Tom DeLonge disputes departure from Blink-182

Guitarist Tom Delonge is disputing reports he has quit Blink-182, despite an announcement from his bandmates suggesting he has already been replaced for an upcoming gig.

On Monday (26Jan15), the line-up for drummer Travis Barker's annual Musink Festival in California in March (15) was released, and when Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba was listed as Blink-182's guitarist fans started to wonder why DeLonge was no longer part of the group.

Barker and singer/bassist Mark Hoppus quickly issued a statement in which they announced their longtime bandmate would be taking an "indefinite" leave of absence from the group.

It reads: "We were all set to play this festival and record a new album and Tom kept putting it off without reason. A week before we were scheduled to go in to the studio we got an email from his manager explaining that he didn’t want to participate in any Blink-182 projects indefinitely, but would rather work on his other non-musical endeavors. No hard feelings, but the show must go on for our fans."

However, DeLonge has disputed the story in a post to Instagram.com, insisting he is not leaving the group and blaming the purported split on miscommunication.

He wrote, "To all the fans, I never quit the band. I actually was on a phone call about a Blink-182 event for New York City at the time all these weird press releases started coming in...

"Apparently those releases were ‘sanctioned’ from the band. Are we dysfunctional - yes. But, Christ….. #Awkward."

DeLonge formed the group Angels & Airwaves when Blink-182 announced an indefinite hiatus in 2005. The trio regrouped in 2009.