Tom Delonge On Possible Return To Blink-182: 'I Think About That Band Every Single Day'

Iconic US punk act Blink-182 are set to commence the next chapter of their storied career this month when they begin recording new material with what is presumably their new guitarist Matt Skiba, but as far as co-founding member and recently departed band member Tom Delonge is concerned, there may still be hope for a reunion. 

Just weeks after bassist Mark Hoppus confirmed he and drummer Travis Barker are entering the studio with Skiba, Delonge has revealed that he is "totally willing and interested in playing with those guys again."

Speaking to Billboard, the 39-year-old musician admitted people always ask for him to return to the San Diego-founded outfit, after he split ways with his band mates for a second time in January. 

"I haven't forgotten anything and I'm grateful for that band and for those guys in my life. And I think about that band every single day of my life — sometimes multiple times a day," Delonge said. 

"I love those guys and I love the band and, yeah, in the future let's play together and figure it out or whatever. We just need time apart because we all want different things at this time. Those guys want to play the music and tour all the time, but I'm involved in some very big shit and some very important stuff."

The "important stuff" Delonge refers to includes a number of projects including novels, feature films and more music with his other band, Angels & Airwaves.

"What I'm doing now is the absolute focus and at the core of what I want to do artistically," he explained.

"I've got to get these things finished before I can go back and celebrate something I did a long time ago, if that makes sense."

The frontman went on to say that he was disappointed by Hoppus' and Barker's actions earlier this year when they seemingly kicked him out of the band without his consent, though he holds no grudges. 

"Friendships are so complex when business gets intertwined with it and the root of how things started," adding that he has no hard feelings towards Skiba, who recently filled in for Delonge during some recent live shows.

"I don't mind anything. I want people to be happy," he said.

"Myself and those guys together were a very specific thing. If they want to go off and play the songs I wrote because that's what they want to do and that makes them happy and they want to make a living, that's cool."

"It's not like it makes me extraordinarily jealous and I feel like I have to be on stage with them. I'm not wired that way. It wouldn't have bothered me if they called me up and said, 'Hey, if you're really busy do you mind if we go out and do some of these things?' I would've said, 'Hell yeah, go for it.' But it just never went down that way."

Delonge's next novel, Poet Anderson...Of Nightmares is due out on 4 October, just weeks after an EP release which is to coincide with the new book, out 4 September.

Meanwhile, his former band mate Barker has also just announced the release date of his upcoming autobiography, Can I Say; Living Large, Cheating Death & Drums Drums Drums which is believed to chronicle the rise of Blink-182, as well as his near life-ending plane crash in 2008, due for release on 19 November.