Mark Hoppus had to learn “how to play bass again” after chemotherapy

19 October, 2023

Blink-182‘s Mark Hoppus has revealed the struggles he faced with getting back into music following chemotherapy treatment for cancer.

Speaking to Zane Lowe for Apple Music ahead of the release of Blink-182’s upcoming album ‘One More Time…’, Hoppus spoke of his now-squashed bad blood with Tom DeLonge, who he told Lowe there was “not a chance” that he would share a stage with again.

“I didn’t know that Blink would ever get back together or that I would ever share a stage with Tom. And I told management, I told Travis [Barker], I told everybody, I’m like, ‘I’m not setting foot on stage again with that dude. Not a chance.’ That’s the truth. But I’ve always thought Tom was one of the best songwriters in the world and one of my favourite songwriters, but there was a lot of bad blood and there was a lot of stuff in the press and feelings and all this stuff,” Hoppus said.

Hoppus was diagnosed with stage 4-A diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in 2021 but was declared cancer-free six months later. When word got out that Hoppus was diagnosed with cancer, he realised that DeLonge was in his corner supporting him: “I got sick… But Tom was always like, ‘We’re going to get you through this'”.

Once Hoppus and DeLonge had mended their relationship, the focus then turned to getting the band’s classic line-up back together, and the challenges that Hoppus faced in getting himself ready to perform music again, including having to learn how to play bass again and working with a vocal coach.

“And healing through the band, once I was clear of the cancer diagnosis and got the all clear, I was still a fucking hollow, just shell. Shitty, weak brain eaten with the chemotherapy and pain and everything else. And then getting back in the studio to make this record was like learning how to play bass again, learning how to… The chemotherapy wrecked my vocal cords. I had to go to work with a vocal coach. I had to rebuild my throat. I had all this stuff had to rebuild to get to the point where we could go and walk on stage at Coachella and have one of the biggest shows of our career and have this album, which touch wood is one of the best albums we’ve ever written.”

Elsewhere in Blink-182’s interview with Zane Lowe, the band spoke of their upcoming album, which they tout as “one of the best albums we’ve ever written”. Since the group’s return at Coachella earlier this year, the trio have played a handful of shows, announced their upcoming album and released several singles from the record.

They most recently released the single ‘You Don’t Know What You’ve Got’, which was written about Hoppus’ battle with cancer. The track is the sixth and final single to be taken from their forthcoming album, which is out on Friday (October 20). It follows the previously released singles ‘Edging’, ‘One More Time’, ‘More Than You Know’, ‘Dance With Me’ and ‘Fell In Love’.

Reviewing Blink-182 in London this month, NME said the “reunited classic lineup are as puerile and thrilling as they were in their heyday”. The four-star write-up added: “This is a tight, endlessly fun comeback offering a well-needed moment of respite in a rather gloomy climate.”

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