Smashing Pumpkins return to Carling Weekend: Leeds Festival

Smashing Pumpkins returned to the Carling Weekend: Leeds Festival tonight (August 24) for their first headlining slot at the three-day bash for 12 years.

Billy Corgan's band laced their set with a host of tracks from their new album 'Zeitgeist' including 'Doomsday Clock', 'Tarantula', 'Starz' and 'United States'.

However the biggest cheers were reserved for classic hits 'Tonight, Tonight', 'Today' and '1979', which Corgan played alone with an acoustic guitar.

Introducing the track, Corgan, who was dressed in a red and black striped scarf and pink shirt over a green and black striped top, said: "How's everybody doing? Let me guess you're getting pissed already aren't you? You may know this song from when you were a wee lad or a wee lass."

During 'Bullet With Butterfly Wings', the band stopped midway through the song while the crowd sang the words before Corgan applauded the crowd and told them: "Give yourself a hand. Well done."

Despite, yesterday's tongue lashing from penultimate headliners Nine Inch Nails, the singer kept quiet about the spat.

Marking the band's return to the site for the first time in 12 years, the singer later thanked the crowd for coming to see his current set-up.

"Thank you Leeds. Thank you friends of Billy," said a humbled Corgan. "You can come over to Chicago for a cup of tea and play some rugby in my backyard, eat some blood sausage and slaughter a pig. God Bless you Leeds. Thanks so much for coming to see us."

Smashing Pumpkins played:

'United States'
'Tonight, Tonight'
'Tarantula'
'Starz'
'Hummer'
'Bullet With Butterfly Wings'
'Glass And The Ghost Children'
'1979'
'To Sheila'
'Today'
'Stand Inside Your Love'
'Superchrist'
'Doomsday Clock'
'Disarm'
'Heavy Metal Machine'

Read NME.COM's review of Smashing Pumpkins' performance now.

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