Synopsis
In 1983 Alan McGee founded Creation Records. After discovering bands such as Primal Scream, The Jesus & Mary Chain and eventually Oasis, it soon became Britain’s largest independent record label, and a definitive part of the 90s soundscape. In 1999 Alan sold the company to Sony. After managing the Libertines through the phenomenal release of their eponymous album, he mysteriously disappeared from the music scene. Suddenly the ultimate hedonist had become a reclusive family man and retired to Hay-on-Wye in Wales. The rise to success of this young Glaswegian trailblazer has been well documented, but what’s lesser known is why he had to give it all up when he appeared to be at the top of his game.
As a close friend of McGee’s, director Andrea Vecchiato has been filming for a three-year period with unparalleled access – allowing us to peer past the bravado of one of Britain’s greatest music icons, and to discover a more candid version of the past. We see how his difficult relationship with a violent father had a ripple effect throughout his life. Manifesting itself in severe drug abuse, and a compulsive need to surround himself with a family of his own making.
For the first time we learn how the staggering success of Oasis – who had become a surrogate family for McGee – acted as a catalyst for his demise. The relentless tours, trophies, parties, drugs and alcohol were never enough to fill the emptiness created by a traumatic childhood, and Alan was left with a gaping sense of anticlimax. He had also become increasingly reliant on cocaine to prop up the caricature of himself that he presented to the world. Then gradually the drugs stopped working and, in a moment of self-preservation, he realised the party had to come to an end.
It was at the tail end of this vicious circle of success, abuse and self loathing that McGee was faced with his greatest challenge to date: Pete Doherty and the Libertines. Finally McGee had met his match. Pete Doherty was taking more drugs than he ever had, and the venomous feud between Doherty and Carlos Barat would dwarf that of the Gallagher brothers. The relationship came to a dramatic end, with a drug fuelled Doherty diving through a plate glass mirror at a party, almost killing himself and prompting McGee to remove him from his own band. This cathartic moment forced McGee to address the underlying causes of his unhappiness, and made him realize that something had to change.
Creation Records had become a harbour in the storm, and a close-knit family of outsiders. Having McGee as a consultant on the film has allowed us to secure interviews with his friends and colleagues. Through the eyes of those creative giants – those that he’s influenced, managed and nurtured over the years (Noel Gallagher, Sean Ryder and Carlos Barat to name a few), we’ll see how the all-consuming, deeply personal approach McGee took to management was key to his success, but it also left little emotional capital for his own family.