MUSIC: Back from the Blink

For a band known as the clown princes of punk, it is ironic that it took tragedy to bring Blink 182 together again.

The reformed trio are heading for Glasgow’s SECC next week for their first Scottish show in years.

But it is a reunion that almost never happened, after the group entered an “indefinite hiatus” back in 2005.

That separation came one day before they were due to play at a benefit concert for victims of the South Asian tsunami, but the fact they could not even put out one more show, even for such a worthy cause, was a clear sign of the tension within the band at that time.

And for three years, that was it for Blink.

The split was straightforward, with bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker forming +44, and guitarist Tom DeLonge setting up Angels And Airwaves.

With Angels providing a more layered, mature sound, and +44 adding the likes of electronic drums to the mix, both groups represented a departure from the sound for which Blink were known.

An increasingly bitter war of words raged between Hoppus and DeLonge, until a tragic plane crash in 2008 involving Barker, in which he was one of only two survivors, led the group to patch up their differences.

DeLonge feels the band were fated to come together again, saying: “If that accident hadn’t happened, we wouldn’t be a band, plain and simple. That was fate.

“My biggest failure was the break-up of Blink. That was a failure of friendships, businesses and communications. In our hearts, we thought that was forever and gone. What’s funny is, at the time, I looked at it as a triumph.”

Before the sour break-up, Blink’s career had been populated with triumphs.

DeLonge and Hoppus formed the band while teenagers, and the act grew to become hugely influential on the pop-punk scene.

Initially, they were joined by drummer Scott Raynor, and their first two albums did well enough to make waves throughout the alternative and underground scene.

Dude Ranch shifted more than a million copies and spawned concert staples like Damnit and Josie.

Then their penchant for toilet humour, daft videos and catchy songs finally smashed into the mainstream in 1999, spearheaded by the All The Small Things single and the Enema Of The State album.

That, and hits like What’s My Age Again, saw a huge surge in popularity, and they became fixtures on MTV.

The trio were perfect for teen audiences, thanks to their goofy antics and risque lyrics.

Adults could also still appreciate their habit of penning punning punk-pop tunes that were impossible to get out of your head.

Even kids loved them, and they picked up a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award to boot.

2001’s Take Off Your Pants And Jacket followed the same template, although Stay Together For The Kids was one of the group’s most successful excursions into serious lyrical territory.

They returned, in 2003, with even darker material. Their self-titled fifth record was the band’s heaviest outing, a downbeat collection of songs that focused on the end of an relationship.

Ironically, the relationship within Blink itself was steadily worsening too, and matters would get progressively bleaker over the next few years.

News of the band’s hiatus was not a huge shock, as rumours over their future had been rife.

After their different projects were announced, things took a nasty turn, with DeLonge making wild claims about Angel & Airwaves revolutionising rock, and Hoppus being scathing about DeLonge in return.

Now they have returned, the most interesting aspect is what their next record sounds like.

It is hoped it won’t simply return to the old days of straightforward pop-punk, as DeLonge and Hoppus have shown themselves skilled songwriters in varying genres.

Whatever happens, Blink have, almost by accident, become a hugely influential act. Critics may scoff, and claim the band are not really punk because of their light-hearted approach, but that’s missing the point.

When they played a summer tour across America last year, the likes of Fall Out Boy and Panic At The Disco were quick to sign up as support acts, no doubt reflecting on the influence that Blink had on their own careers.

By mixing punk and pop, and taking it to a wider audience, Blink have helped spawn a whole new generation of acts.

And many of their fans probably gained an interest in some of the great hardcore punk acts of the past, having been introduced to that style thanks to Blink’s MTV friendly approach to the genre.

It seems Blink will be able to have the last laugh after all.