Smashing Pumpkins, Skunk Anansie and More – Colchester Castle Park 2025

“This can’t be real. There’s no way Smashing Pumpkins are playing Castle Park” were the words of a friend of mine (Nick, former vocalist of math/hardcore brilliance Rad Pitt) back in February when a mysterious advert started showing up around socials, telling us to “Get ready for the greatest day you’ve ever known“, the iconic star hidden within the A. People started dissecting the poster for clues; “It’s got to be a cover band” one of the other comments said. Days later, the mystery was revealed: yes, Smashing Pumpkins were in fact playing Colchester. I’ve been adjacent to the Colchester scene for a long time; I can’t remember the last time a band this big came to town (arguably Blur, but they’re kind of a local band). It’s all part of Colchester Castle Summer Series, a new series of gigs in the town, organised by Soundcrash. They’ve been gradually expanding around the UK after noting a change in people’s habits, being less likely to travel to major cities, after the pandemic. This run of shows includes the likes of James, Busted, Craig David, Tom Jones, UB40, Texas and Madness, alongside a mix of touring and local support.

Bridget

Local support is from Colchester’s Bridget – I work with Bridget, so I won’t give a full review, but what I will say, is that it’s been great to watch Bridget go from strength to strength, and she seems as at ease on this size stage as she does in the smaller venues around town. Certainly, she’s both confident and enthusiastic enough that she manages to get the audience split down the middle for a wall of death at 4:35 pm, as well as singing back the chorus to her song The Drive (Where’s My Money, Where’s My Car).

Rocket

Next up, we have Rocket from LA, who play a solid set of grunge in the glorious sun. Rocket feels like newcomers and, to some extent, they are – their debut album, R is for Rocket (impressively recorded at 64 Sound and the Foo Fighters’ Studio 606), comes out later this year. They’ve been around for a couple of years though and, between debut EP Versions of You and an NME cover last year, there’s certainly some hype around the band. They’re quite relaxed live, but the songs are catchy and well written, lots of fuzzy guitars with hooks that wouldn’t be out of place on a pop punk record.

White Lies

White Lies are arguably the anomaly on this lineup, more relaxed, heavily bass and synth driven. I’ll admit, I’ve never quite clicked with White Lies, although admittedly, I’ve also never seen them live before. I get why so many people like them, now I’ve seen them myself. They’re incredibly tight, the bass lines sound huge outdoors (it wouldn’t surprise me if you could feel them throughout the town centre), and the vocals are utterly lush. The final song in the set, Bigger Than Us, is anthemic and goes down brilliantly with the now fairly full Castle Park.

Skunk Anansie

I would argue that Skunk Anansie would have been an exciting headliner for Colchester on their own – despite being in support, they still put an effort into their stage setup, inflatable spikes adorning the stage. Skin has to be one of the best vocalists in the UK scene, both in terms of how incredible her voice sounds live, but also she puts on an incredible performance, her facial expressions saying almost as much as the music while marching around the stage.  Opening Weak with “Because this song’s so old, you better sing along, gonna do this like Robbie Williams“, the chorus gets a huge response. I don’t doubt for a second that a large chunk of this crowd either came for Skunk Anansie or, at the very least, they were the band that sealed the deal. The middle of the now huge crowd is there, arms raised, screaming back the words. They show off some music from their new album Painful Truth (“it’s the first album we’ve put out in nine years because, yknow what, we’re fucking lazy”), which is as musically interesting as they’ve ever been. They finish their set with Yes It’s Fucking Political, a song released in 1996 and yet a powerful statement today, at a time when so many are saying politics has no place in music or at festivals.

With two giant figures adorning the stage, it’s time for Smashing Pumpkins. Opening with Heavy Metal Machine, they sound incredible from the get-go, a three-guitar assault, Billy Corgan flanked by James Iha and recent addition to the band Kiki Wong, backed by the powerhouse that is Jimmy Chamberlin and bassist Jack Bates. Material from last year’s Aghori Mhori Mei get’s an outing, Pentagrams performed early in the set – there are bands out there who’s new material can be a jarring change from earlier material but these songs definitely don’t do that, they sit perfectly amongst material that’s been around for over 30 years, they’ve still got the same energy, the same incredible musicianship and the familiar vocal style. While the new stuff gets a great response, some of the older classics go down phenomenally with people singing along during Today and, later, Tonight Tonight. Bullet With Butterfly Wings sounds incredible; the “Despite all my rage, I’m still just a rat in a cage” chorus yelled back by the crowd. Porcelina of the Vast Oceans is an incredible choice in the set, an extended playthrough full of fuzzy guitars, spaced out sections and opportunities for solos and intricate lead parts – a standout moment musically!

I’m impressed by how consistent with the original songs they sound – they’re surrounded with amp heads, and I imagine everything was carefully picked to keep it authentic – fuzzy guitars sound so good, and the crunchy sections during the verses sound perfect. They throw in a cover of Take My Breath Away mid-set, which is certainly an interesting choice, but they perform it authentically, then it’s back in with a new song, 999. Their performance of Tonight, Tonight is flawless – it helps that it’s an emotionally charged song that connects with the crowd, but it’s amazing how powerful the vocals on this song are, so long after its initial release. The band ended their set with a pairing of Zero and The Everlasting Gaze, with its final repeated line of “You Know I’m not Dead” before leaving the crowd to leave the park, surely satisfied by what they’ve just witnessed.

Overall, the opening night of Colchester Castle Summer Series was a huge success; a sold-out crowd, a great bill of bands, and an electric energy all wrapped up with a perfect headline set from a band I certainly never thought I’d be seeing down the road from home. With this being the first year, I hope to see it grow next year – where do youcome from, Smashing Pumpkins in a city like Colchester? I’d love to see more local artists involved and featured a bit more when advertising (some opening shows in the next week still haven’t been announced), but it’s a good start and already feels like an authentic addition to the local gigging calendar.

Smashing Pumpkins Aghori tour continues tonight with shows in Norway, Copenhagen, Sweden, Finland and Iceland.

Colchester Summer Series continues over the next two weekends:

• 15th August: Busted, Scouting For Girls, Pet Needs
• 16th August: Craig David, Wes Nelson, Big Narstie
• 17th August: UB40
• 18th August: Tom Jones, Craig Charles, Lianne Kaye
• 21st August: Texas, Natalie Imbruglia, Ben Brown
• 22nd August: James, Happy Mondays, Lightning Seeds
• 23rd August: Madness, The Zutons