| Creation Records Ltd. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parent company | Sony Music Entertainment |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Founder | Alan McGee Dick Green Joe Foster |
| Defunct | 1999 |
| Genre | Various |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Location | London, England |
| Official website | creation-records |
Creation Records Ltd. was a Britishindependent record label founded in 1983 byAlan McGee, Dick Green, andJoe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s bandThe Creation,[1] whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although it was revived at one point in 2011 for the release of thecompilation albumUpside Down.
Over the course of its sixteen-year history, Creation predominantly focused onalternative rock, releasing several influentialindie rock,shoegaze, andBritpop records, but also featured bands performing various other styles ofrock, includingindie pop andpost-punk, as well as someelectronic,folk, andexperimental artists.
McGee formed Creation Records following the culmination of various projects, including fanzine Communication Blur, his own rock outfit The Laughing Apple (with futurePrimal Scream guitarist and long-time friendAndrew Innes), and his running of the venue The Communication Club.[2] Initially, McGee wished to provide an outlet for like minded musicians and an opportunity for young bands to see their work on vinyl. Primarily the label was in opposition to the "manufactured"synth pop of the era, that bore little resemblance to the work of his favourite acts includingPublic Image Ltd and theSex Pistols.[3]
McGee started the label by putting out the "'73 in '83" single byThe Legend!,[2] after taking out a £1,000 bank loan.[4] Around the same time, he started a club called The Living Room inTottenham Court Road,[2] through which he met several people who would go on to record for Creation, includingPeter Astor andLawrence.[4] DistributorRough Trade soon began funding releases.[4]
Creation was among the key labels in the mid-1980sindie movement, with early artists such asThe Jesus and Mary Chain,The Membranes andPrimal Scream.[2] The Jesus and Mary Chain went to record for Warner Brothers in 1985, yet McGee remained as their manager. With the profits he had made from the band, he was able to release singles by label acts such asPrimal Scream,Felt, andThe Weather Prophets.
McGee had enthusiasm and an uncanny ability to attract the weekly music media, and he was able to get a growing underground following. In their early days, he was able to project a notorious image ofThe Jesus and Mary Chain, which had often courted violence and loutish behaviour.
The early years of Creation feature prominently in 2017 documentary,Teenage Superstars.[5]
Following an unsuccessful attempt to run an offshoot label for Warner Brothers (Elevation Records), McGee regrouped Creation and immersed himself in the burgeoning dance andacid house scene starting in the late 1980s. Those scenes had influenced Creation mainstays such as Primal Scream andEd Ball, as well as newer arrivals such asMy Bloody Valentine.[2]
Creation Records' releases at this time tended to be critically acclaimed, without being major commercial hits.[2] Creation had run up considerable debt that was only held off until McGee sold half the company toSony Music in 1992. There were reports of McGee's escalating drug use, as well as numerous and conflicting reports of the label being nearly bankrupted after funding the two-year-long recording of My Bloody Valentine's 1991Loveless.[citation needed]
After selling to Sony, Creation signedOasis, whose debut albumDefinitely Maybe became a huge critical and commercial success. The band went on to epitomise the culturalBritpop movement of the mid-1990s. The success of Oasis was unprecedented for an act on an independent label. Their second album,(What's the Story) Morning Glory? became the biggest selling British album of the decade.
In the 1990s, Creation launched the subsidiaryRev-Ola Records, which was formed by Joe Foster. Rev-Ola is now a part of the PoppyDisc group of labels.
The revitalisedLabour Party took note of McGee's accomplishments with Creation. They got McGee to spearhead a media campaign prior to the1997 general election in order to appeal to Britain's youth culture. He was largely responsible for changing government legislation in relation to musicians being able to go on theNew Deal which gave musicians three years to develop and be funded by the government instead of having to take other jobs to survive.
Omnibus went on to make a documentary on McGee and Creation in 1998 forBBC One. Creation Records was awarded 'Independent Label of the Year' every year between 1995 and 1998 byMusic Week, and McGee was awarded theNME 'Godlike Genius' award in February 1995.
In the United States and Canada, some of Creation's catalogue was licensed to various non-Sony record labels such asA&M Records (Swervedriver),DGC Records (Teenage Fanclub [outside Europe]),Reprise Records (Oasis),SBK Records (Adorable, Slowdive), andSire Records (My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream, Ride [outside the United Kingdom]).
According to the documentaryUpside Down, McGee and Foster opted to close Creation in December 1999 after McGee began to sufferburnout and disillusionment with the label. The label's final release wasXTRMNTR by Primal Scream, issued in January 2000, shortly after the label ceased functioning.
The dissolution of Creation Records in 1999 led to McGee and Foster formingPoptones. The label saw a return to the staunchly independent roots of Creation, and had most notably launched the career ofThe Hives in the UK.
In May 2007, McGee toldThe Independent newspaper that he was winding down Poptones for financial reasons.[6]
Upside Down, a film on Creation Records premiered at theBFI in London on 23 and 24 October 2010.[7] It was released on DVD in the UK on 9 May 2011.[8] Additionally, a soundtrack album compiled by Joe Foster featuring 34 tracks which covered the entire career of Creation Records was released. This album was released on Creation Records, which was revived for the release of the album only.
In numerous interviews in 2012, McGee said he was "seriously considering" resurrecting Creation Records[9] but took up an offer fromCherry Red Records to launch 359 Music instead.[10][11]
After the partnership with Cherry Red came to an end, McGee launched label specialising in releasing 7 inch vinyl records.[12] This label was called Creation23 and was seen as the new incarnation of Creation Records. Acts who had singles released by the label included The K's,[13] Shambolics, Rubber Jaw, Young Garbo and Juggs.[14][15][16]
On 1 February 2021, McGee relaunched Creation23 as the "It's Creation Baby" record label and became the sole owner of the company. The label would now sign acts and put out albums as well as 7 inch singles, withAstrid's Charlie Clark[17] releasing a solo album calledLate Night Drinking as the label's first album release.[18][19][20][21] By December 2021, McGee had overseen releases by acts such as Marquis Drive, Shambolics and The Illicits (bands who had been previously part of Creation23)[22] as well as singles by Caterina Speranza's band CAT SFX[23][24] and Cast member John Power, who released a solo single called "Grounded Truth" via the label.[25][26] McGee also launched an indie music festival using the Creation name, set up by McGee to showcase his acts on a bill which also includes named headliners from the indie music scene. The festival, now called the Utilita Creation Day Festival, was due to be held in Wolverhampton in 2021 but was postponed until 2022.[27][28][29][30]
Infonet was an electronic music sublabel to Creation Records, run by Chris Abbot. It was active between 1992 and 1997. Main bands on the label wereBandulu (with various aliases) andReload. Infonet also released records withAndrea Parker andDavid Morley,Eddie Fowlkes,Sulphuric,Syzygy, among others.
August Records was a short-lived Creation Records offshoot A&R'd by formerFire Records boss Dave Barker. It was active between 1992 and 1994. Acts included18 Wheeler (later transferred to Creation),Eugenius (ex-Fire Records),Shonen Knife andWeen.
Icerink was a sublabel to Creation Records, run bySaint Etienne. It was active between 1992 and 1994. It released ten singles (byShampoo andEarl Brutus, among others) and a compilation,We Are Icerink.[32]
Ball Product was a short-lived Creation sublabel, run byEdward Ball. It released four albums during 1992–1993, byLink Wray,The Dentists,Further, andBrenda Kahn.
Eruption Records was a sublabel to Creation Records,Richard Norris was the label's A&R Consultant. It was active between 1996 and 1999. Acts includeWamdue Project, among others.
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