The classic punk rock rivalry of blink-182 vs Green Day has been raging since the ’90s and a story shared by Mark Hoppus may just fuel the flames yet again.
In his new memoir, Fahrenheit-182, the blink-182 bassist discussed the 2022 Pop Disaster US and Canada tour, which saw both bands tour together for the first and only time.
While blink were riding on the success of 1999’s Enema of the State and 2001’s Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, Green Day were not as hot, with drummer Tré Cool even saying in a Kerrang interview: “We set out to reclaim our throne as the most incredible live punk band from you know who…”
According to Hoppus, the tension was noticeable during the tour.
“I got the sense that Green Day fucking hated that they’d been reduced to opening for us,” Hoppus writes.
“It must have been a difficult pill to swallow. There was a lot of tension on that tour. Some nights we drank together like old war buddies. Other nights we got into screaming matches with their manager in the hallways.”
While both groups are now comfortably two of the biggest bands in music today, they never toured together again, but according to Hoppus, that’s not without trying.
“We keep asking for a rematch and they keep refusing,” Hoppus writes.
“They’re the rival gangs across town who both despise and respect each other.”
Green Day most recently played at Coachella this past weekend on the back of an Australian tour, while blink-182 are gearing up for a new North American run and are working on a follow-up record to 2023’s One More Time… – their first with Tom DeLonge since his second departure in 2015.
In February, blink reunited with Matt Skiba, who will be joining the upcoming tour with Alkaline Trio, on stage during an LA Fires Benefit show. Check out the footage here.
Read more from Fahrenheit-182 in this Rolling Stone piece.
