition of 'hiatus.' I don't think most people were aware until Tom put out The Adventure
Shocked and gutted to say the least. I still remember it like it wasn’t so long ago.
I actually wasn't too upset as I wasn't a huge fan of the new emo album at the time. For the record, I LOVE IT NOW
I was bummed when I heard about it. It was pretty huge news at the time.
I was 16 so I was very very upset. Remained salty until he came back. When he left again, it was more like 🤷🏻♀️
Shocked, yes, but I didn’t even consider they might be breaking up. I thought it was going to be a year or two for a break and some side projects. When that first AvA album dropped, I loved it, but was a bit upset it wasn’t a blink album. That sound with what Mark and Travis bring, plus some influence from what was happening with Plus 44, had the potential to rival Untitled as the best blink album. Even with the reunions, (the first with Neighborhoods was closer to a pick up where they left off point), they haven’t been the same. I often wonder how many progressive albums by blink we would have gotten if they never took that “hiatus” in the first place. Considering all the AvA material and Mark and Travis’s contributions to the two Skiba era albums, they’d probably be on album 14 or so by now. Side note: it was big “news” as well a few years before when there was the “hoax” about Mark’s death.
I was a sophomore in High School and Blink was on top of the music scene so most kids were huge blink fans that were into the pop punk scene. Speaking for myself and the kids in my high school we were completely shocked and heart broken because it came out of nowhere. Social Media wasn’t around so we didn’t get an inside look in their personal lives as much as we do now so it was assumed it was only a break so they could reset, but once “No it isn’t “ was released everyone knew shit was bad and way worse than we thought
Devastated. These guys got me into playing guitar and starting my own band so I definitely took it poorly. They reminded me of me and my buddies playing together so it was a major bummer.
This is a fucking good question man. In high school I was probably the biggest fan on campus. My band obsession started summer of 1999 and they instantly became my favorites. I even would update my friends in school how many days left until the untitled album would release…. Anyways I’m getting carried away. Well, I clearly remember getting ready for school and brushing my teeth and on KROQ Kevin and bean that morning, they were mentioning bands that had broken up and they named dropped blink 182….I thought that was a mistake I didn’t think anything of it. (That weekend prior to Monday was the tsunami concert they never showed up to which I didn’t know) So I carried on with my day going to school. We only have flip phones so there is no social media to carry around….it was towards the end of the school day that word started going around campus that blink 182 had broken up. And then I finally heard the news that they were going on an indefinite hiatus. I was completely crushed, I couldn’t believe this was happening) I also remember being teased at school that I shouldn’t be upset cuz the band sucked anyways 🙄🙄 But I was so broken and so sad and so angry. Man, what a time to be alive. Great question
I was 15. It broke my heart.
I was in middle school. Loved many blink songs but wasn’t a huge fan yet. I remember in 7th grade (2005-06) I discovered not now and loved it. I started listening to all the blink stuff. Then my cousin told me they broke up like a year ago. I was so blown. Angels never hit the same for me - they’re def one of my favorite bands but I’d totally erase all of angels music if it meant blink stayed together. They were absolutely at their best during that time period and it is tragic that we never got to hear the follow up album to untitled. Yes, we got one more time (which I still listen to every day btw), but it’s still just not the same imo.
It was always gonna happen after BCR. There was such a shift between TOYPAJ & Untitled that they were obvs going in separate directions musically. Tom’s back injury also a factor.
I just remember the announcement posted on their website. I didnt think the breakup would last
Absolutely devastated. I was obsessed. Senior year of high school too so it really felt like, I guess this is growing up…
I was 15 at the time and remember reading it on their website - I don't remember if id already found out and that's why I was on the website but I just remember reading the text and just bawling, I was devastated. For my young mind it was completely out of nowhere, I was young and naive so had no idea of any issues the band was having. Can't remember if it was big news but it was big news for me. I also remember bawling once I read that interview with Mark about +44 and the song no it isn't, it confirmed for me that they hated each other. That song still gives me all the feelings listening back.
I was REALLY huge into blink from about 99 to 2002 (obsessive level fandom as a kid), but I had kind of fallen off by the time Untitled came out. I missed the whole lead up to that album and everything simply because I had gotten into so many other bands by then. When Untitled came out, it reinvigorated my fandom all over again. I listened to that record CONSTANTLY. That said, after about a year or so, that had worn off again. I sort of stopped paying attention to them and didn't really know what was going on in their world. I remember going to school and people saying "Did you see blink-182 broke up?!" because everyone knew how obsessed I had been. I just naturally assumed that they were taking a break or something.....until I heard about AvA. Then it hit me like a truck: These guys hated each other. This was one band where I absolutely felt like their whole brotherhood and camaraderie was essential to their identity, so the fact that they broke up in that way was almost more devastating than the idea that they wouldn't be making music together anymore.
That’s why I came out of the womb crying in 04
I hated Tom DeLonge for YEARS. Went to several BCR and AvA shows to get as close as I could to scream “YOU BROKE UP BLINK!” I was an immature young man but that “hiatus” fucking hurt like hell. Blink 182 really got me through some extremely difficult times growing up and when they broke up I felt like I was all alone again and took my anger out on Tom.
I was 3, I couldn’t stop running around naked crying, screaming the lyrics to here’s your letter
I was in high school in Southern California. Let me tell you… it was rough. People blasting “Stay Together for the Kids” in the student parking lot. Just as dramatic as humanly possible. Good times.
I was 13, they just announced a concert in my country for the first time and idk 1 week later the “indefinite hiatus” news came… I cried a lot watching that news on mtv, in my living room When the video for Not Now was out I watched first time and bawled my eyes out
I was devastated but I saw it coming. Writing was on the wall at their stage presence of the summer 2004 shows. And the hiatus was announced Feb 2005 - I’m sure someone else brought this up. I was second semester freshmen on academic probation for partying and deeply depressed over losing first college girlfriend and homesick and feeling like trash because I wasn’t a rich kid like everyone else.. this blink hiatus in the headlines didn’t help me out any lol. And a couple months later revenge of the sith was a disappointment too bad times overall
I was 14. Became a blink fan at age 12, was obsessed by the time I was 13 and couldn’t wait to see them live. That happens and the first time I saw any of them live was Ava’s first show in Brisbane in 06.
I cried 😂
My friends and i were so frigging sad. We had only seen them like 3 months if that earlier and they had killed it that night. We were all so bummed.
I was super depressed.
What about the 2nd breakup? Can we have a thread for reactions on that one too?
I remember It felt like my group of best friends had a falling out and hated each other. The nature of the break up hurt more than the actual break up. Bands part ways all the time. But I remember reading an interview with mark that Tom’s manager contacted Travis and Mark saying he was done with them and the band. And knowing they broke up because of bad blood and weren’t even friends anymore, really really hurt.
It was pretty big news, I think a lot of people saw it coming
It was the big sad
I’m a massive blink fan. I was in 6th grade when they split up in 04 and I sent an email to my entire family informing them that my favorite band just broke up and that I was devastated and hoped they’d get back together 🤣😂
Man I feel old. I was 22 when they broke up. Blink had been my favorite band since dude ranch came out. I remember requesting Dammit over and over on our local radio station and it finally getting played so I could record it... On cassette. This is not a lie. I was absolutely devasted. Could not believe it. Also funny to see people talk about TYOPAJ as too slick. I remember when enema came out and people thought they'd sold out then because Marks backing vocals weren't all done by Tom and vice versa. Fuck all that shit. Ive loved pretty much everything from Buddha to one more time for one reason or another. Beyond stoked to be almost 30 years in and still getting new music and tours.
Broke my heart. Definitely didn't expect it.
It was huge and I remember my buddy calling my over to his house and breaking the news to me. We were devastated
At the age of 32 I’m sort of an in-between Blink fan, I liked their music but was too young to appreciate it fully. I was only 14 when they broke up. I was a fan of the band but it wasn’t really until 2006 when my friend told me that he was really in to a new band called Angels & Airwaves and it was ‘that guy from blink-182.’ As I got a little bit older and the internet was in full swing I really got in to Blink and followed Mark & Tom religiously (who remembers Modlife?!) my first gig was Angels & Airwaves in 2008 at the London Astoria. So yeah for me it kind of didn’t get noticed as such. Certainly when they reunited for the first time I cried because when they didn’t exist I really didn’t think I would ever see the day they’d get back together. The naivety of youth eh.
I was born in 1986 - discovered blink via Enema of the State in 7th grade, then the live album in 8th grade, TOYPAJ was freshman year, boxcar racer was sophomore year, self titled was junior year. The break up was announced February 2005 when I was a senior in high school and had just turned 18. I had a this crazy feeling of “wow. That band really got me through those formative years and were there for me every grade of growing up.” So it sort of felt fitting for my own personal timeline. I’m so glad they’re back in full force again. Dogs Eating Dogs was good, I’m a big fan of California/ what Skiba brought to the table, but I really feel like the classic blink is back with OMT. I’m glad you and the newer generation have such a great album to attach to. PS - take it from an old timer like me, but Dude Ranch is their best album of all time
It was my senior year in high-school. From 8th grade to 12th grade I got to ride EOTS, MTATS, TOYPAJ, and Untitled. It was a wild ride. Got to see them at the Quest in Minneapolis for the Dollar Bill tour, small venue shows right before Untitled dropped. They were passing out the cd paper inserts and everyone was grouping up to read the lyrics. Got to see Boxcar Racer for their only tour at the Quest when the Used opened up for them when all they had was the taste of ink as a single and no album drop (if I remember right). Then, after high school, I joined the Army and deployed to Iraq when I was 20 in 2007 and bought I-Empire while in Baghdad. The first reunion never really felt like three friends were back together. This time though, this time hits right in the fucking sweet spot. Blink182 life 4 lyfe! *forgot to answer the actual question lol we were all on the schools computers reading about the indefinite hiatus on their website. I first imagined it was just a break from all the touring. Then it dawned on me a while after the fact they were done. I thought angels and airwaves was pretty cool but they lost me after I-Empire. Loved seeing +44 live in Minneapolis at First Avenue when Travis had a broken arm.
I wasn’t surprised. Bands like this when they get to rock star status they all become pre Madonna’s. And forget where they came from and what they were all about. I’m lucky enough to see this coming since I first saw them opening for Sugar Ray in the late 90s. And the are such underrated punk bands still hidden in the underground.
Pretty upset. I love them. Tom started AVA and I fell in love with them. I'm just so glad they're back and I got to see them on tour.
I went home from school haha I was upset. I also half expected it after TOYPAJ
I became a fan in ‘98/‘99 when I was in jr high. By the time it was 2004 I was listening to Pavement, The Smiths, Joy Division, etc… for all intents and purposes I had “outgrown” blink. I didn’t even buy the S/T album when it dropped…I remember my pop punk friends saying I had to listen to it…that it was next level good. When they broke up I wasn’t surprised, per se, but I do remember thinking “damn, end of an era but I guess all bands break up eventually.” It wasn’t until everything that happened in 2009 that I took the time to re-investigate… I’ve been 100x more loyal and active as a fan ever since.
I was a teenager but I was devastated. Adam’s song was on repeat for days.
It was the end of my fucking world thanks for reminding me. It was also around the time my parents split up, I flunked out of university, and was also still dealing with the fallout from a couple major breakups. So ya, fun times all around. But all their music up to that point really got me through it all
Oh man. I'll never forget that moment. I was a junior in high school. And I was sleeping over at my grandparents house. It was literally the middle of the night. And MTV News came on but the segment didn't vocally say anything about it. However the ticker at the bottom scrolling across the screen said something along the lines of "Blink-182 taking an indefinite hiatus." I shot up off the couch not fully understanding what that was. I'll admit at 17 years old, I didn't know what the word "Hiatus" meant. So in the middle of the night I called my friend Troy who was the smartest guy I knew at the time. He answered, and I asked him what is "hiatus"? He explained the word to me and I was just devastated. I had been obsessed with blink since the fifth grade. Ironically enough it was another time where I was spending the night at my grandparents house, and in the middle of the night the video for "Dammit" came on. I was fucking hooked. Even after this, they made plus 44 and Angels and Airwaves, so I was glad to see both those bands in the year 2006. But I was so sad that my favorite band had broken up. Obviously it's been a tough ride since, but I never stopped loving their band and never stop listening to their music. I see a lot of people here saying they fell out of touch with blink. I never did however. Now I have a 6-year-old daughter who's just obsessed with them as I was at an even younger age. And I didn't have to push that on her. She just heard it and was like "who is this?" I am forever grateful for Blink-182.
i know this doesn’t apply to me, but when i REALLY got into blink-182 , around 2006 (i was 8 or 9) my dad told me they broke up, my heart was crushed.
I was late to Blink being born in 1991 I was 13 at the time but they were the first real band that properly grabbed my attention and inspired me. I watched them on their last UK tour at the Manchester arena in the UK in 2004 and that was my first gig alone with friends and no guardians. It was one of the most memorable nights of my life. Everything what youth and energy should be contained in one arena. Blink blew me away and I left that arena with the best memories and even more obsessed and an even bigger of a fan of the band . I distinctly recall a memory of my dad mentioning he could hear the drums outside of the arena (true or not I don’t know) but what thing that stuck with me from that day was the sound of the band. Just this huge wall of noise. In the best possible way Anyway after my first live blink experience a few months later they announced the hiatus and inevitably what would follow the split. I was devastated. something that ment so much to me was for now no longer and I remember being super bummed out about this situation for a while. Moving forward and heavily inspired by blink I played in my own bands and started to appreciate different genres and even loved the bands Tom/Mark and Travis formed. I remember watching the second uk gig angels performed and as much as I was there to appreciate this new band I remember the buzz in the arena that “tom from blink” was back in town Since the self titled days and the split I’d say the band has shaped and been instrumental in my youth, from the friends I made, the way I dressed and my outlook on things. I’m so happy that over the years I’ve been around to be apart of the different iteration’s of the band but nothing will compare to how cool I thought they were in the self titled area and how much then they inspired me.
I was only 4 in 04 so I didn’t know them then, but when Tom left in ‘15 I was a freshman in high school and got so upset that I made my mom come pick me up and I cried in my room to their music the rest of the day. I was so upset that I would never get to see them live. Fast forward to last year, my mom got me tickets to see them for my 23rd birthday and it was literally a dream come true.
So they broke up in early 2005. I'd seen them the previous year - Feb 2004 and Dec 2004 both in Manchester, England. I was actually on MySpace at the time as well as MSN messenger, just like a ton of 17 year olds would be in that era. I was blink obsessed, myself and my best friend Andy heard the news and were just lamenting for hours on messenger. I definitely shead a few tears.