Editing Creation Records (section)

== 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.<ref name="LarkinGE">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|pages=582/3}}</ref> 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]] and the [[Sex Pistols]].<ref name="Early Years">Yates, Brendan, ''Out of the Void; The Primal Scream Story'' (2003), p. 21</ref>

McGee started the label by putting out the "'73 in '83" single by [[The Legend!]],<ref name="LarkinGE"/> after taking out a £1,000 bank loan.<ref name="Dee">Dee, Johnny (1988) "It's Different For Domeheads: Alan McGee recalls the most memeorable Creation creations", ''Underground'', April 1988 - Issue 13, p. 28</ref> Around the same time, he started a club called The Living Room in [[Tottenham Court Road]],<ref name="LarkinGE"/> through which he met several people who would go on to record for Creation, including [[Peter Astor]] and [[Lawrence (musician)|Lawrence]].<ref name="Dee" /> Distributor [[Rough Trade Records|Rough Trade]] soon began funding releases.<ref name="Dee" />

Creation was among the key labels in the mid-1980s [[Independent music|indie]] movement, with early artists such as [[The Jesus and Mary Chain]], [[The Membranes]] and [[Primal Scream]].<ref name="LarkinGE"/> 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 (band)|Felt]], 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 [[The Jesus and Mary Chain]], which had often courted violence and loutish behaviour.

The early years of Creation feature prominently in 2017 documentary, ''[[Teenage Superstars]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gigwise.com/news/110041/teenage-superstars-sequel-to-big-gold-dream-edinburgh-film-festival|title=Teenage Superstars doc to receive its premiere at Edinburgh Film Festival|website=Gigwise.com|access-date=2018-06-08}}</ref>