A while ago American Punk Rock band Blink-182 almost broke the internet when they announced that Tom DeLonge is back in the band and that they would also embarking on a World Tour in 2023/2024.
Many South African Blink-182 fans were disappointed when they found out that the band would not be making their way here on their planned tour. Out of desperation, a fan even started a Change.org petition (which has been signed by more than 1900 fans to date) to convince the band to make their way to the Southern-most country in Africa.
Kudos to the person who thought about this, but I have my doubts about whether this will REALLY grab the band’s attention, so I decided to try a little something something on Running Wolf’s Rant.
This is an Open Letter to Blink-182
Dear Tom, Mark and Travis
The first time I heard a Blink-182 song was in 1999. I remember it like it was yesterday. At the time I was 22 years old. It was Christmas day and I was spending the day with my family at my aunt’s place in Johannesburg (the biggest city in South Africa).
To be honest, I was bored out of my skull that day, but my cousin Rudez (God bless her soul) was listening to Enema Of The State on repeat and it caught my ear. Her parents bought her the CD for Christmas.
Being a fan of rock and punk rock, the soothing sounds of the album made the day more bearable (and it magically improved the taste of my beer). You guys were my introduction to Pop Punk and your music reminded me that we were all human and should NOT be taken ourselves too seriously. In a way, you saved Christmas that year – so, thanks for that.
Like many peeps of my generation, your music prominently featured on the soundtrack of my life (especially in my twenties). It’s almost like Blink-182 followed me around wherever I went. You guys deserve a high-five for stalking me, to be honest (and for the record, high-fives are not lame, in case you were wondering).
I was overjoyed when I found out that Tom was part of the band and that you were planning to tour again, but disappointed when I found out that South Africa was not on the list.
I’m not trying to be a prick, but to be frank, you can’t really call it a World Tour if you don’t come to Africa, so please considering adding some South African Cities (like Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town) on your list of cities that are part of your tour. There are plenty of rock-loving show-hungry Blink-182 fans down here that are eager to experience you guys live.
In case you did not know, South Africa has world-class event arenas and well-run festivals in most of its metropolitan areas, so you have options. A ton of international bands have played here and many of them can tell you how awesome our country is and how amazing it is to play a show here. In fact, I think that you’re missing out on some awesome vibes.
I hope that this letter convinces you to come and hang out with us. Hope to see you here in 2023 or 2024.
Yours sincerely,
Henno Kruger (on behalf of all the Blink-182 fans in Mzansi).
Well, I feel that I’ve done my bit, so fellow Blink-182 fans, it’s time to do your bit to get these 3 boytjies down to South Africa. Let’s break the internet!
Share the crap out of this on Social Media and tag the band in your posts. Fingers crossed that they’ll consider coming to South Africa in 2023/24.
Watch this space for updates in the Music category on Running Wolf’s Rant.
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1 Comment
Sad reality is that even if they come, it will be so expensive that only the band will be able to afford tickets…