"Straight up it’s a little gross."
Blink-182 fans are taking urinal mats... (Urinal image via KhAoS182)
You’ll usually find hardcore fans pissing away their money at the merch stand when their favourite band rolls into town, but some blink-182 diehards, who are a wee too excited, are taking things to disgusting new heights.
The pop punk icons, whose reunion tour will make its way to Australia early next year, recently toured across Europe, and dedicated fans have been sharing unique keepsakes… they’ve been taking from venue urinals.
The urinal mats at certain shows have the blink-182 logo printed on them, and it wasn’t long before they started going missing.
Blink-182 fan Kieran, who saw the band in Manchester, told The Music he has one framed with other memorabilia from the band’s 2012 UK tour.
“Me and my closest friend went to the toilets and we saw them. A random guy said to everyone peeing, ‘Will anyone judge me if I take one?’ Everyone just laughed, thinking it was a joke.
“I was like, ‘Well, fuck, I am taking mine, but I’ve just pissed on it, better to hold my pee than someone else’s, I guess. So, I ran to the sink with it and soaked it in the sink with soap and hand wash and sanitiser and dried it off and then sanitised it again.”
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For fan Matt, his urinal mat acquisition was more calculated.
“I’d seen pics posted on Reddit and thought it was a cool little piece,” Matt said. “From a collector’s standpoint, they weren’t used on the US tour, so felt a little exclusive.
“It was premeditated, I came prepared with a little sandwich bag that I could use as a glove and keep it sealed in my pocket. I saw them when I first went in but the toilets were a bit busy. I waited until I had a couple more drinks, and next toilet was a bit emptier and I just grabbed it and walked out.”
Others in various fan groups didn’t share their excitement though, commenting:
What.....and I cannot stress this enough....the fk?!
No no no no no no
That’s so nasty
I’d consider myself obsessed with blink, but fuck me
That’s fucking gross
Matt admitted that it’s “straight up it’s a little gross”.
“I get it! Probably got pissed on a lot but I’ve cleaned toilets before and I have a young son, [so I] stopped being precious about piss a long time ago. That’s what soap and antibac is for, right? If they were in actual toilets and not urinals, I’d have sacked off the plan (or brought a hazmat suit).”
Kieran added “a lot of people have been grossed out but also impressed and calling it a god move etc., which is weird”.
Blink-182’s long-awaited new album, One More Time…, is out this Friday before they venture to Australia in February.