The Smashing Pumpkins announce huge outdoor London concert
The Smashing Pumpkins have announced a huge outdoor concert in London.
Billy Corgan and co are set to rock Gunnersbury Park on Sunday, August 10, with special guests Skunk Anansie and White Lies, with more acts set to be added to the bill in due course.
It will mark the alternative rockers' first UK concert since they surprise-released the album 'Aghori Mhori Mei' in August.
Tickets go on general sale at 10am on Friday (14.02.25) via www.ticketmaster.co.uk.
The last time they were in the British capital was in June 2024, and it was a family affair, as Billy's children joined him on stage at their sold-out show at The O2.
During their rendition of 'Beguiled', the 57-year-old frontman's son Augustus, eight, and five-year-old daughter Philomena - who he has with wife Chloe Mendel - walked out in front of the crowd, where they waved and adorably showed off their dance moves.
As well as tracks from 'Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts', fans got to hear classics such as 'Zero', 'Today', 'Tonight, Tonight', '1979' and 'Bullet with the Butterfly Wings'.
Away from their own songs, fans were also treated to a cover of U2's 'Zoo Station' early in their set.
Meanwhile, Billy previously insisted he refuses to succumb to fan pressure by playing the Smashing Pumpkins’ greatest hits at their gigs.
During an interview with Kerrang, he said: “I don't play any songs I don't want to play. I don't care if they're a classic or not.
“If I don't want to play it, I just don't play it. I don't put that on the audience like, ‘Well, I've got to play this one for you.’ I think that's kind of cheese.”
The ‘Mayonnaise' singer added the band wanted to pique concertgoers’ curiosity by playing their lesser-known songs.
He explained: “Here’s the best way I would say it: the best show for me would be, you're a fan that really is mostly focused on the older music.
“You come and you hear those songs you think, ‘Wow, those sound great, band sounds great. The voice is still there.’ You feel good about your decision to come to the show.
“But then you might hear five, six, seven other songs, and you find yourself going, ‘I don't know this one,’ so you look up one, and go, ‘Oh, that was a deep cut from 1996. I didn't know that one. It was some B-side. That's interesting.’
“And then someone making the same discovery about your new stuff, but thinking it was old. I'm not talking about causing confusion. I'm talking about having the person be curious about that.”
Billy stressed that living in the "past would lead to the “death of any artist”.
He said: “It comes from a good thing, which is that people really love your music, you know what I mean? It's not a bad thing that they want to hear songs that they love. But you can't live in the past. It's the death of any artist.”
Billy Corgan and co are set to rock Gunnersbury Park on Sunday, August 10, with special guests Skunk Anansie and White Lies, with more acts set to be added to the bill in due course.
It will mark the alternative rockers' first UK concert since they surprise-released the album 'Aghori Mhori Mei' in August.
Tickets go on general sale at 10am on Friday (14.02.25) via www.ticketmaster.co.uk.
The last time they were in the British capital was in June 2024, and it was a family affair, as Billy's children joined him on stage at their sold-out show at The O2.
During their rendition of 'Beguiled', the 57-year-old frontman's son Augustus, eight, and five-year-old daughter Philomena - who he has with wife Chloe Mendel - walked out in front of the crowd, where they waved and adorably showed off their dance moves.
As well as tracks from 'Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts', fans got to hear classics such as 'Zero', 'Today', 'Tonight, Tonight', '1979' and 'Bullet with the Butterfly Wings'.
Away from their own songs, fans were also treated to a cover of U2's 'Zoo Station' early in their set.
Meanwhile, Billy previously insisted he refuses to succumb to fan pressure by playing the Smashing Pumpkins’ greatest hits at their gigs.
During an interview with Kerrang, he said: “I don't play any songs I don't want to play. I don't care if they're a classic or not.
“If I don't want to play it, I just don't play it. I don't put that on the audience like, ‘Well, I've got to play this one for you.’ I think that's kind of cheese.”
The ‘Mayonnaise' singer added the band wanted to pique concertgoers’ curiosity by playing their lesser-known songs.
He explained: “Here’s the best way I would say it: the best show for me would be, you're a fan that really is mostly focused on the older music.
“You come and you hear those songs you think, ‘Wow, those sound great, band sounds great. The voice is still there.’ You feel good about your decision to come to the show.
“But then you might hear five, six, seven other songs, and you find yourself going, ‘I don't know this one,’ so you look up one, and go, ‘Oh, that was a deep cut from 1996. I didn't know that one. It was some B-side. That's interesting.’
“And then someone making the same discovery about your new stuff, but thinking it was old. I'm not talking about causing confusion. I'm talking about having the person be curious about that.”
Billy stressed that living in the "past would lead to the “death of any artist”.
He said: “It comes from a good thing, which is that people really love your music, you know what I mean? It's not a bad thing that they want to hear songs that they love. But you can't live in the past. It's the death of any artist.”
