+44 (band)

+44
+44 performing in 2006. From left to right: Craig Fairbaugh, Travis Barker, Mark Hoppus, and Shane Gallagher.
Background information
Also known as	Plus 44
Origin	Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Pop punk alternative rock emo electronic rock
Years active	2005–2009
Labels	Interscope
Associated acts	Blink-182 Transplants TRV$DJAM The Nervous Return Expensive Taste Juliette and the Licks Mercy Killers Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards
Past members	Mark Hoppus Travis Barker Carol Heller Shane Gallagher Craig Fairbaugh

+44 (read as Plus Forty-four) was an American rock supergroup formed in Los Angeles, California in 2005. The group consisted of vocalist and bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker of Blink-182, lead guitarist Shane Gallagher of The Nervous Return and rhythm guitarist Craig Fairbaugh of Mercy Killers. Hoppus and Barker created +44 shortly after the 2005 breakup of Blink-182, and the band's name refers to the international dialing code of the United Kingdom, the country where the duo first discussed the project. Early recordings were largely electronic in nature, and featured vocals by Carol Heller, formerly of the all-girl punk quartet Get the Girl.

The band's sound gradually took on a heavier tone as Hoppus and Barker purchased a studio in which to record. Although hotly anticipated by music press, the band's debut, When Your Heart Stops Beating (2006), undersold commercial expectations and received mixed reviews from critics. The group toured worldwide throughout 2006 and 2007, including a summer slot on the Honda Civic Tour alongside Fall Out Boy. Hoppus later began preparing material for a solo album and put plans for a second +44 album on hold in 2008, and the group entered an extended hiatus with the reunion of Blink-182 in 2009. On the subject of the band's future, Hoppus has commented, "I don't consider it done. We'll never say never with anything."

By 2004, Blink-182, consisting of bassist Mark Hoppus, guitarist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker, had emerged as the biggest pop punk act of the era, releasing the seven-times-multiplatinum Enema of the State (1999) and number one album Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (2001). The band took a brief break in 2002 when DeLonge suffered a herniated disc in his back, during which time he collected several darker musical ideas he felt unsuitable for Blink-182, compiling them into a record, Box Car Racer. The album, recorded with the help of Hazen Street guitarist and longtime friend David Kennedy, was intended as a one-time experimental project but evolved into a full-fledged band with Barker behind the kit. The side project would cause great division between DeLonge and Hoppus, who was not included and felt betrayed. The moody subject matter and music on Box Car Racer edged its way into the Blink sound as well, and the band explored experimentalist elements on their next effort, an eponymous fifth studio album (2003).