Green Day made Blink-182 a better band, says Mark Hoppus
Mark Hoppus found Blink-182's rivalry with Green Day to be "weird".
The 53-year-old musician "grew up listening to Green Day" and was a huge fan of their music during his younger years, but friction developed between the bands during their co-headline Pop Disaster Tour in 2002.
Mark - who stars in Blink-182 alongside Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker - told NME: "That was very strange because I grew up listening to Green Day. I literally waited for the day that 'Dookie' came out, and I was in line waiting to buy it.
"I was a huge fan, then we're touring with them, but it was a weird thing where Green Day were dipping at the time and Blink were ascendent.
"We were billed as co-headliners, but Blink were closing every night, and that was a strange sensation for us. Headlining over your idols is a little strange."
Mark likened the dynamic to sporting rivals going head-to-head for victory.
The bassist also feels that the rivalry made Blink-182 "a better band".
He explained: "It's like athletes: we could be on different teams, but when we get on the field we're going to try and kick your a**.
"We didn't come with that attitude, but they did. They blew us off the stage the first few nights and we were like, 'Oh s***, we have to up our game'.
"Then it was this battle back-and-forth about who could put on the better show and who could win people over. It definitely made us a better band."
Mark joked that the rivalry inspired Green Day to make 'American Idiot', their 2004 album that featured hits like 'Wake Me Up When September Ends' and 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams'.
He quipped: "I think I inspired them so much they were like, 'We have to kill Blink-182 with an awesome album called 'American Idiot'."
Meanwhile, Mark recently claimed that Blink-182 have found a "common goal".
The chart-topping rock band reunited after Mark was diagnosed with cancer in 2021, and the group now cherish the time they spend together.
Mark - who is now cancer-free - told The Independent: "Everybody really respects and cherishes one another.
"We all love Blink and what we built, and we don't want to mess that up anymore. We have a common goal."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
a day ago
- Perth Now
'I had my time': Mark Hamill rules out Star Wars return as Luke Skywalker
Mark Hamill doesn't intend to return to 'Star Wars'. The 73-year-old star first played the role of Luke Skywalker in the original movie 'A New Hope' back in 1977 but has no wish to return as the protagonist as he would prefer franchise bosses to focus on the "future" with different characters at the heart of the stories. In an interview with Mark said: "I am so grateful to George (Lucas) for letting me be a part of that back in the day, the humble days when George called 'Star Wars' the most expensive low-budget movie ever made. "We never expected it to become a permanent franchise and a part of pop culture like that. But my deal is, I had my time. I'm appreciative of that, but I think they should focus on the future and all the new characters." Mark's last significant appearance was as a force ghost in the 2019 sequel trilogy flick 'The Rise of Skywalker' and he joked that it was impossible for him to return after the ghostly truth about his alter ego was revealed in the 2017 picture 'The Last Jedi'. He said: "(I) disappeared in ('The Last Jedi'), I left my robes behind. And there's no way I'm gonna appear as a naked force ghost." Hamill confessed last year that he felt the "heart was gone" from 'Star Wars' following the tragic passing of his co-star Carrie Fisher, who portrayed Princess Leia, at the age of 60 from a sudden a cardiac arrest in 2016. Recalling the moment he learnt of Carrie's death, he said: "My wife (Marilou York) came into the bedroom - she gets up earlier than I do - I was still asleep. She had tears rolling down her face saying that Carrie had … "It forever altered how I reacted to 'Star Wars' in general. The heart was gone. I don't talk about it because I don't like reliving it." Mark also paid tribute to Carrie for bringing an "effortless feminism" to the sci-fi franchise by standing strong against the villainous Darth Vader and taking command of both Luke and Han Solo (Harrison Ford). He said: "I thought that it was effortless feminism to have the Princess be far from a shrinking violet. "She was tough, she was telling Darth Vader off to his face - she was not intimidated by Darth Vader in the slightest. "'I thought I recognised your foul stench' … I mean, wow! Pretty mouthy, huh? "And when we rescued her, she made chumps out of Luke and Han: 'You call this a rescue? Gimme that gun!' "And she made us look like two stooges. I thought, 'That's effortless feminism', because it's not apologetic, it's just showing a woman is as [capable] as any man."
Perth Now
6 days ago
- Perth Now
RAF pilots 'too scared' to speak out over UFO encounters
Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots have reportedly seen UFOs during flights but are staying tight-lipped for fear of being grounded, sacked or worse. Documentary filmmaker Mark Christopher Lee says he's been contacted by several British military pilots who claim to have had real-life run-ins with mysterious unidentified aerial phenomena - or UAPs. But despite the extraordinary nature of what they saw, they're keeping their mouths shut. Mark told the Daily Star newspaper: "We have military pilots who have had real-life encounters with UAPs. I have spoken to them. What they say is incredible." However, these top guns are only prepared to spill the beans under strict anonymity. The filmmaker said: "They fear the consequences if they were to go on the record. Will they be fired, ridiculed, demoted – even prosecuted – for speaking out? These are their fears." Mark added that other military personnel and even police officers are scared to speak up about strange sightings in the skies. He said: "What will happen to their families? "It's frustrating because unless someone goes on the record, puts their name – and potentially rank – to an event it is impossible to judge and difficult to properly investigate." The filmmaker claims that the British public is being "kept in the dark" about UFOs. Mark said: "Information about extraordinary events is being withheld from them." The RAF has yet to comment on the claims.
Perth Now
20-05-2025
- Perth Now
Green Day made Blink-182 a better band, says Mark Hoppus
Mark Hoppus found Blink-182's rivalry with Green Day to be "weird". The 53-year-old musician "grew up listening to Green Day" and was a huge fan of their music during his younger years, but friction developed between the bands during their co-headline Pop Disaster Tour in 2002. Mark - who stars in Blink-182 alongside Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker - told NME: "That was very strange because I grew up listening to Green Day. I literally waited for the day that 'Dookie' came out, and I was in line waiting to buy it. "I was a huge fan, then we're touring with them, but it was a weird thing where Green Day were dipping at the time and Blink were ascendent. "We were billed as co-headliners, but Blink were closing every night, and that was a strange sensation for us. Headlining over your idols is a little strange." Mark likened the dynamic to sporting rivals going head-to-head for victory. The bassist also feels that the rivalry made Blink-182 "a better band". He explained: "It's like athletes: we could be on different teams, but when we get on the field we're going to try and kick your a**. "We didn't come with that attitude, but they did. They blew us off the stage the first few nights and we were like, 'Oh s***, we have to up our game'. "Then it was this battle back-and-forth about who could put on the better show and who could win people over. It definitely made us a better band." Mark joked that the rivalry inspired Green Day to make 'American Idiot', their 2004 album that featured hits like 'Wake Me Up When September Ends' and 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams'. He quipped: "I think I inspired them so much they were like, 'We have to kill Blink-182 with an awesome album called 'American Idiot'." Meanwhile, Mark recently claimed that Blink-182 have found a "common goal". The chart-topping rock band reunited after Mark was diagnosed with cancer in 2021, and the group now cherish the time they spend together. Mark - who is now cancer-free - told The Independent: "Everybody really respects and cherishes one another. "We all love Blink and what we built, and we don't want to mess that up anymore. We have a common goal."
