One of the most-talked about topics in the world of rock music in recent months would undoubtedly have to be the will-they, won’t-they nature of the Smashing Pumpkins’ recent reunion tour announcement. However, frontman Billy Corgan has seemingly continued to distance himself from the group’s original bassist, D’arcy Wretzky, saying a reunion involving her would be like a “shitty reality show“.

Speaking to Metallica’s Lars Ulrich recently for his It’s Electric podcast, Corgan opened up in regards to the controversy between himself and Wretzky, with Ulrich giving the frontman a chance to explain his side of the story.

Corgan revealed how he had been in contact with D’arcy Wretzky over the last two years, despite not having seen each other face-to-face for almost 20 years. While the calls were apparently “very pleasant”, Corgan noted that “when it became obvious that it wasn’t the way she wanted it to be, it turned into this other thing that was reminiscent of the past.”

While the group reportedly feel “very comfortable” continuing this reunion without her, Corgan attempted to explain why the relationship seemed doomed to fail from the start.

“If you’re really not passionate about what you do and you’re not passionate about providing that passion to fans by extension and saying, ‘Look we really love what we do and we want to share this with you’,” Corgan began. “If that relationship is not at the heart of what you do, then what are you doing?”

“The thing that keeps you on the rudder is the music and the fact that somehow when the three of us [Corgan, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, and guitarist James Iha] come together, this magical thing happens that’s bigger than me, and I have no problem admitting to that,” he continued.

“And if that’s not your guiding principle, then it’s a shitty reality show. And we don’t want the shitty reality show, we really don’t. We’d rather just stay on the music, and if we can do that, great.”

The Smashing Pumpkins’ ‘reunion’ tour is set to kick off in July, but at this stage, there’s no word as to whether Australia will get a look in for the upcoming tour dates.

Check out Billy Corgan’s interview with Lars Ulrich on It’s Electric:

The article was originally published on Tone Deaf