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Billy Corgan Says He Wants To Re-Form Smashing Pumpkins

Rocker takes out full-page ad in Chicago Tribune revealing his 'secret.'

Last month, Billy Corgan scoffed at the notion of his former band, the Smashing Pumpkins, ever reconciling and regrouping.

"You won't see the four Smashing Pumpkins onstage again," he told MTV News (see [article id="1501186"]"Billy Corgan Tries To Sound Un-Pumpkins, But Not Totally, Just A Bit, Maybe"[/article]).

Now it seems Corgan is singing a different tune.

In a full-page advertisement in the Tuesday (June 21) morning edition of his hometown newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, the alt-rock leader declared his plans to bring back the band. (Click here to see the ad).

"For a year now, I have walked around with a secret, a secret I chose to keep," the ad -- signed "Rock on and may God bless you! Billy Corgan" -- reads. "But now I want you to be among the first to know that I have made plans to renew and revive the Smashing Pumpkins. I want my band back, and my songs, and my dreams."

The ad, essentially a love letter to the Windy City, doesn't provide any additional information on what form the resurrected band might take, or whether Corgan would be rekindling the fire with the Pumpkins' original lineup -- drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, guitarist James Iha and bassist D'Arcy Wretzky. There also was no indication in the missive as to a timeline for the Pumpkins' rebirth.

The group disbanded in 2000 (see [article id="1434157"]"Smashing Pumpkins To Disband At Year's End"[/article]), with two Grammys and millions in record sales to their credit. Corgan and Chamberlin worked together post-Pumpkins in Zwan, which split shortly after releasing its debut album in 2003 (see [article id="1478250"]"Zwan Gone: Billy Corgan Opts For Solo Career"[/article]).

The Pumpkins' final performance -- a four-and-a-half hour, 36-song extravaganza -- came on December 2, 2000, with fans traveling from as far away as Japan to send Corgan's crew off (see [article id="1375027"]"Pumpkins Circus Folds Up With Epic Show"[/article]).

Corgan's solo debut, TheFutureEmbrace, hit record store shelves Tuesday.

A spokesperson for Corgan could not be reached at press time.

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