Last week we talked about the emergence, influence, and legacy of Factory Records, the record label created in Manchester by visionary Tony Wilson, and its importance and influence in British pop music since the creation of the label which released renowned and influential artists and bands.
The label which will be the subject of today’s post, ended up also having a huge influence on British pop music and leaving a legacy and a team of pioneering bands and innovative musical ideas, much like Factory, but a decade later, the label that almost singlehandedly had all the most important alternative British bands from the 90’s in its catalogue: Creation Records.
Creation Records was an independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee admired.
McGee formed Creation Records following the culmination of various projects, including fanzine Communication Blur, his own rock outfit The Laughing Apple (with future Primal Scream guitarist and long-time friend Andrew Innes), and his running of the venue The Communication Club. 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 favorite acts including Public Image Ltd and the Sex Pistols.
Creation Records' releases at this time tended to be critically acclaimed, without being major commercial hits. Creation had run up considerable debt that was only held off until McGee sold half the company to Sony 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 1991 Loveless.
After selling to Sony, Creation had signed Oasis, whose debut album Definitely Maybe became a huge critical and commercial success. The band went on to epitomize the cultural Britpop 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.
McGee’s enthusiasm for music and alternative culture made him develop an enhanced look for discovering alternative music and rock acts, making him sign most of the main acts in alternative music of the late 80’s and early 90’s not just the ones already mentioned but also others such as Slowdive, the other major shoegaze band along with My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Adorable, and The Jesus and Mary Chain.
The main thing Creation had in common with Factory, is a visionary founder that is not afraid of taking matters into his own hands and making it possible to new, creative, and innovative artists to have their outlet and chance to put out their music.
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