Music > Interviews

Alan McGee

Norwich Arts Centre

12/06/19

The legend that is Alan McGee (Godlike genius for the NME back in 1996) visited Norwich to spin some stories from his career that has spanned some thirty eight years as a musician, manager, record label boss, alcoholic, druggie and a music blogger ( for the Guardian).

He is best known probably for signing Oasis, My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream, The Jesus and Mary Chain and the Libertines (and many more).The evening kicks off with McGee being interviewed for circa fifty minutes and boy does he have a great story or three to tell and once he starts talking with a bottle of water at his side he is quite keen to keep going.
The questions are varied and give us some great insights during the session into his very interesting career, which will soon be made into a movie later in the year, Ewen Bremner has already been selected to play McGee. This came about from a conversation that he had with Irvine Welsh, who told him that his was amazing and that they should turn it into a movie.
On his favourite Primal Scream album, he picked Screamadellica, although he references many of their other songs and albums as great pieces of work.

He talked about his early days of growing up with the guys in Primal Scream, going to primary school with them through to high school, getting drunk, getting into drugs, watching Celtic and Glasgow Rangers, then of giving football up for Punk Rock. Something that started out in Glasgow as a small movement then developing into thousands of Glasgow punks, they formed their own movement and then a band The Drains, then The Laughing Apple.

His first job in the capital was to work for British Rail, which he did for two years a job that he admitted to winging in the stores department, sorting out the nuts and bolts etc. He then quit to move to London and ultimately form Creation Records.

Picture guardian.co.uk

He was the drummer in Lloyd Cole’s punk band when he first arrived in London, he arrived in the capital with just £5, became homeless and ended living on a rooftop before moving into a squat.
In 1992 on the verge of Creation Records falling into increasing debt and with the threat of them going into receivership and going out of business he sold half of the company (49%) to Sony Records.
For the 1997 general election, he was recruited by the labour party as a figure of cool and as a champion of youth culture, he provided some funding for them, but he denied doing a reported line of cocaine with Noel Gallagher at number ten Downing Street.

He has no recollection of 1993, this was the year of his peak drug intake, but he has now been clean from alcohol and drugs for many years.

Commenting on download sites such as iTunes and Spotify, he says that it’s great for the consumer but terrible for the musicians as they get as little as $2,000 for one million plays on Spotify and get even less from You Tube. His old friend, the visionary / musical impresario Malcolm McLaren he says warned him many years ago of the download generation! Yes he says he was mental, but he was equally amazing, someone that I still greatly admire, he was someone that called things all of his career and they were firm friends up until his death. He even funded him in his race to become mayor of London, until Ken Livingstone entered the race for the role.

On discovering bands, he calmly said that within thirty seconds of hearing a song he just knows if he wants to sign a band, but these days, he gives a band three songs to be sure,
On the next big thing, he predicts that a band called The Clockworks are his prediction as the next to break and be very successful.
Asked if he regrets not ever signing the Verve? Not really was his firm answer, on the basis that they took too long to get good until they met the producer Youth and delivered History and Urban Hymns. Creation just didn’t have the money to fund them and wait for them to come good, he was also asked about the band that got away from him, once again he was firm in his answer and said that The Stone Roses would’ve been that said band, but they were just so busy at Creation with The Jesus and Mary Chain at the time and that money was tight until they started to sell lots of records. He also had the chance to sign Ocean Colour Scene twice.

On how did he think the Gallagher brothers have done since Oasis split, he said that he feels that the solo material is not as good as the Oasis back catalogue of material.
On whether he thinks Oasis will ever reform it was a very firm, no. He really can’t see that happening.
His go too album is Shacks - H.M.S Fable.

On what he is listening to right now, it’s mostly Punk and Glam Rock.
What did he remember from his time spent managing The Charlatans, in a nutshell not a lot really as at the time he was on lots of drugs.
On his drug taking, he once over did it on MDMA powder and was told afterwards that he had taken the equivalent of thirty six E’s! He spent the next two weeks in bed.
He has been clean and dry from drugs and alcohol for many years now.

The Brit pop Oasis v Blur feud was spurred on further by Damon Albarn trying to get on the guest list to see them, Noel had already refused him access, but flipped his lid further when Albarn via a mutual female friend sneaked in on the list as her guest. Noel hit the roof and as they say the rest his history.
Upon hearing Live Forever, Don’t Look Back In Anger, Wonderwall and Hello, he knew that Oasis would go onto become the biggest band in the world in the nineties.
One drunken afternoon he agreed to go and see the Dali Lama with Liam. With the flights booked and jabs done, they were ready to go until Mrs Gallagher (Patsy Kensit) stopped him from going.  
On the making of Be Here Now, it was ruined by too much crystal meth being around during the mixing of it.

The famous Oasis gigs at Earls Court (twenty thousand people) and of course the legendary gigs at Knebworth (two hundred and fifty thousand people attended each day) were his favourite gigs from that very special period, the pinnacle of their career. After Knebworth he headed into rehab, disappearing for almost a year when the band were on the cusp of their peak of fame.
He mixed Morning Glory while in rehab as a way of keeping busy, off the drugs and booze and out of trouble.
He has no memory at all from his peak of hedonism period in 1993.

The Libertines are the hardest band he has ever had to manage. Carl Barat smashed his head ten times into a marble sink and not only did £400 worth of damage but he also appeared in front of Mcgee with his eye hanging out of its socket, blood everywhere, he drove him to the hospital, with him holding his eye in a towel. He then had a six hour operation. McGee said that if he had of mentioned Pete Doherty the police would’ve taken him in as he was just out of prison, trouble seemed to follow them around.
He now runs Creation Management and has the Happy Mondays, Black Grape, Shaun Ryder, Cast, Glasvegas, The Bluetones and Towers Of London on his roster.
He was instrumental in changing government legislation in enabling musicians to develop during a three year period and be funded by the government instead of having to find a job that they didn’t want to do.

On Noel Gallagher’s famous disappearance with a young lady during the tour of America as depicted in the Supersonic movie, he explained that Noel was high on crystal meth.
On Tony McCarroll’s infamous departure, he felt that Noel never really liked him much, but that his drumming just wasn’t up to the standards that were being set with the new album, Morning Glory. Alan White was a much better fit for the new material
He is still really good tight friends with Noel (Gallagher), he said that he has always been a good person and remains very down to earth, a very smart guy, he is no fool. He is very often wrong on something.

On that famous gig at King Tuts in Glasgow when Oasis blagged themselves onto the bill. As soon as he had heard them playing he knew that within thirty seconds as they played three songs Bring It Down, Supersonic and Helter Skelter that he had to sign them, they shook on it that night that they would sign for Creation. Noel then went back some weeks later and negotiated a better deal than the original offer from McGee. He (Gallagher) still negotiates his own deals. He felt that Liam (Gallagher) was far too good looking to be the lead singer, he knew that they would go onto do great things.
Creation lost money on their first eleven songs then along came the Jesus and Mary Chain, at last they started to make some money, he went onto manage them, before getting fired by them.to go on the new deal which gave musicians three years to develop and be funded

If you have followed his career as I have with much interest, I would highly recommend his autobiography, Creation Stories - Riots, Raves and Running a Label.