Photo by MediaPunch / Rex Features
22 years after the group’s inception and numerous hits and albums later co-vocalist and guitarist Tom DeLonge has left the iconic punk trio Blink-182 the group announced Monday January 26.
Earlier on in the day Musink announced without reasoning that Alkaline Trio lead singer Matt Skiba would be replacing Tom DeLonge in Blink-182 for the eighth annual Musink Festival from March 20-22 in Orange Country, California.
Immediately many were concerned about DeLonge’s absence and speculation of a break from the group took off and shortly after the two remaining group members bassist and vocalist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker confirmed DeLonge had decided to go on an “indefinite” hiatus from the band.
“We were all set to play this festival and record a new album and Tom kept putting it off without reason. A week before we were scheduled to go in to the studio we got an email from his manager explaining that he didn’t want to participate in any Blink-182 projects indefinitely, but would rather work on his other non-musical endeavors. No hard feelings but the show must go on for our fans.”
While the terms of his departure do not seem amicable, Hoppus and Barker are still committed to the band as Hoppus tweeted shortly afterwards, “Blink-182 for life. For life.”
Although the legitimacy of DeLonge’s departure was called into question after he posted on Instagram and tweeted that he did not “quit the band” and stated the press releases he was hearing were “weird,” Barker and Hoppus stood by their story and even did another interview with Rolling Stone to set the record straight.
“It’s hard to cover for someone who’s disrespectful and ungrateful. You don’t even have the balls to call your bandmates and tell them you’re not going to record or do anything Blink-related,” Barker stated about Tom. After the interview was published Hoppus tweeted out a link to the interview stating, “This is the real deal.”
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Telisa Carter
Telisa enjoys learning and writing about all things entertainment in the world of Hollywood. When she isn't catching up on her favorite TV shows, she likes to read, and obsess over all things football.
