(Credits: Far Out / Billy Corgan)
Fri 20 February 2026 13:00, UK
According to Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan, there’s only one rock band on the planet that every other rock star name-checks. “So what does that tell you?” he said.
Looking at Corgan’s tapas of influences, this could literally mean anybody. As someone who loves to blend different styles and genres, many of Corgan’s influences stretch far and wide, covering everything you might expect, from 1960s legends to pioneers of gothic rock. In 1990, he gave a glimpse into his main heroes, telling Tribune he was into “‘60s mega-rock bands like Cream, Black Sabbath, the Stooges, Blue Cheer, Led Zeppelin,” also known as “your monsters of rock”.
While it’s easy to detect many of those throughlines in much of the Pumpkins’ material, one of the biggest things Corgan learned from his heroes was that standing out was never a bad thing. In fact, in the early days, he recalls being told that they’d never make it if they stayed in Chicago, a remark that he naturally ignored and proved wrong as a result.
Corgan has had to operate against the grain in many other ways, too. In fact, years back, he discussed his gripe with modern technology, effectively saying that it was shaping the modern musical landscape into a place where certain people were favoured over others. In a world where success in music is a massive numbers game, his views make complete sense.
However, one of the bands that taught him the value of paying no mind to all those metrics that others seem to care so much about is one that he claims every rock icon name-checks at every given opportunity; Rush. In his view, Rush were never conventionally successful; they weren’t prolific on the covers of magazines or in any other sense, they, in Corgan’s view, existed solely for their fans.
This is a valuable observation in today’s landscape – and any in history, for that matter. When artists look and feel authentic, they have organic appeal and are far more likely to have a longer cultural impact and withstand the test of time. According to Corgan, Rush’s ability to be great without all the pretentious embellishments is what makes them one of the greatest bands of all time.
Discussing this with Track Star’s Testing Billy Corgan’s Knowledge, the musician explained why they rose to the top, doing what they did best. “There’s so much love for them, I can’t even imagine the emotion that’s going to be in the room with them when they start playing,” he said. “They’re one of the greatest bands of all time, and they’re the ultimate hipster-killers. Every rock star name-checks that band.”
Corgan also claimed to be a “hipster-killer” himself back in the day, likely resonating with certain bands whose reputation or public perception clashes with how they actually are or how their music sounds. With Rush, he clearly also enjoys the fact that they’re secretly cool in an if you know, you know sort of way, a lot like how Smashing Pumpkins come across from the insider’s perspective.
But mainly, Corgan respects the fact that, no matter what people think of Rush, they can’t be ignored. When the music is good, it speaks for itself. As he put it, “You can say, ‘This band was marginalised, what was it?’ It doesn’t matter. At some point, they’re there, and somebody has to explain why they’re there.”