Linda Perry recently revealed to NME that she once asked Billy Corgan to leave the studio while she was working on music with Courtney Love.
Alongside leading the iconic ‘90s band 4 Non Blondes, Perry has built a massive career as a songwriter, producer and label owner, creating numerous platinum selling records over the years including Christina Aguilera’s ‘Beautiful’, Gwen Stefani’s ‘What You Waiting For?’ and P!nk’s ‘Get the Party Started’.
In her recent Does Rock ‘N’ Roll Kill Braincells?! interview with NME, Perry reflected on her experiences collaborating with Courtney Love, including work on Love’s 2004 solo album ‘America’s Sweetheart’ and Hole’s 2010 release ‘Nobody’s Daughter’.
Calling Love an “incredibly intelligent woman”, Perry remembered one tense studio session involving Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan.
“We were working on a record once when Billy Corgan came in and he was a Debbie Downer and ruining the vibe.
“Courtney and Billy have incredible history together, but my band said, ‘We can’t continue with this guy’. Finally, I went into the control room, looked at Billy and said: ‘You gotta go, man’,” she explained.
Perry continued by saying: “As Courtney’s eyes bulged, I said: ‘You’re walking around like you’re God’s gift to fucking rock’n’roll. You’ve got bad energy. I want you out of my studio’. Billy was shocked and left.”
She added that Love “couldn’t believe” she had actually thrown him out and apparently thought the move was “ballsy”.
“Then I realised: ‘Oh, she’s a pussy!’ Courtney acts like this tough person and she is. She’s very intimidating, but really she is a bottom,” Perry said. “She wants to be kind and wants a hug and she’s very gentle, but she has an armour she puts up.
“I love her and have had amazing experiences with her. The world needs Courtney Love back and I can’t wait for her new record because there isn’t anyone else like her.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Perry also criticized Green Day for quietly dropping her from producing the follow up to their landmark album ‘American Idiot’.
According to Perry, the situation began after Courtney Love publicly mentioned that Perry had been lined up to produce the project. “Then Courtney blabbed her mouth that I was producing,” Perry told NME. “Suddenly they started getting backlash from their fans, upset they were ‘bringing in Linda Perry, who produced Pink and Christina Aguilera’.
“And then those guys just stopped calling me,” she continued. “I would reach out to figure out what was going on. Nobody called. I lost six months of scheduled work. That was fucked-up, all because Billie-Joe’s a little pussy and got all this backlash from his fans and didn’t like it.”
After reuniting with 4 Non Blondes last year and announcing their first UK live performance in three decades, Perry also spoke with NME at the Ivor Novello Awards, where she received the Special International Award. Previous recipients include Brandon Flowers of The Killers, Bon Jovi and Shakira.
Speaking on the red carpet, Perry expressed how thankful she was for the recognition and explained that after more than 30 years in music, she believes the key to writing a great song is creating from a genuine and honest place.
When asked whether there were songs from her catalogue that deserved more attention, Perry replied: “Yeah, tonnes… but I’m going to release that as a record! I’m actually planning on releasing an album of all the songs that didn’t make it, so you’ll hear about that more soon.”
The interview also saw Perry discuss the comeback of 4 Non Blondes and reveal that the band is currently working on a brand new album titled ‘1994’, which will mark their first full length release in more than 30 years.
