Creation Records Ltd. was a British

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although it was revived at one point in 2011 for the release of the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

''Upside Down''. Over the course of its sixteen-year history, Creation predominantly focused on

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

, releasing several influential

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...

, and

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...

records, but also featured bands performing various other styles of rock, including

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

and

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

, as well as some electronic, folk, and

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

artists.

Early years

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 favourite acts including

Public Image Ltd Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band formed by lead vocalist John Lydon (previously, as Johnny Rotten, lead vocalist of the Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene (a founding member of the Clash), bassi ...

and the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

.Yates, Brendan, ''Out of the Void; The Primal Scream Story'' (2003), p. 21 McGee started the label by putting out the "'73 in '83" single by The Legend!, after taking out a £1,000 bank loan.Dee, Johnny (1988) "It's Different For Domeheads: Alan McGee recalls the most memeorable Creation creations", ''Underground'', April 1988 - Issue 13, p. 28 Around the same time, he started a club called The Living Room in Tottenham Court Road, through which he met several people who would go on to record for Creation, including Peter Astor and Lawrence. Distributor Rough Trade soon began funding releases. Creation was among the key labels in the mid-1980s indie movement, with early artists such as

The Jesus and Mary Chain The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid, who are the two founders and only consistent members of the ...

, The Membranes and Primal Scream. 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 as Primal Scream,

Felt Felt is a textile that is produced by matting, condensing, and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic fiber, acrylic or acrylonitrile or ...

, and The 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 of

, which had often courted violence and loutish behaviour. The early years of Creation feature prominently in 2017 documentary, '' Teenage Superstars''.

Mid-period

Following an unsuccessful attempt to run an offshoot label for Warner Brothers ( Elevation Records), McGee regrouped Creation and immersed himself in the burgeoning dance and

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just " acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synt ...

scene starting in the late 1980s. Those scenes had influenced Creation mainstays such as Primal Scream and Ed Ball, as well as newer arrivals such as My Bloody Valentine. 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 Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

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 Loveless may refer to: Comics and literature * Loveless (comics), ''Loveless'' (comics), a comic book series by Brian Azzarello, Marcelo Frusin, Danijel Zezelj, and Werther Dell'Edera * Loveless (manga), ''Loveless'' (manga), a manga series by Y ...

''.

Sony years

After selling to Sony, Creation signed

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentDefinitely Maybe'' became a huge critical and commercial success. The band went on to epitomise the cultural

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? ''(What's the Story) Morning Glory?'' is the second studio album by the English Rock music, rock band Oasis (band), Oasis. Released on 2 October 1995 by Creation Records, it was produced by Owen Morris and the group's lead guitarist and chief ...

'' became the biggest selling British album of the decade. In the 1990s, Creation launched the subsidiary Rev-Ola Records, which was formed by Joe Foster. Rev-Ola is now a part of the PoppyDisc group of labels. The revitalised Labour Party took note of McGee's accomplishments with Creation. They got McGee to spearhead a media campaign prior to the 1997 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 the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

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 for

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

. Creation Records was awarded 'Independent Label of the Year' every year between 1995 and 1998 by ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'', and McGee was awarded the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' '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 as

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

(Swervedriver), DGC Records (Teenage Fanclub utside Europe,

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...

(Oasis),

SBK Records SBK Records was a record label, owned by Universal Music Group, that is currently part of the Capitol Music Group, where it is in hibernation. The label was founded in 1988 and during its time in activity existed as part of the EMI Group. Hist ...

(Adorable, Slowdive), and

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...

(My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream, Ride utside the United Kingdom.

Dissolution

According to the documentary ''Upside Down'', McGee and Foster opted to close Creation in December 1999 after McGee began to suffer burnout and disillusionment with the label. The label's final release was '' XTRMNTR'' 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 forming Poptones. The label saw a return to the staunchly independent roots of Creation, and had most notably launched the career of The Hives in the UK. In May 2007, McGee told ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' newspaper that he was winding down Poptones for financial reasons. ''Upside Down,'' a film on Creation Records premiered at the BFI in London on 23 and 24 October 2010. It was released on DVD in the UK on 9 May 2011. 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 but took up an offer from

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything but the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as w ...

to launch 359 Music instead. After the partnership with Cherry Red came to an end, McGee launched label specialising in releasing 7 inch vinyl records. 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, Shambolics, Rubber Jaw, Young Garbo and Juggs.

"It's Creation Baby"

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, with Astrid's Charlie Clark releasing a solo album called ''Late Night Drinking'' as the label's first album release. 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) as well as singles by Caterina Speranza's band CAT SFX and Cast member John Power, who released a solo single called "Grounded Truth" via the label. 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.

Discography

Roster

Principal bands or musicians

* 3 Colours Red * 18 Wheeler * Adorable * Arnold * Heidi Berry * Biff Bang Pow! * Blow Up * BMX Bandits * The Bodines * The Boo Radleys * Bernard Butler * A Certain Ratio * The Chills * The Cramps * The Creation *

Dreadzone Dreadzone are a British electronic music group formed in 1993 in London by ex-Big Audio Dynamite drummer Greg Roberts and musician Tim Bran. They have released nine studio albums, two live albums, and two compilations. They gained a reputatio ...

Bill Drummond William Ernest Drummond (born 29 April 1953) is a Scottish artist, musician, writer, and record producer. He was a co-founder of the late-1980s avant-garde pop group the KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with wh ...

* Five Go Down to the Sea?The sounds of Finbarr Donnelly - Cork's cult hero remembered
.

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

, 25 April 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2020. * Fluke *

Glen Matlock Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956) is an English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs on the Sex Pistols' only offic ...

Guided by Voices Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band formed in 1983 in Dayton, Ohio. It has made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard. The most well-known lineup of the band consisted o ...

* Heavy Stereo * The House of Love * Hurricane #1 * Hypnotone * Idha * The Jasmine Minks * The Jazz Butcher *

* The Legend! * The Lilac Time * The Loft * Love Corporation * Meat Whiplash *

Medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

* The Membranes * Momus * Moonshake *

Bob Mould Robert Arthur Mould (born October 16, 1960) is an American musician, principally known for his work as guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for alternative rock bands Hüsker Dü in the 1980s and Sugar (American band), Sugar in the 1990s. Early ...

* My Bloody Valentine * Nikki Sudden *

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment The Pastels The Pastels are an indie rock group from Glasgow formed in 1981. They were a key act of the Scottish and British independent music scenes of the 1980s, and are specifically credited for the development of an independent and confident music scen ...

* Primal Scream * The Revolving Paint Dream * Ride * Kevin Rowland *

Ruby Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapph ...

* Saint Etienne *

Silverfish The silverfish (''Lepisma saccharinum'') is a species of small, primitive, wingless insect in the order Zygentoma (formerly Thysanura). Its common name derives from the insect's silvery light grey colour, combined with the fish-like appearanc ...

* Slaughter Joe * Slowdive * The Sneetches *

Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

* Super Furry Animals * Swervedriver *

Technique Technique or techniques may refer to: Music * The Techniques, a Jamaican rocksteady vocal group of the 1960s * Technique (band), a British female synth pop band in the 1990s * ''Technique'' (album), by New Order, 1989 * ''Techniques'' (album), by ...

Teenage Fanclub Teenage Fanclub are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Glasgow in 1989. The group were founded by Norman Blake (Scottish musician), Norman Blake (vocals, guitar), Raymond McGinley (vocals, lead guitar) and Gerard Love (vocals, bass), al ...

* Teenage Filmstars * The Telescopes *

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

* Ultra Living * Velvet Crush * The Weather Prophets

Sublabels

Infonet

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 were Bandulu (with various aliases) and Global Communication, Reload. Infonet also released records with Andrea Parker (DJ), Andrea Parker and David Morley (musician), David Morley, Eddie Fowlkes, Kris Needs, Sulphuric, Dominic Glynn, Syzygy, among others.

August Records

August Records was a short-lived Creation Records offshoot A&R'd by former Fire Records (UK), Fire Records boss Dave Barker. It was active between 1992 and 1994. Acts included 18 Wheeler (later transferred to Creation), Eugenius (band), Eugenius (ex-Fire Records), Shonen Knife and Ween.

Icerink

Icerink was a sublabel to Creation Records, run by Saint Etienne. It was active between 1992 and 1994. It released ten singles (by Shampoo (duo), Shampoo and Earl Brutus, among others) and a compilation, ''We Are Icerink''.

Ball Product

Ball Product was a short-lived Creation sublabel, run by Ed Ball (musician), Edward Ball. It released four albums during 1992–1993, by Link Wray, The Dentists, Further (band), Further, and Brenda Kahn.

Eruption Records

Eruption Records was a sublabel to Creation Records, Richard Norris (musician), Richard Norris was the label's A&R Consultant. It was active between 1996 and 1999. Acts include Wamdue Project, among others.

References

External links

Creation Records website
{{Authority control Creation Records, Record labels established in 1983 Record labels disestablished in 1999 Record labels established in 2011 Re-established companies Indie rock record labels British independent record labels