The Smashing Pumpkins - 1979 [1997]

[Stereo] Three of the members of the band perform before an awards ceremony audience, with a bevy of dancers attempting some sort of mutated "go-go" dancing, set to one of the group's smash hits. The original drummer is conspicuously absent for this appearance on USTV.

[@dmtcb]

greatest single of the decade

[@Supa-_-]

Kinda

[@magdalenavp824]

No but its an amazing song.

[@caleschnell]

Very close imo but that could be nostalgia talking. I was like eleven or twelve and we would play this song along a host of other 90s alt rock hits on Guitar Hero on the weekends with my family. This one always stuck out to me. This one, Today, and Disarm in particular in the list of their singles. A great time at the time and it's sorely missed whilst being in my early twenties.

[@prettycolors2]

Those dancers. how'd they ever get Billy Corgan to agree to that. xD

[@srdjanbogunovic2277]

Easily, Allegedly he's a sharp businessman!

[@jared7964]

If I remember correctly he didn't!! lol

[@magdalenavp824]

I remember was something like statment "we are not grunge band" like parody or irony something like that...

[@richardrussell4065]

money, duh

[@luckycat3]

Seriously - that was my first thought.

[@palenoons]

well. guess i'll spend the rest of the summer distracting myself from my problems by learning this dance routine

[@omniripple]

I remember telling my parents the pumpkins were going to be on that night, we all stayed up that night and watched it together in Australia. My god I was so embarrassed!!! I still love em though.

[@jeniferpeace9600]

🥇

[@chillsoul2613]

This performance is how i became a fan as a kid in 1997 April 25th 2020 & I'm still here

[@jared7964]

Yah I feel you. This was the first time I ever saw them live but I was already a fan about a year prior from the radio. I was entranced!! Such warm memories :)

[@execatty]

oneofthe best of the 90s.. miss those days

[@jorgearechiga3249]

The second hidden drummer is Chris Vrenna from NINE INCH NAILS

[@nancykillsyou]

So weird to think now that this kind of music was played at the Grammy’s. Damn I feel my age...

[@jungminseo8154]

I recorded this at that time, of course on VHS. I watched it everyday. Old time… miss it.

[@common12]

Believe or not the dancers work- great performance!

[@witzerdog]

I've searched for and found this version so many times throughout the years because to the drummer switch (much more visceral drumming). Thanks for posting.

[@whatsforafters7843]

+witzerdog My pleasure. Happy you found it, and took the time to say "thanks" :)

[@granbelcanale]

This should be their performance at the 1997 Grammy Awards Ceremony, February 26, 1997, Madison Square Garden, NYC. They won the best hard rock performance award for Bullet With Butterfly Wings.

[@edw673]

I will never forget these dancers. Not sure why... I guess its just some fly ass sh*t. Thumbs up!

[@SexyAssDanny4]

0:42 me vs. my meat every day after i get home from work

[@josephspringfield7221]

Tube tops, those "black" pants every woman had and short hair was the craze. God, I love and miss the 90's!

[@Boleskinebeatz]

Well... love this muchly..not very day you se the Pumpkins with a stand in NIN drummer AND go go dancers!

[@murdermuseum8280]

Chris Vrenna rocked it!!! Most important music engineer most of you never heard off but love the band's he is in or produced!

[@trytobenice7234]

Amazing dancers

[@AGolfrGuy12]

This song is fucking genius

[@ronbowman8364]

Sorry not sorry. The whole thing works so well. The performance has the feel of a "Top of the Pops” show from the 70s. Incredibly entertaining and a great job with the choreography.

[@Honeymoon2024]

🎧 Best 🥇

[@Tallinyc]

I not only recorded this at its time but tried to mimic the dancers 👯‍♂️!! I love it till today. The dancers gave it their all and cool moves at the time.

[@melissagenova7672]

Me too!! My friend and i spent HOURS trying to learn this dance. Now watching it again (found the OG vhs!!), we may try again to perfect it. Ha

[@matthewsmith8249]

One of the best love Grammy performances of all time IMHO.

[@OriginalAsherella]

Everyone knew why Jimmy was conspicously absent... but yeah, you can always feel it when Jimmy isn't there.

[@AntipasDesigns]

More than a few comments have been directed at the dancers in this performance. I heard that the idea came from the movie, “That Thing You Do,” (with Tom Hanks) which came out the year before this. The fictional band in that film made it to the big time backed by a group of teen dancers - doing a routine very much like the one here. Not sure if Billy Corgan thought it up, but that’s the connection I heard back when I saw this on MTV.

[@DoomBunnyKiller00]

The original drummer was fired in mid 1996 after he OD'ed on heroin with the touring keyboardist. The keyboardist died but the drummer didn't. So they hired Filter drummer Matt Walker to finish touring with them. I'm not sure who's drumming here though. It could be the drummer who replaced him after the tour, Kenny Aronoff. I see two drummers so.....

[@witzerdog]

+DoomBunnyKiller00 I remember this performance. Loved Matt Walker on this. A much harder hitter than Jimmy Chamberlin.

[@jorgearechiga3249]

The other drummer is Chris Vrenna from NIN

[@satoritangier903]

I don't know why it took me so long to find this, I've been thinking about it since it aired. My young teenage brain couldn't comprehend the aesthetic SP was invoking here. What? Futuristic drummer banging on electronic pads? Only vaguely understanding that that guy who played crazy jazz rock drums was out of the picture. The ability of Billy to morph his band at will still resonates decades later. The only aberration is that my memory has the lighting being blue instead of red. Anyway. Awesome performance.

[@rjbolos]

Jimmy must've been cringing watching this at home

[@MannaMusicOfficial]

I imagine Billy despised every second of this performance 😆

[@manchesterexplorer8519]

I agree its really not that great , right about when the original band fell apart .

[@keepingitreal5533]

Nah... At the end of the day he's a guy...and he knows what sells. If he wanted to nix the performance he could have easily done so

[@SexyAssDanny4]

i remember when this aired on tv...wondered wtf happened to TSP. such a weird performance...2 drummers, weird dancers, etc. i guess that sums up the 90's well: weird

[@JennMM]

💕

[@alembertedward4168]

Cuando los Grammys todavía imponían respeto!

[@jaketedesco9497]

This is right when they went electro and industrial rock..

[@2002kid]

Didn't knew lex luthor could play the guitar that nice!!

[@ejt321]

Jesus this was over 40 years ago

[@ezayco1284]

😭😭😭

[@duggiedug9148]

Wtf! The dancers are embarrassing. Did they think it was a hip hop show and got confused? Was TLC supposed to be there and left early???

[@duggiedug9148]

@In Between Jobs Your dumb..buddy..

[@JC-lu4se]

@@duggiedug9148 * You're. Oh the irony.

[@nickmallis542]

It's crazy how beautiful this song is but how terrible he is at performing it if that makes any sense.. A band called The Contortionist covers this and really captures it.

[@luckycat3]

I feel like the dancer concept could have worked had the been more like random skater kids and outcast types in grungy jeans & t-shirts…and less overtly sexy & slick looking professional dancers.

[@manchesterexplorer8519]

By 1997 the grunge look was gone , it turned into wiggers .

[@rjbolos]

Even though siamese dream was a huge hit with a couple radio friendly songs... mellon collie is where they start to sell out

[@mustangthings]

Sold out to what? Obscurity? MCIS was their last mainstream and well known album. I don’t like the narrative that bands are not ever allowed to be successful lest they be badged as sellouts.

[@rjbolos]

@@mustangthings back at the height of siamese dream circa 1993-94, did you ever think they were going perform on the grammys with dancers? (1979) Selling out to me is gaining success by any means necessary, which is what mellon collie did for them.

[@transamination]

If you have to sell-out, 1979 is a great way to do it. It's hardly a dumb pop song.

[@kierenmoore3236]

Yeah, so many mainstream, sell-out tracks on MCIS … 🙃 Dude, wtf are you talking about?! Lol

[@DSAK55]

79 is better than 97

[@damxcv]

They're the same, 79 is 97 Flipped

[@toofattoskate1]

haha such a mismatch between the dancers and the song...would have been better with the muppets

[@firebirdgao]

This show is awful , the stage the dancers

[@dizzyhole666]

Cringe dancers

[@Mike-rb2kk]

Terrible live performers, these

[@TheTrueFortress]

This song and performance never gets old. I vividly recall watching it live on TV and being moved in multiple ways. And the dancers add so much to the presentation. Not to mention they’re sexy as all get out. Thank you for posting this, friend.

[@chillsoul2613]

I had the same experience watching this live as a 12 yr old instantly becoming a huge fan

[@davidsfr60]

It seemed to me they started out dancing to the song and then ran off, like they found out they weren't supposed to be dancing to that number, it was a mistake.