Billy Corgan to re-form Smashing Pumpkins

Two-time Grammy Award-winning band Smashing Pumpkins, one of the most popular and acclaimed alternative groups of the 1990s, is set to reunite, according to frontman Billy Corgan.

The original members of Smashing Pumpkins (clockwise from top left): guitarist James Iha, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, bassist D'Arcy Wretzky, and singer Billy Corgan. The Grammy Award-winning band, seen here in 1995, was one of the biggest rock acts of the 1990s. (AP Photo/Virgin Records)

Reunion rumours began in earnest when Corgan, who formed the band with bassist D'Arcy Wretzky and guitarist James Iha in 1988, took out a full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune last summer announcing his intention to re-form the band.

Now, according to a note on smashingpumpkins.com, a new album is in the works.

"It's official, the Smashing Pumpkins are currently writing songs for their upcoming album, their first since 2000," the simple white-on-white website says.

"No release date has yet been set, but the band plans to begin recording this summer."

However, there is no mention of whether original members Wretzky and Iha will return. They were known to have a tense and sometimes rocky relationship with Corgan (Wretzky's departure in 2000 foreshadowed the band's demise at the end of that year).

Original drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, who has continued to work with Corgan over the years, has stated he is part of the new project.

Bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur, who replaced Wretzky during the band's last few months in 2000, told MTV earlier this year that while she hasn't yet been asked to participate, she is open to it.

The band's last album, Machina II: The Friends and Enemies of Modern Music, was released as a free Internet download in 2000. The band played what was touted to be its last gig in December of 2000.

Smashing Pumpkins shot to fame in 1993 with the release of their critically acclaimed second album, Siamese Dream.

The band's other credits include the B-sides and rarities album Pisces Iscariot, the blockbuster double-disc album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and the less successful Adore, released in 1998.