Tom DeLonge leaves Blink-182 'indefinitely'

DeLonge has been a member of Blink-182 since 1992

Kashmira Gander
Monday 26 January 2015 22:05 GMT
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Tom DeLonge has announced his departure from Blink-182
Tom DeLonge has announced his departure from Blink-182

Blink-182 fans are likely playing I Miss You on a loop tonight, as guitarist and co-vocalist Tom DeLonge has announced he is leaving the pop-punk band "indefinitely".

His former bandmates Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus, with whom he founded Blink-182 in 1992, said that "the show must go on" in a statement released by the band's publicist, KROQ reported.

The statement came after the Musink Music and Tattoo Festival in California announced that Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba would be filling in for DeLonge - sparking rumours that DeLonge had left.

Barker and Hoppus said they were "excited" that Skiba would stand in for DeLonge at the festival on 22 March in Orange County, California, and planned to "honor all Blink-182 commitments".

Tom DeLonge, Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 pictured in 2011. (Getty Images)

"We were all set to play this festival and record a new album and Tom kept putting it off without reason. A week before we were scheduled to go in to the studio we got an email from his manager explaining that he didn’t want to participate in any Blink-182 projects indefinetly, but would rather work on his other non-musical endeavors [sic]," the statement explained.

“No hard feelings, but the show must go on for our fans," the pair said.

Skiba will continue to make new music and tour with the Alkaline Trio, the statement added.

The band has not yet announced DeLonge's indefinite departure on social media, with the singer still listed as part of the lineup on its Facebook page.

But fans quickly took to Twitter to lament the change in the band's lineup, causing his name to trend.

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