Ongoing History Daily: We’ve been pronouncing “Blink-182” all wrong

October 23, 2023 Alan Cross 0 Comments 0 min read

We apparently need to talk about how to pronounce “Blink-182” because we’ve been doing it wrong all these years.

According to Tom DeLonge in a Twitter exchange with TV host James Corden earlier this year, it’s not “blink-one-eighty-two” (the standard North American presentation) or “blink-one-eight-two” (the way the British do it). Tom says it really should be “blink-eighteen-two.” Here’s the alleged explanation.

Tom went to Poway High School in California. Their rival was Rancho Bernardo High. “Blink-182” was Poway High code for “F- Rancho Bernardo” because “R” is the 18^th letter of the alphabet and “B” is the second. Ergo “18-2.”

Believe Tom if you want, but I don’t think he’s going to have much success in convincing the world to change things now.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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