Billy Corgan plays set of Christmas songs with family after father's death

Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan played a set of Christmas songs with his family in tribute to his late father at the weekend (December 18) – see footage below

On Saturday, Corgan announced that his father, the musician William Corgan Sr., had passed away following a heart attack.

In his video tribute, he said: “The show goes on, that’s what my father believed in,” adding: “My father had his own struggles with music and had a very complicated and oftentimes bitter relationship with the music business. He assumed that I would have the same.

“It all started with him, watching him play in basements and at sound checks and empty stinking bars.”

That same evening (December 18), Corgan played his annual Christmas show at Madam Zuzu’s, the vegan cake shop he owns with his family in Chicago.

Joined by his partner Chloe Mendel and their two children, Corgan played ‘Do You Hear What I Hear?’ and two new unreleased original festive songs, titled ‘Evergreen’ and ‘The Magi and the Shiny Bright’.

Watch footage from the set below:

Proceeds from the Christmas show at the cake shop benefitted local animal shelter PAWS Chicago, which Corgan also recently supported by joining Cameo.

The singer and partner Mendel joined the app, which allows fans to pay for personalised messages from celebrities, to raise funds for PAWS, with each message costing $250 (£188) per person or $4,500 (£3,392) for business use.

“With supply chains in disarray, Santa needed a little help this year getting special gifts to you… So he reached out to Billy + Chloé, and they came up with an idea for 100 special fans,” Corgan’s Cameo page states.

It added: “For every Cameo purchased, you will also get a mystery prize! One of the gifts may be something special courtesy of Reverend Guitars.”

Earlier this year, Corgan dusted off some of his pre-Smashing Pumpkins tracks during a run of intimate acoustic shows which included another set at Madame Zuzu’s.