Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus says he nearly ‘made out’ with iconic ’80s male singer… and regrets not going for it

Rocker Mark Hoppus has had plenty of wild experiences as a member of Blink-182 — but he once turned down the chance to share a smooch with an ’80s icon who happened to be a man.

The bass player, 53, who accidentally revealed his cancer diagnosis online, revealed his near-kiss in an interview with The Independent while promoting his new memoir Fahrenheit-182.

Fellow bandmate Tom DeLonge had convinced Hoppus’ hero, The Cure frontman Robert Smith, to perform with the group at Wembley Stadium in 2004 singing All of This and a cover of Boys Don’t Cry.

‘It was so surreal, such a rad moment,’ he revealed.

‘I went to give him a hug and he leaned in and said, “Give me a kiss.”‘

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Rocker Mark Hoppus has had plenty of wild experiences as a member of Blink-182 — but he once turned down the chance to share a smooch with an ’80s icon who happened to be a man; Pictured in LA in 2021

The bass player, 53, who accidentally revealed his cancer diagnosis online , revealed his near-kiss in an interview with The Independent while promoting his new memoir Fahrenheit-182; Pictured in Indio, CA in April 2023

The bass player instead offered Smith his cheek, which he turned down. 

‘I wish I had done it,’ the All the Small Things singer said with a laugh. ‘It would’ve made such a better story than it almost happened.’

Hoppus, who has been happily married to cinematographer Skye Everly since 2007, said he and his fellow Blink-182 members have focused on rock and roll, more than sex and drugs throughout their long career. 

‘We weren’t really big partiers,’ the musician explained. 

‘Sometimes we’d drink or whatever, but it wasn’t part of our lifestyle. People weren’t getting hammered all the time, and there weren’t chicks backstage,’ he revealed.

‘People would literally come back, take a look around and be like, “This is f***ing boring.”‘

‘The band was always too important to us to put it at risk by doing the stuff that we saw had ruined bands,’ he said. 

The band, which includes Kourtney Kardashian’s husband Travis Barker, 49, did not want to burn out and fade away. 

‘There are so many cautionary tales out there, and don’t get me wrong we’ve gotten close on a bunch of it: we’re the band who spent a million dollars recording an album; we’ve broken up twice and gotten back together twice. We’ve done a lot of the rock’n’roll clichés, but luckily, it hasn’t been drugs and alcohol.’

Hoppus said the near-kiss happened after The Cure frontman, Robert Smith, performed with the band in 2004 at Wembley stadium in London

‘I went to give him a hug and he leaned in and said, “Give me a kiss.” I wish I had done it,’ Hoppus told The Independent. ‘It would’ve made such a better story’

Although the band has had some famously public fights,  Hoppus revealed it was his cancer diagnosis that helped bring them back together. 

‘Everybody really respects and cherishes one another,’ he declared.

‘We all love Blink and what we built, and we don’t want to mess that up any more,’ he said. ‘We have a common goal.’

The band has announced dates for its 2025 Tour, which will begin in August in Hollywood, FL and will crisscross the US through October 4.