The strange stories and bizarre theories behind The Smashing Pumpkins' name

Fans of The Smashing Pumpkins have debated the origins of the band's name for years, with a host of tales - ranging from the quirky to the outlandish - battling it out for the title of 'true origin story'. But what's the real story?

Frontman Billy Corgan himself offered an explanation on the extended music video Vieuphoria, where he quipped that the name was "from God" and characterized it as "God's joke." Another off-the-wall claim originated in an early newsletter by the band, which claimed a dream featuring Gene Simmons from KISS birthed the moniker. In the dream the legendary hellraiser had apparently claimed The Clash's lead singer Joe Strummer was an actual pumpkin, a "drunk and smashed" one at that.

Yet, the explanation with the most credence comes from ex-bassist D'Arcy Wretzky. During her 1993 chat with Addicted to Noise, she said Bob English, a pal of the band, as the brains behind the name.

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D'Arcy relayed that Billy had his heart set on the name pre-band formation. "James [Iha] was there at the beginning and he couldn't stop it either," she mentioned.

James Iha corroborated the account during the same interview, adding: "Bob English, I think, coined it." D’Arcy even jokingly suggesting they probably owed Bob English a cool $7,500 for his creative contribution.

Furthermore, a perennial debate amongst fans concerns whether the term "smashing" is meant as a verb or an adjective in the band's name. For a long time, followers believed it symbolised destruction or chaos. However, the band added another twist to the enigma in a TikTok video by revealing that "smashing" was initially intended as an adjective, synonymous with "brilliant" or "fantastic".

Apart from official interviews, enthusiasts have long debated the band's name on , spawning some intriguing and humorous theories. A user brought up a different explanation once given by Billy Corgan himself, stating: "Billy once said in an interview that he came up with the name by putting together random words that sounded cool, and that it wasn't supposed to mean anything specific."

A fellow fan offered their own interpretation, writing: "I always thought it was a reference to punk rock destroying what came before it. Like, the smashing of pumpkins being the smashing of mainstream rock at the time."

Another user posited that the name may have originated even before the band itself. "Someone in an old thread mentioned that 'Smashing Pumpkins' was written in a notebook Billy had in high school," they said. "Makes sense, given that he was obsessed with band names from a young age."

Another offered a rather peculiar explanation, penning: "When Billy was born his grandmother said he came out as 'orange and fat as an autumn pumpkin'. He always hated being called a little pumpkin so he would often smash them when he was a kid and so instead of calling him a pumpkin, the neighbors and sometimes police would say of him and his friends 'there go the smashing pumpkins gang'. They just dropped the word gang and a short four years later the band would be formed, first with Billy playing bass and then stepping into the lead singer role."