Creation Stories

by Alan McGee

(Sidgwick & Jackson, £18.99)

Alan McGee'S Creation Stories is a rags-to-riches tale of a boy with a dysfunctional childhood come good, via numerous rock'n'roll escapades and the obligatory stint in rehab.

Yet what makes it stand out from all the other rock autobiographies is McGee's involvement in the development of some of Britain's greatest bands. Creation Records, under McGee's make-it-up-as-you-go-along leadership, nurtured Oasis, Primal Scream and My Bloody Valentine and helped define the '90s music scene.

Without the label there would be no Screamadelica - McGee refused to give up on his childhood friends in Primal Scream even though it took the band six years to bring out a commercially viable album.

The same goes with My Bloody Valentine's Loveless. The descriptions of front man Kevin Shield's painful creative genius and how it nearly bankrupted the label make for insightful reading.

"I had to go and borrow money from my father - money from my mum's life insurance policy - to complete the album," McGee writes. "Kevin never understood. He was a perfectionist genius who couldn't see past the problems he'd set himself. That was the breaking point for me. I'd borrowed money that made me ashamed to ask my dad for and Kevin was still talking to me like I was trying to rip him off."

McGee's business methods are of interest too. He has a talent for mischief-making and hyperbole that helped push his bands into the spotlight. He once described himself as the "King of Pop" and was known to have over-exaggerated the riots that occurred during the Jesus and Mary Chain's early gigs.

The book provides an interesting peek into the world of the music business and the drive and belief it takes to get material to a wide audience that isn't strangled by corporate interests and its descriptions of the dysfunctional relationships that fuel many of the bands McGee was involved in are equally fascinating.

Less successful are the breathless writing style and sparse descriptions. Many of the stories feel like pub yarns because McGee neglected to inject sufficient detail to bring them to life. Still, it is recommended reading for anyone interested in the Creation story.

Ryan Fletcher