Many fans are unsure as to where Blink 182’s distinctive name came from despite having two chart-topping albums on the Billboard 200.
The American rock band, best known for its line-up featuring bassist and vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker, has a global fanbase.
Their hit songs include All the Small Things, What’s My Age Again?, Adam’s Song, The Rock Show, Always, Dammit, First Date, and Stay Together for the Kids. Some fans are only now starting to consider the meaning behind the number sequence 182 despite their presence on the music scene since August 1992.
One Reddit user simply asked: “What does 182 mean”? According to Dying Scene, the band was initially named Duck Tape, but Tom decided on a change. He proposed the name Blink when the band comprised himself, Mark, and their friend Scott Raynor.
They had to alter the name to avoid confusion because an Irish electronica artist was already working under that name. A statement explains: “they added ‘ 182 ‘ to the end. Why 182, specifically? According to the band, it is how many times Al Pacino says ‘ f*** ‘ in the movie Scarface. Of course”.
At the time of their name change, Blink’s debut album Cheshire Cat had just been released, prompting them to update their cover art. If your copy of this record doesn’t have ‘ 182 ‘ on the band’s name, it could be worth a tidy sum.
However, as the band constantly joke about the origins of their name, many fans no longer know what to believe. A Reddit user chimed in on the topic, saying: “Did they not confirm that 182 was Mark’s ideal weight? I may have misremembered that entirely. However, I believed the joke to be true.
Another added: “They should have changed it to Blink Was Taken”. A third fan recounted: “One of my favourite stories is at a show them saying, you know why we’re 182, cause Blink 181 was taken”. Yet another joined the conversation: “I thought a 182 was some police code for going nude in public or similar”.
Someone else contributed: “I’m from San Diego and there was a story I once heard that 182 is the alphabet numbers. The band’s birthplace was Rancho Bernardo, and the 18th letter is R, and the second letter is B. I don’t know if that is true, but I remember thinking it was Poway that the story that was being circulated back in the day.
The final user disagreed, saying that “I read that blink was a combination of ink and blue when I was very young.” A number that was printed on a “lost parrot” sign on a telephone pole had a few digits in it. It’s safe to say that it remains a bit of a mystery!
Source: Mirror
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