4 June 2025

Mark Hoppus Q&A: “Enjoy every second and rage against the dying of the light”

The musician on London’s history, music before the internet, and European showers.

Mark Hoppus was born in 1972 in Ridgecrest, California. He is the bassist for the punk-pop band Blink-182, which he co-founded in 1992. He is the only band member to appear on all of the group’s nine studio albums.

What’s your earliest memory?

I was in my parents’ closet looking for something and ended up playing with an empty spool of thread – this is how boring it was in the desert in early 1970s in California.

Who are your heroes?

Growing up, it was my mom’s dad, Alan. He was a soldier in World War II. He fought through the war and liberated concentration camps. When he got back to the States he became a teacher. After going through probably the most brutal experience a human can go through, he came back and decided that he wanted to help educate kids and become a kind person. My hero as an adult is my wife.

What book last changed your thinking?

I read East of Eden for the first time maybe two years ago and I was blown away by it. I’d always know that John Steinbeck was a great writer but that story specifically affected me a lot.

What would be your “Mastermind” specialist subject?

I know a lot about the City of London, its history and its inhabitants. I have always been fascinated by London. When we would tour over here my wife and I would come over a week early and we’d stay a week later. We loved it so much that we moved to London for three years; our son went to school here. I love walking through the city and learning about English history.

In which time and place, other than your own, would you like to live?

I’d like to go back to the early 1990s before the internet – with Sonic Youth, Nirvana and great bands like that. I miss the thingness of things, the joy of finding an object that you didn’t know was there before. It’s different than finding something new on the internet that you just download.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Right before I got married my mum gave me some advice. She said that marriage is very rarely even 50/50 – it’s more of a shifting 60/40, and sometimes even 70/30. That’s really given me a lot of perspective, Knowing that it’s not always equal: sometimes you lean on the other person and sometimes they lean on you.

What’s currently bugging you?

European showers are the worst experience in the world. The fact that you don’t have shower doors is ridiculous to me. I’ve showered from the dirtiest punk-rock clubs to the nicest hotels, and no matter where I take a shower there’s always a soaking wet bathroom floor with a wet towel in it.

What single thing would make your life better?

I’m blessed beyond blessed. There is nothing in the world that could make my life better other than time with my band and time with my family.

When were you happiest?

I’m happiest creating a song with Tom and Travis. The moment of creation in the studio, where somebody has an idea and somebody else says, “What about this?” and it improves the song.