Tom DeLonge Admits He Didn't Think He'd Return to Music

The trio of Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker are back together, having toured as Blink-182 over the past year and working up to the release of the new song "One More Time" later this week. And in a candid new video teasing the upcoming single, DeLonge tells Zane Lowe that he wasn't sure he'd ever return to music until Mark Hoppus' cancer diagnosis.

"I remember telling my wife, 'I don't think I'm ever going to play music again. I don't think I'm ever going to tour again,' until Mark told me he was sick. Then it was the only thing I wanted to do," says Blink's co-vocalist.

"When he told me he was sick, that was the gnarliest. It was like nothing matters really," DeLonge reveals.

The band wasn't afraid to address the elephant in the room. In fact, as part of the teaser for "One More Time," the vocal lines "I wish they told us / It shouldn't take a sickness / Or airplanes falling out the sky" play in the background. Those would be obvious nods to Hoppus' cancer battle and drummer Travis Barker surviving a plane crash. In both instances, DeLonge returned to the band's lineup amid personal tragedy.

"I always knew that the brotherhood wouldn't ever deteriorate or wouldn't be there. I really feel like Blink is us three," said Barker. "As soon as we accept that and don't settle for anything less than that, I just think that's the future."

"For me it was always heavy on my heart that our friendship wasn't mended," said DeLonge. "All of us have lived through tragedies now that tear apart places in your heart and you've got to mend them back together and figure out how to be a better version of yourself."

The Blink-182 song "One More Time" is expected to arrive this Thursday (Sept. 21) at 10AM ET. Check out the teaser interview for the song below.

Zane Lowe Speaks With Blink-182

Blink-182 Have a New Album En Route

As revealed earlier this week, Blink-182 have finalized the details of their forthcoming album, which will be their first since Tom DeLonge was last with the band in 2011. The group issued the single "Edging" in October 2022 ahead of their touring. And now we're getting a full studio album.

Like the new single, the album carries the title One More Time and it's on target for an Oct. 20 release. The 17-track album is available to pre-order at this location. The group is currently touring Europe and the U.K. with dates that carry over into mid-October, before the band returns stateside for Las Vegas dates immediately after. See when and where you can catch Blink-182 playing live here.