Blink-182 have been one of the world's biggest bands for almost three decades - but it seems some fans are only just realising the true meaning behind their name
Blink-182 is one of the biggest rock bands in the world – but the household name has a somewhat ambiguous origin story.
There are a few popular explanations behind the music group's name – though the band members themselves have sometimes told different versions, often in a joking or contradictory manner.
Fans may know that the band was originally called 'Blink'. However, an Irish band with the same name threatened legal action, so they had to come up with a new name.
Ultimately, they decided to add 182 to avoid getting in hot water. But why, you may ask? One Reddit user recently questioned – "What does 182 mean? "
According to the band, it is "how many times Al Pacino says 'f***' in the movie Scarface. Of course." But it's likely the group is just trying to make its supporters laugh!
As the band constantly joke about the origins of their name, many no longer know what to believe. A Reddit user asked: "Did they not confirm that 182 was Mark's ideal weight? I may have misremembered that entirely. But I thought that was the whole joke."
Another said: "One of my favourite stories is at a show them saying, you know why we're 182, cause Blink-181 was taken." And yet another joined the conversation, writing: "I thought a 182 was some police code for going nude in public or similar."
Meanwhile, a fourth theorised: "I'm from San Diego and there was a story I once heard that 182 is the alphabet numbers. 18th letter is R and 2nd is B which is abbreviation for Rancho Bernardo where they started the band. Not sure if there's any truth to that because I thought it was Poway where they started it, but it was a story floating around back in the day."
Keeping band name a mystery certainly hasn't impacted Blink-182's success. The band has sold more than 50 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling punk rock bands in history.
As well as this, many of their individual singles have reached RIAA certifications (Gold or Platinum in the US). Not only have they been nominated for Grammy Awards, they were also named as one of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time by NME.
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English (US) ·