Starchildren was a side project of

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Ch ...

frontman Billy Corgan. From 1990 to 1994 the band played a few scattered live shows, each usually featuring a different lineup of band members with only Corgan having constant involvement. The band officially released two songs, "Delusions of Candor", an original composition by Corgan, and a cover of " Isolation" by

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after atte ...

History

First appearing in 1990 (then billed as ''Star Children''), Corgan gave the motto of the band as "Be repetitive for nuisance's sake." Little is known about the early incarnation of the band, other than they played at least two shows at the

Cabaret Metro Metro (formerly the Stages Music Hall and Cabaret Metro) is a concert hall in Chicago, Illinois, United States, that plays host to a variety of local, regional and national emerging bands and musicians. The Metro was first opened in 1982. Th ...

with varying members including Corgan,

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, Neil Jendon, Cliff Fox, and Kerry Brown (the latter three members of the band Catherine). In 1994, the band emerged with a more visible presence playing a June 18 show that received coverage as an

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Smashing Pumpkins show, despite it being a traditional Starchildren performance. The performance that night featured several songs that would later make their way onto Smashing Pumpkins' releases. Songs performed included

The Cure The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...

cover "A Night Like This" and the

James Iha (born March 26, 1968) is an American rock musician. He is best known as a guitarist and co-founder of the alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. He was a member until the initial breakup in 2000. Among his musical projects of recent years ...

penned "The Boy" which were later released in '' The Aeroplane Flies High'' box set, as well as an early version of "Here Is No Why" from ''

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''. Although Starchildren was already closely associated with the band Catherine due to the groups' frequently overlapping members, this association was taken to another level by the 1994 release of the split 7-inch vinyl record "Songs about Girls"/"Delusions of Candor". One side of the record featured the Catherine song "Songs about Girls" while the reverse featured the Starchildren tune "Delusions of Candor". Delusions of Candor featured Billy Corgan's then best friend, and Smashing Pumpkins first manager and guitar technician Bob English on bass, but he only got a "thanks to" credit on the single and received no compensation of any kind. This is the only original Starchildren composition released to date. In 1995, the band's cover of Joy Division's "Isolation" appeared on the tribute album '' A Means to an End: The Music of Joy Division''. In January 2010, Corgan announced plans to start a new record label, which may release new material from Starchildren. As of 2020, no new material has materialized.

Discography

* "Delusions of Candor" (1994) * "Isolation" on '' A Means to an End: The Music of Joy Division'' (1995)

Footnotes

{{Authority control TVT Records artists Supergroups (music) Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups disestablished in 1994 Alternative rock groups from Illinois Billy Corgan