Tom DeLonge Says Punk Has 'Nothing To Do With Music At All' 2016 In Review

(TeamRock) Tom DeLonge made news in August when he said that punk rock has "nothing to do with music at all." The former Blink-182 singer and guitarist recalls how his encounters with both the late Joe Strummer from The Clash and Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher inspired him to broaden his musical horizons - a move which earned him criticism from his bandmates later in his career.

In an interview for guitar string makers Ernie Ball, DeLonge says of meeting Strummer: "I asked him, 'What was it like being in The Clash?' He goes, 'You know, we used to go around saying: F*** you, we're The Clash, - but now that I think about it, the Talking Heads were pretty f***ing cool. Don't close your mind.' I was like, 'Wow, the King of Punk is telling me: Open your mind up.'"

Two days later DeLonge met Gallagher backstage at a radio show in Detroit - where the Oasis man told Blink-182 they were the "best" band he'd seen in America.

DeLonge adds: "I asked, 'You like us?' and Liam said, 'I didn't say that, I said, 'You're the best I've seen in America,' and he slammed the door. That was the most punk rock dude I've ever met in my life." Read more here.