By FFR UK Writer: Chris Mcdougall
This DVD captures the essence of the tale of Creation Records started By Alan McGee with help
from Co Founders Dick Green and producer Joe Foster.
Director Danny O’Connor leads us through the adventure of the maverick entrepreneur McGee and
his gang through escapades of good fortune and troubled times during the 80s and 90s underground
music scene.
The film starts with the glorious sound of Upside down by” The Jesus and the Mary Chain” a band that
would take the label to a new level, but before that we embark with the meeting of Alan and Bobby
Gillispie (Primal Scream,The Jesus and Mary Chain) setting the motion of how there lives would
intertwine. McGee moves to London due to a threat of losing his place in a band and after seeing
“The TV Personalities” gets the vision to start his own night “The Living Room” which is an instant
success. With guilt and the money they accumulate, the time is right to start a record label after a few
releases we get an interview with “The Loft” who talk about what it was like to be on the label at the
beginning. After the JAMC’s Upside down triumph, more revenue flows in, now its all on the go with
an office and some help in the form of Edward Ball things start to get pacy. Alan then starts another
label with Rob Dickens (Warner Bros) called Elevation which fails after only a couple of records come
out most notable is “Primal Screams” debut classic album.
After the disappointment of Elevation, McGee comes back with a new vigor and signs what are now
the stuff of legends bands such as House Of Love, My Bloody Valentine, he gets into managing some
bands and takes on the majors and gets The House Of Love one of the last of the huge advances that
was soon to disappear from the Majors Purses. More achievements come the way of Creation and its
1st glory period with the likes of Ride, Swervedriver who impress Seymour Stein of Sire records in
New York and for a while all is smooth though this soons runs its course and after a while things start
to crumble, with another move to Hackney for a bigger building and the hedonistic lifestyle this brings
Creation to another degree this time its gets a bit darker with all the partying and drugs that now infest
Alans mindset but he seems to move through this and still gets the results as the Primals hit the chart
with the acid house influenced Screamadelica.
All through the film interspered, we have frank and at times humorous anecdotes from the likes of
McGee, Gillispie, Noel Gallagher (Oasis) as well as the some of the staff e.g Tim and Chris Abbott as
well as other maybe not so well known musicians like Pat Fish (Jazz Butcher) and Dave Morgan (The
Loft) best of all is the eerie appearance of BP Fallon( publicist for Marc Bolan,Zeppelin etc).
l would recommend this DVD even if your not a fan of the numerous acts that graced Creation it is
a must for all music fans and it is paramount to the British music scene of the late 80s till the end of
90s when, after the mega feat of Oasis and the takeover by the Sony Corps its was time to call it a
day.With the current trend for things nostalgic l urge you to go and check out this documentry you
will not be disappointed.