Tom Delonge Reportedly Returning to blink-182
Tom Delonge, best known as the guitarist and frontman for Angels and Airwaves and Boxcar Racer as well as former frontman to blink-182 has announced his been reported to return to Blink-182.
According to a report by Troy Hanson, Vice President of Rock Programming at Cumulus Media, Tom Delonge has announced his return as a member to the group and the band plans to hit the road on a full fledged North American arena tour in 2023. Hanson revealed the news on Q101’s Brian, Ali and Justin Podcast which is known as Chicago’s Best Alternative Rock Station.
”Tom Delonge has rejoined blink-182...” Hanson said. “And they are coming to the United Center” a venue located in Chicago Illinois. Hanson added, “Live Nation, that’s my gift to you for doing this whole thing in late October with Panic! At The Disco. I just blew your nut on blink-182. Sorry. Not sorry.”
The band has yet to confirm the reunion with Tom and hasn’t announced any tour dates as of yet, though other sources have pointed to Delonge’s return prior to Hanson’s bombshell, with Matt Skiba, blink-182’s current guitarist and Alkaline Trio frontman making comments a few months back on his role in the band when username Blilnkinpark89 asked “You guys think he is stil in blink? No blink content here and the blink guys don’t post pictures of Matt.” To which Skiba responded “...your guess is as good as mine. Regardless, I am very proud of and thankful for my time with @blink182. We shall see.”
blink-182 parted ways with Delonge in January of 2015, to which the band replaced Delonge with the Alkaline Trio frontman Matt Skiba. The band quickly took to social media after Delonge’s departure saying “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 into 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 nonmusical endeavors. No hard feelings, but the show must go on for our fans.”
Delonge quickly responded on his own media platforms stating: ”To all the fans, I never quit the band. I actually was on a phone call about a blink-182 event for New York City at the time all these weird press releases started coming in. Apparently those releases were ”sanctioned” from the band. Are we dysfunctional, yes. But Christ.”
After extensive touring with Skiba and even a full length LP entitled NINE which dropped in 2019 which marked the band’s 9th studio album it was sure that Skiba was in and Delonge was out entirely. However in 2021, bassist, frontman and founding blink-182 member Mark Hoppus revealed in an interview that himself, Delonge and Travis Barker reunited in April of 2021 after Hoppus was diagnosed with cancer and has kept in touch ever since.
During the interview in September of 2021 with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe, Hoppus went on to say about the band that ”It was the first time that all three of us were in the same room in like five years. It’s actually better than it used to be. There was no agenda. There were no lingering grudges. It felt very back to what it should be: three friends sitting in a room”. Hoppus also opened up during the interview stating that he felt that the Delonge, Barker and himself were “completely able to repair“ their friendship after the rekindling after Hoppus’ battle with cancer and Delonge’s recent divorce.
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