“I threw my guitar off mid strum, dove into the crowd and began strangling him to the ground”: Billy Corgan on the first time he met future Smashing Pumpkins bassist Melissa Auf der Maur

Billy Corgan, lead singer of Smashing Pumpkins, plays at Univeral Ampitheatre on 5/23/00. In background is bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur.

Billy Corgan and Melissa Auf der Maur have a relationship that spans decades, and it all started with a $1 Tuesday night show – July 23, 1991 – at a dingy venue in Montréal.

It was precisely that night that their friendship and collaborative connection took flight, snatching Auf der Maur away from her DIY band in Canada to international stages with Courtney Love's Hole and, later, Corgan's Smashing Pumpkins.