Any hopes of an eventual reunion with the entirety of The Smashing Pumpkins’ original lineup have been dashed for good, with frontman Billy Corgan stating it’s never going to happen.
Over the majority of the last year, the music world had been abuzz of rumours of The Smashing Pumpkins’ reunion of their original lineup. Sadly, all this excitement turned to disappointment, frustration, and sadness rather quickly, with Billy Corgan and bassist D’arcy Wretzky reportedly unable to repair their friendship.
Back in October, Billy Corgan said that he’d love to see the original lineup of the band reunite, with James Iha on guitars, Jimmy Chamberlin on drums, and D’arcy Wretzky on bass. As talk of new music swirled, the band eventually did announce that Iha would be playing in the band for the first time since 2018, however there was one notable holdout.
As the group’s new lineup was revealed earlier this year, so was a history of strained relationships, with Wretzky distancing herself from the group, and Corgan eventually dismissing her role within the band.
Following an increasingly harsh series of correspondences between Billy Corgan and D’arcy Wretzky, the group did indeed return to the live stage recently, performing a 30th anniversary show, and even debuting new music.
However, if you’re still hoping for a sneaky reunion with Wretzky, Billy Corgan has some bad news for you.
Speaking to US radio station 98 Rock Baltimore, Billy Corgan effectively put an end to any hopes that the group’s original lineup could indeed reunite at some point in time.
“That’s water under the bridge,” Corgan began. “We spent two years trying to rebuild the bridge with her and at the end of the day she chose not to be involved.”
“We made every effort to involve her, including offering her the ability that not even have to be on the tour. She could show up at any time, she could play as much as she wanted to play.”
“She insisted that even though she hasn’t been on stage in 19 years that she play every song,” he continued. “And we were like, ‘This is just an unrealistic thing for somebody who hasn’t been on stage for 19 years to expect you to play a 3 hour show.’”
“Ultimately what it came down to is that she didn’t really wanna be involved,” he explained. “It was like a [game] of chicken, and eventually we called her bluff and we made a decision to move on.”
“It was the right decision and although we regret that it wasn’t able to happen because we really, really did try for the fans because we listen, we knew what people were asking of us. At the end of the day we’re a professional rock ‘n’ roll unit. I mean, we’re all tired – playing a 3 hour show is no joke – I’m 51, Jimmy I think is 53, 54, James is 50. You know, we’re not young kids anymore.”
“You’re asking people to get a babysitter, drive down to the arena, watch a long show, and we have to give our absolute best, and that’s what we’re doing. So yeah, that’s water under the bridge. It’s a shame but that’s what it is.”
Of course, when you consider the fact that both the Eagles and Guns N’ Roses named their ‘Hell Freezes Over‘ and ‘Not In This Lifetime‘ tours over remarks that band members made while dismissing the possibility of a reunion, we can’t yet rule out The Smashing Pumpkins’ 40th anniversary ‘Water Under The Bridge’ tour.
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