Early years (1992-1993)In May 1993, Blink recorded their first demo tape
Flyswatter in drummer Scott Raynor's bedroom. A 4-track was used to record the material, resulting in poor sound quality. According to Hoppus, only around fifty copies of the demo were produced to give to their family and friends. The same year, the band recorded another demo tape, this one untitled and known simply as "
2nd Demo" or "Demo 2". It featured re-recordings of some
Flyswatter songs, and also some new songs, some of which would go on to be re-recorded and re-released on the band's
Buddha album.
Buddha was released on cassette in 1993 with around 1,000 copies of the tape being produced by Filter Records, an independent record company headed by Hoppus's boss. It was later re-released in 1998, remastered and with a different tracklisting.
Independent & early success (1994-1998)In early 1994, Blink signed with Cargo Music. The band recorded their debut full-length album,
Cheshire Cat in three days. The album contained a number of updated versions of songs such as "Carousel", "Strings", "Sometimes" and "TV" that had appeared on the
Buddha demo as well as some originals.
Shortly after the release of
Cheshire Cat, Blink was threatened with legal action by a pop band in
Ireland of the same name. In order to avoid a dispute, Blink appended "182" to the end of their name. Although there are many theories suggested by the band as to why that number was chosen, DeLonge has stated that it is just a number that meant nothing.
After the release of
Cheshire Cat came the
Buddha Promo; a promotional cassette intended to promote the re-release of the
Buddha album, which was now available on CD as well as cassette. It is mostly a collection of old songs from the
Shortbus sessions. It also contained a few early versions of songs that appeared on
Cheshire Cat and would later appear on
Dude Ranch.
In 1995, a 3-track EP,
They Came to Conquer Uranus, was released on 7" black and clear blue vinyl.
After moving to
Encinitas, California, the band recorded the album
Dude Ranch in 1996 with producer
Mark Trombino. Blink-182 recorded the album under Cargo Records, but signed with
MCA in 1996 which later became
Geffen Records in 2003, in order to handle increased distribution. The album was released in 1997 and was relatively commercially successful, selling 4 million copies worldwide. The single "
Dammit" did well on
U.S. modern rock charts, and the band received a small degree of mainstream success.
After the album's release, drummer Scott Raynor left the band. There are two common explanations for his removal - that Raynor had a serious drinking problem and was asked to go into
rehab or face ejection, or alternately, that he departed in order to attend college. Raynor claims he agreed to go to rehab, but that DeLonge and Hoppus were doubtful of his sincerity and subsequently fired him over the phone. Hoppus and DeLonge had asked drummer
Travis Barker of Blink-182's support band
The Aquabats to fill in for Raynor for the remainder of the tour, thus he had to learn all of the songs in a matter of hours before the show. He ultimately went on to join the band permanently afterwards, leaving The Aquabats.
Mainstream success (1999-2004)For the 1999 album
Enema of the State, the band hired
Jerry Finn as producer. The album propelled the band into the mainstream, generating the hit singles "
What's My Age Again?", "
All the Small Things", and "
Adam's Song" a significant amount of airtime on radio and
MTV.
Enema of the State went on to sell over 15 million copies worldwide making it the band's bestselling album to that point. "
Adam's Song" caused a stir in 2000 when it was set to replay indefinitely on a stereo as 17-year-old Greg Barnes hanged himself in the garage of his family's home. Some demos recorded for the album were
leaked onto the internet, those demos being collectively titled the
Enema of the State Demo and consisting of demo recordings of some album tracks, plus an instrumental titled 'Life's So Boring' which did not make it onto the album. The demos are in a lossy
MP3 format with
tempo and
pitch fluctuating due to problems with the
ripping of the cassette.
In 1999 the band had small parts in the film
American Pie, though Travis Barker was incorrectly credited as Scott Raynor, the band's ex-drummer.
In 2000, the band released
The Urethra Chronicles, a DVD which featured behind-the-scenes information, and
The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show: The Enema Strikes Back, Blink-182's sole live album, featuring songs from their three full-length records, featuring all their greatest hits, and previously unreleased material. The album quickly went out of print making it a much sought after item. A limited edition was printed in October 2006. The album also included one new studio song, "Man Overboard," among the live renditions. A demo of this song was featured on the
Enema of the State Demo cassette.
The band continued its commercial success with
Take Off Your Pants and Jacket in 2001, which was in the same vein as
Enema of the State. However, a European tour in winter 2001 was cancelled in the aftermath of the
September 11th attacks. Rescheduled dates in early 2002 were also cancelled due to DeLonge's problems with his back.
In 2002, Blink-182 co-headlined the
Pop Disaster Tour with
Green Day. The tour was documented on the DVD
Riding In Vans With Boys.
After taking some time off in 2002, recording of the next record began in early 2003. On
November 18,
2003, the band released
Blink-182, which spawned the hit singles "
Feeling This", "
I Miss You", "
Down", and "
Always". According to Barker, the untitled/self-titled record was supposed to represent a new Blink-182. Despite a major shift in theme and tone that eschewed the juvenile lyrics and formulaic songwriting of past releases in favor of a more conceptual, nuanced lyrical style coupled with a darker, more experimental sound, the album received significant airplay on radio and TV.
Robert Smith, whose band
The Cure is often cited by Blink-182 as a major influence, appeared on "All of This".
During late 2003 through 2004 the band embarked on the successful "Dolla Bill" tour, named for the inexpensive ticket costs which were originally planned to be completely free. A tour with
No Doubt in the summer of 2004 was also very successful.