Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan: 'We refuse to be a nostalgia act'

Photo: Danny North

Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has said that his band will never bow to external pressure and become "a nostalgia act".

The band are currently gearing up for the release of their new studio album 'Oceania', which is due out next year, and Corgan has said that his band will never give in to pressure from industry folk or fans and do a tour which is simply based around their classic material.

He told Kerrang!: "The Pumpkins won't be a nostalgia act, we refuse to be. That would be the true death of the Smashing Pumpkins. I've said to people in the business – we won't go out and make money by playing 'Siamese Dream' in full. We're not operating with that safety net. That isn't an option. That's off the table".

Corgan also spoke about the original demise of the Smashing Pumpkins and said that he never wanted to abandon the band, just some of their old line-up.

He added: "I never wanted to leave the Smashing Pumpkins in the first place. I wanted to leave some of the people, but not the band. I tried a bunch of different projects and they were interesting, but they weren't satisfying. The Pumpkins is only thing I've ever found in music that gives me the passion I need. When I wasn't doing it, I didn't really know what I was doing".

Check out a preview of the new material below: