Mark Hoppus & Tom DeLonge weigh in on US vs. UK debate over pronunciation of ‘blink-182’
It's dividing opinion
Last updated 20th Nov 2018
Ever since they changed their name from Blink to blink-182 more than 23 years ago, there has been polarising transatlantic opinion about the correct way to pronounce the pop-punk stalwarts’ band name.
In the UK, the widely used pronunciation is ‘one-eight-two’, while our friends Stateside generally say ‘one-eighty-two.’
Upon discovering the British pronunciation, American producer of the Late Late Show with James Corden, Ian Karmel, took to Twitter to express his shock, writing: “The British call Blink-182 “Blink One Eight Two” and I’m not saying that’s WHY they lost the Revolutionary War, but...”
After Karmel picked up 3,000 retweets and sparked mass debate amongst fans, James Corden poked his nose in highlighting we’re technically BOTH saying it wrong.
Quoting Karmel’s tweet to his 10million followers, Corden wrote: “Don’t start this. I admit we are wrong on this. America calls them Blink One eighty two. Which is also wrong. They technically should be called Blink one hundred and eighty two. Don’t take some moral high ground here.”
Weighing in on the dispute, blink-182 bassist and co-vocalist Mark Hoppus said he’s more concerned with how ‘blink-182’ is written than pronounced, writing: “Thank you James. Some say one eighty two. Some say one eight two. But in all of this, I feel like we’ve lost sight of the fact that the B in blink-182 should be lower-case.”
Poking fun at the debate, ex-blink-182 vocalist/guitarist Tom DeLonge had his say late last night, writing: “It’s actually - Blink eighteen-two. People have all gotten this wrong for years. Sometimes this can happen with very complex, thoughtful and elevated art.”
Confused? Yeah, we are too!
Formed as Blink in Poway, California in 1992, the band were forced to change their name after the release of their debut album ‘Cheshire Cat’ in 1995 as there was already an Irish rock band called Blink.