Now, as a sacred member of the blink-182 fanbase - it is my duty to uphold as much integrity on this site as possible and not report on any tabloid garbage involving the band until official statements are released via the band, social media related to members or press releases by their PR department... but this new info comes from Funko and all of that info above is being thrown out the window momentarily!
The bobblehead company is teasing a #BLINK30 Anniversary series of pop vinyl for the band and following their debut pop drop back in 2018 - which only featured MarkHoppus and TravisBarker - there's an extra member this time around which is indicating the return (or celebration) of TomDeLonge. The band also dropped the caption of 'Just 3 Nude Dudes' on Instagram - hinting it's a 'What's My Age Again' themed release!
[caption id="attachment_141166" align="aligncenter" width="440"]
Mark, Travis and Tom Pops Confirmed![/caption]
Now, over the years we/I have jumped on any signs of hope that Tom would rejoin his beloved brethren of pop punk godfathers and how many of those rumours or speculation pieces have come true? None!
As it stands, Tom has been busy with his To The Stars... company, creating multi-media projects from graphic novels to animated shorts, children's books, and a forthcoming feature film he directed titled Monsters of California - all alongside his return to Angels & Airwaves and their latest album Lifeforms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUxCynz-1vk
Tom personally addressed his departure from blink back in March 2019, when he spoke about his inbound projects mentioned above, stating:
“The last show I played was in front of 100,000 people and then they wonder why I’m not doing that now and I’ll say because this is the one moment in my life where I’m gonna be able to look back as an old man and say ‘oh my god, I was apart of the team that changed the world,’”
So he's been hellbent on focusing on these objectives with his company and, I'm assuming, didn't have time for blink commitments or as I've speculated, he had obligations to create music and media for his company first before he could touch anything music related afterwards. The first new material being for AvA's comeback.
The rest of the band continued on with Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba stepping up to the guitar for their albums California (2016), its Deluxe Edition, and 2019's return-to-form banger NINE. Regardless of your opinions or comparisons, Skiba did his best to fill the big shoes left behind and add his own flavour to the band's recording, which really shined through more so on NINE - in my honest opinion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ-NycSnGsc
At any given chance, reporters/news sites around the world would question the band about if Tom would be rejoining (more so than focusing on what they were doing at the time), to which there was always a statement to say otherwise. The most recent one I reported on (because there were so many) was in June 2019, with Mark Hoppus stating:
“There is not any talk of that right now. I mean, I’ll never say never to anything, but that is a completely unfounded rumour at this point.”
At that point, I buried any/all truth behind these rumours... Until recently when MattSkiba shared with a blink fan on one of his Instagram posts (on July 16th) that he wasn't aware of his position in the pop punk trio.
your guess is as good as mine. Regardless, I am very proud of and thankful for my time w @blink182. We shall see…❤️
As you can imagine, this sent the world into a spin with headline after headline once again speculating the return of Tom. I almost fell victim to it too so I left it until more concrete evidence was produced. That was until this Funko news popped up this morning. With Tom out of the band the last time the collectables were released, does this mean he is back in with this new drop - if, in fact that is him in the teaser image?
With the hashtag #BLINK30, you would have to say yes right? They wouldn't release an anniversary set celebrating the band's 30th year running without Tom in tow. And since that's not Scott Raynor on the drums in the image, all signs are pointing to a Tom comeback.
Industry speculation is running wild at the moment and the only other blink fan I am a sucker for believing (although his money is usually on the ball) is Brad Smith of Heroes for Hire/Cambridge fame. Brad knew about blink being on Soundwave 2013 before anyone else I know of in the industry. He was also aware of their new music with Skiba and is under the personal impression that on August 1st, 2022 aka 1/8/22 - there'll be a big announcement from the band - whether this be the aforementioned Funko pop series OR whether those celebrations are for a much bigger unveiling, we're a few days away to officially know anything more. The Funko news drops at 9am PST on August 1st which is 2am August 2nd for us on AEST. So stay up, wake up and keep your eyes peeled around that time my friends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpYhGdrknlA
The band reunited in 2009 following the tragic plane crash that Travis Barker has since become the sole survivor of and following Mark's recent public battle with cancer, and the upcoming 20th anniversary of their career-defining 2003 Untitled album, there are more than enough reasons to bring each other back together again - to work out their differences and become the GOATS of the genre they always have (and always will be).
Take the above with a grain of salt as always because we know how these things usually end up, but in the meantime, I guess it's time to dig the below rolling coverage bad boy up and keep an eye on it closely...
Words by Paul ‘Browny’ Brown @brownypaul
Is Tom DeLonge back in blink-182? Find out any time here.
