Stereoboard Tour of the Week – Smashing Pumpkins - Tickets Onsale 10am Friday
Friday, 09 September 2011
Written by Rob Sleigh
As the return of grunge approaches with the imminent 20-year anniversary of Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’, we’re sure you’ll be somewhat over the moon to learn that another ‘90s alt-rock icon Billy Corgan is back once again with the latest incarnation of his ever-changing Smashing Pumpkins. In addition to the band’s most recent line-up, Corgan also brings with him a new tour and a new album… kinda.
Fans may remember a couple of years ago when, following the departure of original drummer Jimmy Chamberlain – who left Corgan as the band’s last remaining founding member – the Pumpkins opted to release their latest effort in instalments as a 44-track concept album entitled ‘Teargarden by Kaleidoscope’. Well, two years, two volumes and several MP3 downloads later and the concept is still going. This time around, the latest chapter in the series comes in the form of the band’s ninth album ‘Oceania’, which is due for release later this year.
Speaking of Nirvana and 20 years since the ‘birth’ of grunge, let’s not forget, of course, that the same year that saw the release of ‘Nevermind’ was also the year that the Smashing Pumpkins first unleashed their own music on the world with the release of their debut ‘Gish’. Although the album has since been overshadowed by its two successors, 1993’s ‘Siamese Dream’ and 1995’s ‘Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness’, it remains a favourite among fans, who consider it to be an underrated alt-rock classic.
In 2000, following the release of their fifth album ‘Machina/The Machine of Gods’ and its free sequel ‘Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music’, the Smashing Pumpkins announced that they would be calling it a day after 12 years together. In the preceding few years, the band had experienced a number of trying incidents including the departure of original bassist D’arcy and the dismissal and subsequent re-enrolment of drummer Jimmy Chamberlain. On the latter occasion, Chamberlain had been fired from the Pumpkins after both he and the band’s touring keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin had suffered a heroin overdose during a 1996 US tour. Tragically, Melvoin died as a result of the incident, while Chamberlain was asked to leave the band for the sake of his health. However, he was invited to rejoin the Pumpkins three years later to help record their final two albums before their ultimate break-up.
During the six years that followed the split, Corgan released his own solo album ‘The Future Embrace’ and worked on a number of other projects including the soundtrack for the 2002 film ‘Spun’. However, it wasn’t long before his absence from the band led to a yearning that prompted the subsequent return of the Smashing Pumpkins in 2006. Despite his troubles in the band prior to their split, Chamberlain was the only original member of the group to join Corgan for the reunion and the two founding members went on to release the Smashing Pumpkins’ seventh album ‘Zeitgeist’ the following year.
Although Chamberlain has since left the band (again), the Smashing Pumpkins will be back later this year with a new album and, more importantly, a new UK tour. OK, it may not be the original line-up, but no doubt we can expect some original songs at the November dates. ‘Cherub Rock’, ‘Today’, ‘Bullet with Butterfly Wings, ‘1979’, ‘Tonight, Tonight’, the list goes on…
Smashing Pumpkins UK & Ireland Tour Dates are as follows:
Fri November 11th 2011 - Apollo Manchester, Manchester
Sun November 13th 2011 - Glasgow Academy, Glasgow
Mon November 14th 2011 - O2 Academy Newcastle, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Tue November 15th 2011 - Brixton Academy, London
Wed November 16th 2011 - Brixton Academy, London
Fri November 18th 2011 - O2 Academy Sheffield, Sheffield
Sat November 19th 2011 - O2 Academy Birmingham, Birmingham
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