Blink-182’s Tom DeLonge picks his favourite song of all time
Tom DeLonge was a critical part of Blink-182 and a pivotal reason they helped establish pop-punk as an internationally adored genre. DeLonge left the group in 2015 to focus on searching for UFOs, and without him, Blink-182 just isn’t the same.
The group’s albums, California and Nine, featured Matt Skiba from Alkaline Trio, who replaced DeLonge, but without his vocals jostling with Mark Hoppus, the record fell flat. Since he exited the group, fans have been pining for his return, and in October 2022, Blink finally answered their prayers by revealing grand plans for a world tour with their original line-up.
The road to a reunion was born out of tragedy when Hoppus was diagnosed with cancer in 2021, which made DeLonge bite the bullet and restart his relationship with his old friend. Thankfully, Hoppus has been since given the all-clear, and his friendship with DeLonge is also back in full health.
While it shouldn’t have taken a near-death experience on Hoppus’ behalf for Blink-182 to sort out their problems, it was a reminder about the fragility of life and made DeLonge deal with issues with his bandmates that should have been sorted a long time prior.
Together, they went from West Coast teenage wastrels to being in one of the biggest bands on the planet and created a truckful of memories along the way. DeLonge’s favourite song of all time is by Big Audio Dynamite and acts as a reminder of those precious days they spent touring on their way to the top.
Speaking to SPIN, DeLonge explained why one song by the group occupies a sacred place in his heart. He said: “‘Rush’ by Big Audio Dynamite. It makes me happy! I fell in love with this song all over again on Blink’s Honda Civic tour. It’s a punker discovering his urban side. A real ground-breaker.”
Similarly to DeLonge, Big Audio Dynamite’s founder Mick Jones was rooted in punk as a member of The Clash, who are also a great source of inspiration for the guitarist. On one occasion, he had the honour of meeting the late Joe Strummer, and it’s an encounter the Blink-182 man will never forget.
“I asked Joe Strummer what it was like being in The Clash,” he recalled to Music Radar. “He said, ‘We used to walk around saying, ‘Fuck you, we’re in The Clash. But now that I look back on it The Talking Heads were pretty fucking cool. Don’t close your mind and think you’re the only thing out there.'”
Strummer’s words of advice continued to ring in DeLonge’s ears and made him realise there was a world outside the one Blink-182 inhabited. Although, perhaps, he took it too literally by searching for UFOs after The Clash singer said, “Don’t close your mind, and think you’re the only thing out there’.”
Listen to ‘Rush’ by Big Audio Dynamite below.
