Blink-182 guitarist Matt Skiba told a fan last month (July) on Instagram that he doesn't know what his current status in the band is (see below), but now questions surround whether original member Tom DeLonge could be returning to the fold.
Why? As Kerrang first spotted, it looks like the guitarist has changed his Instagram bio to state that 'I make music' with both Blink-182 and Angels & Airwaves official Instagram accounts tagged.
We know he's an active member of the latter but why tag the former in the present tense?
Blink-182 have recorded two studio albums with Alkaline Trio founder Skiba following DeLonge's departure in 2015; California in 2016 and Nine in 2019. Since then Blink co-founder, bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus has successfully completed chemotherapy for stage 4 diffuse large B-cell lymphomaand was declared cancer free in September 2021.
During this time DeLonge's relationship with his former (or indeed current) band members Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker has seemed very friendly, with DeLonge describing how his and Hoppus's relationship was repaired following the latter's cancer diagnosis.
Classic interview: Tom DeLonge talks Blink-182, Boxcar Racer and Angels & Airwaves album history
“The way the universe works is strange because I reached out to Mark because I needed him to sign this piece of paper that had to do with my divorce,” DeLonge told Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe in a 2021 interview.
“Only because of that call did I learn he had cancer,” DeLonge added “And he told me on the phone. I was like, ‘Wait, what?'”
“We weren’t really talking much at all, maybe once every couple of months, a little text here and there. But now, we talk multiple times a day,” DeLonge revealed. “We’ve been able to completely repair that friendship and really cut to the depth of who we are as people and what this is all about.”
Are things about to enter a new era for the influential pop-punk trio?
For now, you can check out our Tom DeLonge retrospective interview as he looks back on his Blink-182 album history and more.
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