The third blink-182 LP, Dude Ranch, was jointly released in 1997 by Cargo and MCA. Dude Ranch expanded the group's audience and went platinum by the end of 1998, due in part to the popularity of their infectious teen anthem, "Dammit (Growing Up)." The group also signed officially with MCA, which released the band's fourth album,Enema of the State, in the summer of 1999. The album, produced byJerry Finn (Green Day, Rancid), also welcomed a new member into the trio's ranks; Travis Barker, formerly with the Aquabats, settled in on drums after Raynor left midway through a 1998 U.S. tour.Enema was greeted with almost immediate success, and helped the band achieve the mainstream status of toilet-humored pop-punk kings that Dude Ranch had only hinted at. Driven by the commercially successful singles "What's My Age Again?," "All The Small Things," and "Adam's Song," music videos for the three songs (whose clips included themes of streaking and boy band spoofs) were MTV smashes as well.

After selling over four million copies of Enema of the State, the trio played on with the limited-edition release The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back) in fall 2000. The album featured the band's radio hits in a live setting, intertwined with their quirky sense of humor as well as the new song "Man Overboard."Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, issued in spring 2001, saw the band return to their SoCal punk rock roots. Maturity, of a sort, came with 2003's self-titled album, released on Geffen. Not only did the album sport a song ("All of This") that featured Robert Smith of the Cure, but "I Miss You" also topped the modern rock charts in 2005.

In February 2005, however, popular as ever and seemingly indestructible, blink-182 unexpectedly announced they would be going on an "indefinite hiatus," supposedly to spend more time with their growing families. Asking fans for help in selecting tracks, the group issued Greatest Hits that November. Bandmembers also continued on with other projects: Barker -- who had previously released an album with DeLonge as Boxcar Racer -- continued playing with the Transplants and running his clothing company, Famous Stars and Straps. His family was also spotlighted in the MTV reality showMeet the Barkers. Hoppus carried on with his Atticus fashion venture, began producing -- starting with Motion City Soundtrack'sCommit This to Memory -- and hosting his own podcasts. He further began work with Barker in a new band, Plus 44. DeLonge also continued work with his lifestyle clothing company, Macbeth, and formally announced his new project, Angels and Airwaves, that fall.

History :

After being expelled from Poway High School, Tom DeLonge attended Rancho Bernardo High School where he became friends with Anne Hoppus. DeLonge often expressed wanting to be in a band, so in August 1992 Anne introduced him to her brother Mark Hoppus, who also wanted to be in a band. The two played for hours in DeLonge's garage, showing each other songs they had previously written, and writing new songs together. One of these songs would eventually become what is now "Carousel". That night the two decided they needed to officially start a band, so DeLonge recruited friend Scott Raynor, who he had met at his school's Battle of the Bands competition. The three began playing together and called themselves Duck Tape, until DeLonge thought of the name Blink.

The band practiced constantly, which angered Hoppus's girlfriend. She told him he had to choose between the band and her, so he left the band just as it was starting. DeLonge then informed Hoppus that he borrowed a 4-track from a friend and he and Raynor were using it to make a demo tape. Upon hearing this, Hoppus decided he would leave his girlfriend and return to the band.

In May 1993, the band recorded their first demo tape Flyswatter in Raynor's bedroom. A 4-track was used to record the material, which resulted in poor sound quality. According to Hoppus, only a small number of demos were released, primarily to their family and friends. The same year, the band recorded another demo tape, this one untitled and known simply as Demo #2. It featured re-recordings of a few Flyswatter songs, and also included new songs, some of which would go on to be re-recorded and re-released on the band's albums Buddha,Cheshire Cat, and Dude Ranch. Buddha was released on cassette in 1993 with around 1,000 copies of the tape produced by Filter Records, an independent record company headed by Hoppus's boss. It was remastered and re-released on Kung Fu Records in 1998 (with three of the original tracks omitted and two new tracks added).

In 1994, the band signed with Cargo Music and recorded their debut studio album Cheshire Cat in three days. The album contained a number of updated versions of songs such as "Carousel", "Strings", "Sometimes", and "T.V." that had appeared on the Buddha demo as well as some originals. "M+M's" and "Wasting Time" were released as singles, but both failed to chart. Shortly after the release of Cheshire Cat, the band was threatened with legal action by an Irish pop band of the same name. In order to avoid a legal dispute, the band appended "182" to the end of their name. In 1994, the band released a split EP with Iconoclasts titled Short Bus. The 3-track EP They Came to Conquer... Uranus was released the next year.

After moving to Encinitas, California, the band recorded the album Dude Ranch in 1996 with producer Mark Trombino. Blink-182 recorded the album under Cargo Records, but signed withMCA in 1998 in order to handle increased distribution. The album was released in 1997 and was relatively commercially successful, selling 1.5 million copies worldwide. The single "Dammit" did well on U.S. modern rock charts, and the band received a small degree of mainstream success.

After the album's release, midway through a U.S. tour in 1998, drummer Scott Raynor left the band. Raynor had a serious drinking problem and was asked to go into rehab. Raynor claims he agreed to go to rehab, but that DeLonge and Hoppus were doubtful of his sincerity and subsequently fired him over the phone. Hoppus and DeLonge asked drummer Travis Barker of Blink-182's support band The Aquabats to fill in for Raynor for the remainder of the tour. After the set, Hoppus and DeLonge sat down and discussed Barker joining the band. The next day he was offered the position and consequently left The Aquabats.

For the 1999 album Enema of the State, the band hired Jerry Finn as producer. The album propelled the band into the mainstream, generating the hit singles "What's My Age Again?", "All the Small Things" and "Adam's Song", and an incredible amount of airtime on radio and MTV. Enema of the State went on to sell over 15 million copies worldwide making it the band's best selling album. "Adam's Song" caused a stir in 2000 when it was set to replay indefinitely on a stereo as 17-year-old Greg Barnes hanged himself in the garage of his family's home.Demos for the album were leaked as the Enema of the State Demo. It consists of eight demo recordings of some album tracks, plus an instrumental titled "Life's So Boring" which did not make the album.

In 2000, the band released The Urethra Chronicles, a DVD which features behind-the-scenes information, and The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back!), Blink-182's sole live album, featuring songs from their three full-length records, including all their greatest hits coupled with previously unreleased material. The album quickly went out of print. The album also included one new studio song, "Man Overboard", among the live renditions. A demo of this song was previously featured on the Enema of the State Demo cassette.

The band continued its commercial success with Take Off Your Pants and Jacket in 2001, which was a small change from their direction in Enema of the State. The album sold more than 350,000 copies in the first week. It contains the hit singles "The Rock Show", "First Date" and "Stay Together for the Kids", while "Anthem Part 2" also received radio airplay. The album has sold approximately 4.5 million records worldwide, while going double platinum in the US. The album was released on three different CDs: yellow, red and green versions, each one featuring two unique bonus tracks. A European tour in winter 2001 was delayed in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. Rescheduled dates in early 2002 were also canceled due to DeLonge's back problems.

Blink-182 co-headlined the Pop Disaster Tour with Green Day in 2002. The tour was documented on the DVD Riding in Vans with Boys. The band made a cameo appearance on the

Recording of the band's next record began in early 2003. On November 18, 2003, they released their eponymous fifth studio album, which spawned the hit singles "Feeling This", "I Miss You", "Down" and "Always". According to Barker, the album was supposed to represent a "new" Blink-182.Robert Smith, whose band The Cure is often cited as a major influence, appeared on "All of This".

In November 2003, the band embarked on the "DollaBill" tour, named for the ticket cost of $1 each. They played ten club shows throughout the US and one in Canada. Blink-182 toured with No Doubt in the summer of 2004.

Tensions between the band members arose when DeLonge found the desire for a half-year respite from touring to spend time with his family, despite a planned spring U.S. tour, coupled with Hoppus' feelings of betrayal after the formation of Box Car Racer. Further problems arose in discussions regarding the band's future recording endeavors. In mid-February 2005 the band inexplicably canceled a performance at Music for Relief's Concert for South Asia (a show put on by Linkin Park to aid victims of the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake). This made their previous show on December 16, 2004 at the Point Depot in Dublin, Ireland, their last live performance. The planned tour was canceled and on February 22, 2005, after much tension, their band manager called Hoppus and Barker to tell them that DeLonge had quit the band. After this Blink-182 announced an indefinite hiatus. Afterwards bandmembers embarked on other projects.

Geffen Records released a Greatest Hits compilation on November 1, 2005. It is essentially a collection of the band's singles. After many criticisms about the track listing from disappointed fans, the song "Carousel" was added. A previously unreleased track was included on the CD, "Another Girl, Another Planet" (a cover song originally by The Only Ones). The song was also used as the theme song to Barker's new reality TV show, Meet the Barkers. Also included was the previously issued "I Miss You" B-side and Blink-182 UK bonus track "Not Now". The album reached number 6 on the Billboard 200 in the United States.

On August 21, 2008, Jerry Finn (Blink-182's producer) died of a cerebral hemorrhage. This would later be one of the catalysts for all the members of Blink-182 communicating again in September 2008, which would be the first time Tom would communicate with his bandmates in over three years.

Travis Barker barely survived a plane crash on September 21, 2008, after performing an event with former Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell. Adam Goldstein (better known as DJ AM) and Barker were the sole survivors. Barker sustained second and third degree burns on his lower body and torso and expected to recover within a year. While in the hospital, Mark Hoppus and former bandmate Tom DeLonge visited, allowing the band to reconcile and patch up their differences.