Travis Barker suffers finger injury weeks before Blink-182 tour
The drummer sustained ligament damage during rehearsals
By Joe Goggins
Travis Barker has suffered a finger injury just weeks before Blink-182 return to the road.
A cryptic tweet on Tuesday (February 7) suggested that all was not well with the sticksman, as he posted simply, “Fuck.” Yesterday (February 8), he clarified the situation, saying: “I was playing the drums at rehearsals yesterday and I smashed my finger so hard I dislocated it and tore the ligaments.”
No further details were forthcoming, although Barker shared grisly images of the injury on Instagram. Blink kick off their tour in Tijuana, Mexico on March 11. It will bee their first tour with founding member Tom DeLonge since October 2014; he was replaced by Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba when he walked away from the band in order to dedicate himself full-time to the research of UFOs. He rejoined officially last October, when a new single, ‘Edging’, was released.
That was the first track to feature DeLonge for seven years; the trio subsequently announced a world tour. Their reconciliation was prompted by bassist and singer Mark Hoppus’ battle with cancer, from which he has been in remission since September 2021. A new album is expected to follow ‘Edging’; the band are scheduled to return to the UK in September. You can see their dates below.
For Barker, it marks the latest in a long line of health issues that includes his near-death in a plane crash in 2008 and an episode of pancreatitis with which he was hospitalised last June. Well wishes over the finger injury flooded in on Twitter, including from Avenged Sevenfold frontman M. Shadows, who tweeted: “Damn – nothing worse than a lingering injury on tour. Get better soon.”
For now, three has been no further comment on the injury from the band, and the tour remains scheduled to begin next month. It will run into 2024; the UK dates are as follows.
Blink-182, September 2023:
1 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
2 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
4 – Belfast, SSE Arena
October 2023:
11 – London, The O2 Arena
12 – London, The O2 Arena
14 – Birmingham, Utilita Arena
15 – Manchester, AO Arena
16 – Manchester, AO Arena