Cape Town-based musician, husband and father, Shaun Oliver, is one of the biggest blink-182 fans. He’s also one of the loveliest, most upbeat chaps you’ll ever meet. I met Shaun years ago when he was part of folk-pop-punk outfit, Satanic Dagga Orgy, and even after he left the band, he remained a champion of the scene in several forms.
In 2023, Shaun and his lovely wife Jess were supposed to attend blink’s One More Time show in London, but two months before they were due to leave, their seven-month-old daughter was diagnosed with retinoblastoma. So instead of travelling, they spent several gruelling months in the oncology ward.
Their daughter unfortunately lost her right eye and endured 16 rounds of chemotherapy, not only to save her life but also to shrink the tumours in her other eye so it could be treated and saved.
Throughout their whole ordeal, Shawn was strong and positive, and now his friends have band together to help him fulfil his lifelong dream of watching blink-182 live in Atlanta this September.
I feel like helping him live out his boyhood dream of watching our fave pop punk delinquents live, would be a real sweet way to turn a missed opportunity into the memory of a lifetime.
