Billy Corgan thinks Smashing Pumpkins are "one of the most misunderstood bands in the history of rock 'n' roll"

6 March 2025, 10:53 | Updated: 20 March 2025, 12:10

By Jenny Mensah

The Smashing Pumpkins frontman has talked about the perception of his band and how he approached fame in the 90s.

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Billy Corgan thinks The Smashing Pumpkins are "one of the most misunderstood bands in the history of rock 'n' roll".

The Today rocker has argued that the band will probably be appreciated and understood much more as time goes on and will survive negative perceptions of them like Nickelback and Creed.

Speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, The 57-year-old frontman said: "You're about to see that Nickelback and Creed are about go on a huge run of business... They survived (the hate), and now comes the inevitable moment of, 'It was really good'... they wrote a lot of great songs.

"It's kind of how I feel about my musical life. Time will tell my story much better than I did."

"We're probably one of the most misunderstood bands in the history of rock 'n' roll," added the 1979 singer. That sounds like a wrestling statement, but it's fairly accurate."

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However, Corgan has admitted that his relationship with the media and approach to fame when the band were first on the rise probably didn't help matters.

He mused: "I think it has a lot to do with the issues of Gen X, and it has a lot to do with a relationship that I set into motion with the media when I was a very young person, playing kind of a funny game - like doing my own version of Andy Kaufman or Bob Zmuda. Because I thought it was all s*****, so I was just like, 'I'm just going to play with this like a toy because I think it's kind of funny'."

He went on: "I didn't realise that the coming culture was going to kind of almost be attracted to people who are willing to immolate themselves on the public stage.

"Most people who are attracted to fame, they want to run towards the shiny part of it. I was attracted to the non-shiny part, which is, 'Okay, I'll light myself on fire and see what happens', or, 'I'll light you on fire and let's see what happens'.

"So, it kind of worked in the 90s when everybody was rolling and moving along. Well, here comes Napster, the music business craters, then a bunch of people die, and there you are at 40 years old, you’re supposed to carry some flag for a generation that doesn’t even know who it is anymore."

Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight, Tonight at The O2, London

Despite Corgan's comments The Smashing Pumpkins are still drawing in audiences around the world and continue to be prominent names on festival sets.

This summer will see the rockers - completed by James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlin and their touring guitarist Kiki Wong - play exciting UK shows as part of their 2025 Aghori tour, including their biggest UK headline show to date at London’s Gunnersbury Park.

The Gish rockers will joined by special guests, post punk indie outfit White Lies and fellow ‘90s alt rockers Skunk Anansie, who will join them in London and Colchester only.

Tickets for their dates are on sale now.