The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan recently opened up about his past relationship with Bush’s Gavin Rossdale. He revealed how a direct confrontation in the 1990s led to mutual respect between the two musicians.
During The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan podcast, he reflected on a moment from the ’90s when Rossdale confronted him about critical comments he had made publicly about Bush.
The Smashing Pumpkins leader described how Rossdale’s direct approach changed his perspective entirely. Rossdale directly confronted Corgan about his negative comments. Corgan appreciated the straightforwardness and openness of the approach.
“You reminded me of the first time we ever really talked,” Corgan told Rossdale. “I love and respect this about you to this day. We were somewhere at something, God knows where the f*ck we were in the ’90s. But and I saw you and I thought, ‘Oh god.’ Because I’d said dumb sh*t about you.”
The Smashing Pumpkins leader described how Rossdale’s direct approach changed his perspective entirely.
“And you came up and you said, ‘Why are you saying these things about me and my band?’” Corgan continued. “And we had this kind of conversation where I was very honest with you about my impressions and you said, ‘Okay.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, he’s a good guy.’”
Corgan explained how this encounter fundamentally shifted their relationship and his view of Rossdale as an artist.
“And that became, I don’t want to say it’s a relationship, but we’ve had this like beautiful kind of connection ever since then,” he said. “It was like the first time I saw he’s a real person not a construction or not a record company fiction.”
