Former Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has found a part-time summer job. A spokesperson for the bald-headed rocker confirms he will join veteran U.K. electronic pop group New Order as a touring guitarist for select dates, rumored to include four performances on Moby’s Area: One festival this summer, as well as an appearance at the Fuji Festival in Japan this July.
Corgan has kept a low profile since the Pumpkins played their final shows in Chicago last November. A longtime fan of New Order, he guests on the track “Turn My Way” on the group’s seventh album, “NEWORDERGETREADY,” due Aug. 27 on Qwest/Warner Bros. in North America. The album will be New Order’s first since 1993’s “Republic,” and will be preceded by the single “Crystal” in July. Primal Scream and the Chemical Brothers also appear on the set.
While Corgan is on board, longtime New Order keyboardist Gillian Gilbert will skip the summer shows to take care of her ill young daughter; the father is New Order drummer Stephen Morris. The live lineup will be rounded out by guitarist Phil Cunningham, who previously played with New Order frontman Bernard Sumner in Electronic.
“Republic” peaked at No. 11 on The Billboard 200 in May 1993 and featured the single “Regret,” which hit No. 28 on The Billboard Hot 100.
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