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1997 The year was a very interesting, but strange one for the band. The band finished their fourteen-month tour for Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness in February, and until that time, they encountered many legal situations. Then began the tedious and precise work for the next album, Adore. The Pumpkins worked and recorded meticulously once again, but had several problems during the initial recording sessions for the new album. January In the January edition of Guitar World Magazine, Billy and James both dissect each song from the recently released The Aeroplane Flies High 5-CD box set. The first date in the final leg of the MCIS tour begins in Reno, NV on the 4th. Fountains of Wayne opened for the 4th leg. On the 25th show at the New Haven Coliseum in Connecticut, concertgoer Peter Jefferey, a Princeton University music history professor, allegedley lost part of his hearing. He sues the band in March of 1999.
Billy and James joked about a future appearance on the "X-Files" at a Vancouver appearance on the 8th. However, it led to a series of rumors for many months. The band later announced that they were simply spinning tall tales, and won't be making appearances on the sci-fi hit show. The band filed a lawsuit on the 9th at Los Angeles Superior Court against their music publisher, Chrysalis Music. They claim for declaratory relief, rescission, damages for breach of contract, slander of title, among other claims. They also claimed that a publishing deal from 1992 for thirty-two songs, was now void since they had exceeded that by releasing four albums. The Pumpkins asked for a minimum of $10 million in damages. However, Chrysalis demanded two additional albums from the band. Billy joined David Bowie for two songs at his fiftieth birthday party celebration held at Madison Square Garden in New York on the 9th. Billy denied rumors that he and supermodel Helena Christensen were dating each other on the 25th, in Allstar Magazine. He said, "That is so funny. I'm friends with Helena Christensen, and so is my girlfriend, Yelena Yemchuk, and we flew to Denmark to be with Helena and her boyfriend over New Year's." Billy also announced that he was getting a divorce from his wife, Chris Fabian. The band won "Favorite Alternative Artist" at the American Music Awards on the 27th. Due to touring conflicts, they were not able to attend. The Recording Industry Association of America announced on the 27th that Mellon Collie had been certified as going platinum eight times by selling 8,000,000 copies. Addicted to Noise reported that Billy was expected to produce "three or four tracks, maybe more" for former Cars leader Ric Ocasek's forthcoming solo album, "Troublizing". The band was announced to do a theme song for the "Batman and Robin" sequel. February The Pumpkins wrapped up their 165 shows, 14 months, and 5 continent tour in support of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadnesson the 5th in New Orleans. Billy entered a New York studio to assist Ric Ocasek for his solo effort, "Troublizing". Billy produced five songs and wrote the song "Asia Minor". In addition, he also played guitar on several songs. The Pumpkins began demoing further for their next album, Adore. Billy did a solo appearance at the fifth annual Tibet House Benefit at Carnegie Hall in New York on the 17th. He played two acoustic songs solo, and then provided backup guitar, vocals, and piano for the other performers. In his brief set, Billy debuted an unreleased song, "Need", which appeared in a very short form on Adore. The Pumpkins performed "Muzzle" for the Conan O'Brien show on the 25th in New York. The Pumpkins won Best Hard Rock Performance for "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" at the 39th Annual Grammy Awards on the 26th. They also perform their hit, "1979", and are joined by former Nine Inch Nails drummer Chris Vrenna with tour drummer Matt Walker as well. March Billy celebrated his 30th birthday on the 17th, also St. Patrick's Day. The band was announced to be doing a small summer festival European tour, and at such areas such as the Glastonbury Festival, Belgacom Festiva, Torhout, and Werchter. April Billy received the #2 spot in Spin Magazine's "40 Most Vital Artists". A nasty April Fool's Day joke from the band of a breakup had many people in tears and rumors continued until the end of the month. In the third week, the new Pumpkins song, "The End is the Beginning is the End" hit radio across the country. The band rejected a request from MTV for an Unplugged session on the 14th. Rumors of a collaboration project of Billy, Marilyn Manson, and Twiggy Ramirez called Fairy began at the "Private Parts" premiere on the 16th. May
Billy attended a birthday party for Dennis Rodman, 36, and performed one song with Poi Dog Pondering. June The Pumpkins released their single, "The End is the Beginning is the End", on Warner Brothers. The single was from the film "Batman and Robin". The Pumpkins played a clandestine club date at Chicago's Double Door (holding only 500) under the pseudonym of "Audio Vanguard Association" on the 23rd. Fans in attendance were either intelligent enough to read between the lines from advertisements for a Frogs set (which was strange since the Frogs had played at nearby the Metro two nights before), or were lucky enough to stumble into the small nightclub. The show was done in preparation for a string of European festival dates. Tickets for the show were a mere $7, and the show consisted of mainly Mellon Collie tracks, with the band's latest hits, "Eye" and "The End is the Beginning is the End". Interestingly enough, the Frogs opened the surprise set in a mock Pumpkins' drag outfit. They played nothing but pre-Mellon Collie songs. In the third week, an obsessive webhead fooled scores of fans, corporations, and magazines. The webhead posted to several mailing lists and the newsgroup posing as a Virgin Records representative and "announced" of two new Smashing Pumpkins albums.
July Addicted to Noise reported on the 1st that James was considering doing a solo album. The brief summer tour ended on the 9th in Prague, CZ. Recording sessions for James Iha's solo record, Let It Come Down began and several musicians from his record label, Scratchie, appeared. Matt Walker helped out as the drummer. The recording continued throughout the summer, and eventually released in February. D'Arcy and Kelly Deal teamed up to cover the Rod Stewart '70s hit, "Tonight's the Night". The cover was hoped to appear on a Rod Stewart tribute album. Billy Corgan, Marilyn Manson, and Chris Vrenna's supposed side project, "Fairy" is canned after Vrenna leaves the band to work on Axl Rose's solo album. The Pumpkins received four nominations for the MTV Video Music Awards, all for their video "The End is the Beginning is the End". The band received nominations in: Best Cinematography in a Video, Best Editing in a Video, Best Special Effects in a Video, and Best Direction in a Video. Home - The Early Years -
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The band received seven Grammy nominations on the 7th. They were
nominated for:
"The End is the Beginning is the End" video premiered
on MTV on the 20th.
The summer festival mini-tour continued with a Glastonbury, UK
appearance on the 27th.
