The Smashing Pumpkins were inspired by metal in a digital age to create a sound that, after their current tour, will be laid to rest
Riaan Wolmarans
It was very disappointing when, a few years ago, the Smashing Pumpkins were on their way to South Africa – and the concerts were cancelled. Then the band announced their break-up this year, and it seemed we were destined to miss out on yet another already legendary rock band, just like we’ll never see The Pixies or Nirvana perform here.
Luckily, 5fm kept to its promise of big names for the Edgars 5fm 25th Birthday Concert on November 11, and Billy Corgan and company will be headlining the day’s celebrations, along with British rockers James and local luminaries Springbok Nude Girls, Boo!, Fetish and a posse of top DJs from Reality in Jo’burg. They also play in Durban at the Westridge Stadium on November 12 and in Cape Town at the Big Arena on November 14.
The multiple award-winning Pumpkins have been travelling on an intense and fast-paced road to fame ever since Corgan got together with guitarist James Iha, forming the Pumpkins in 1988, at first comprising only the two of them with a drum machine. Later that year drummer Jimmy Chamberlin joined and bassist D’Arcy was also added to the roster. They were not the Pumpkins we know and love today – Chamberlin described the band at the time as “atrocious”.
They started performing and touring more often, and then convinced producer Butch Vig to help them put together their debut full-length album, Gish (named after actress Lillian Gish, who greatly impressed Corgan’s grandmother). Gish was released at the same time as Nirvana’s Nevermind, the other project Vig had been working on.
Gish was somewhat overshadowed by Kurt Cobain and his band’s smash debut, but nevertheless established the Pumpkins as a force to be reckoned with, leading to the band’s first major tour and eventually selling more than 350 000 copies.
Intense deliberation and work had gone into Gish in the studio, especially from Corgan – this remained true for all the band’s albums thereafter.
After the long and hectic Gish tour, the band started recording Siamese Dream (so titled because “we are all living the dream”, according to Corgan), but not without problems: Chamberlin became addicted to drugs in this period and suffered an emotional breakdown, Iha and D’Arcy’s romantic relationship ended, Corgan was in therapy. Fame and high expectations of the band were taking their toll.
Siamese Dream took five months of meticulous recording and entered the Billboard charts at number 10 in 1993. The ensuing tour impressed critics and fans alike. Siamese Dream eventually went four times platinum, selling more than four million copies.
A collection of b-sides, Pisces Iscariot, also went platinum. Still, not all was well. Some of their live performances angered fans, with the band refusing to play any of their well-known songs.
The year 1995 saw the band recording and releasing the magnificent double album Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness, with new producer Flood (reportedly dropping Vig because the band wanted a change, avoiding the sound of past Pumpkins records). Mellon Collie entered the Billboard charts at number one, with the first single the killer rock of Bullet with Butterfly Wings.
Mellon Collie sold more than eight million units in the United States alone, making it the most successful double album in history.
Also in 1995, Jonathan Melvoin joined the Pumpkins as a touring keyboard player. He was taking more and more drugs with Chamberlin – and then tragedy struck in 1996. Melvoin died of an overdose; Chamberlin survived but was arrested. This resulted in Chamberlin being fired from the band. On the upside, the Pumpkins won seven MTV Video Awards that year, followed by an American Music Award as well as a Grammy in 1997.
By the end of 1997, Corgan told reporters that Mellon Collie was the last album that would sound like the Pumpkins up to that point – the band wanted to explore more electronic sounds. Sure enough, Adore in 1998 had a strong electronic element, with drum machines, samples and synths. It made its debut at number two and went platinum, but didn’t sell nearly as well as the band hoped – fans seemed to prefer the band’s former rock sound. Corgan in turn blamed fans for being disloyal.
A rehabilitated Chamberlin returned to the band in 1999, but the year ended with bassist D’Arcy leaving to pursue other endeavours (Hole’s Melissa Auf der Maur will be playing bass). Despite this setback, in 2000 the band released Machina: The Machines of God, a finely crafted but ultimately unimpressive concept-type album. Not long after, the band’s break-up was announced.
“I’ve taken pop songwriting as far as it can go,” Corgan said in a Rolling Stone interview. The Pumpkins released a last full-length album, Machina II: Friends and Enemies of Modern Music, in September, but only printed 25 vinyl copies – fans will have to hunt down bootlegs.
While the Pumpkins have given superb and electrifying shows during the last 15 years, they also unexpectedly disappointed at times, giving unimpressive acoustic performances with no hits included, for example. One can only hope that they give their all for what will be one of their very last performances.
A band sure not to disappoint is the other big attraction, the seven-member James from Manchester, with Tim Booth on vocals. James have been rocking for 18 years and have brought out massive pop-rock anthems such as Sit Down and Laid.
South Africans Springbok Nude Girls and Boo! (who have both just released new albums) as well as the sublime Fetish never disappoint either – although we have seen these bands so often that they become harder to appreciate.
Tickets for the concerts are available at Ticketweb (www.ticketweb.co.za or Tel: 0861 400500)