Music
19 Oct 23

Blink-182's Mark Hoppus had to relearn how to play bass after chemotherapy

Blink-182's bassist Mark Hoppus revealed in an interview released today that he had to 'relearn the bass' after chemotherapy treatment for a rare kind of lymphoma

In an interview for Apple Music with Zane Lowe it was revealed that bassist Mark Hoppus had to relearn his craft after being diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma in 2021.

Hoppus described relearning the bass as part of 'healing through the band', who reunited in 2021 after quashing a dispute that had spanned 17 years.

He said 'I didn’t know that blink-182 would ever get back together or that I would ever share a stage with Tom [De Longe, lead guitarist]. I told management, I told Travis [Barker, drummer] , I told everybody; I’m not setting foot on stage again with that dude. Not a chance".

The reuniting of the original line up was brought about after Hoppus was diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma in 2021, which acted as a catalyst for the band to resolve their old disputes. Hoppus told Lowe: “I got sick… But Tom was always like, ‘We’re going to get you through this'”.

In a heartfelt interview, the bassist shared that once he got the 'all clear from his cancer diagnosis he was "a fucking hollow... just a shell".

The singer describes feeling 'shitty, weak, brain eaten, with the chemotherapy and pain'.

However his "healing through the band" came through being back in the studio where he had to relearn how to play bass and work with a vocal coach as the chemotherapy had wrecked his vocal cords.

Hoppus said: "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".

The interview was released today along with the emotional single 'You Don't Know What You've Got', which deals with Hoppus' struggle with cancer. The track is their sixth and final single released from their upcoming reunion album ONE MORE TIME which is out tomorrow Friday 20th.

The rock trio who had to cancelled their Dublin tour date in September 2023 due to an urgent family emergency have confirmed rescheduled tour dates last night.

Fans can preorder ONE MORE TIME here.