Mark Hoppus was asked in a new Finnish interview with HS if the Blink-182 brand was too valuable to throw away for him, even after Tom DeLonge’s 2015 exit. Alternative Nation translated some quotes, so some words may be paraphrased.
“I don’t think of it as a brand at all”, Hoppus passes over the awkward question. “Tom wanted out, but myself and Travis never wanted to do anything but play in Blink. We’ve been building this band for decades and sacrificed our lives to it. We’ve managed to create something special, and we’re never gonna let go of it.”
“Ever,” he adds emphatically.
He also said that he now believes Blink-182 are taken seriously.
“Now, Blink-182 are taken seriously, because we have stayed together long enough and have sold millions of records,” Hoppus evaluate the long career of the band.”
“But it took a long time. I’m not surprised, because it was largely our own fault. We did everything with humor, silly videos we shot and running around naked. We are humorous, but we have always taken our music seriously and write songs about serious issues.”
Travis Barker told Complex, “I can’t speak for Tom, but I think he’s pretty adamant about his passion with UFOs. And he supports us doing our thing with Matt, and everyone’s happy.”