Creation Artifact: The Dawn Of Creation Records 1983-1985 (Cherry Red Records)

The words “iconic” and “eclectic” are so over used these days they’ve lost their meaning. As far as independent music goes, there was a time when they were used much more sparingly, and they usually referred to record labels like Factory Records, and Postcard Records, who both happened to be important to the idea of, and the the founding of, Creation Records in 1983.

bq “When we started Creation, I was twenty three so we made it up as we went along – most of the first batch were mates I had met through my club the Living Room.” — Alan McGee

And that’s the story, in a wee nutshell. The idea for the label was born out of McGee’s weekly London-based nightclub, The Living Room, which hosted shows by early Creation acts like The Loft, and McGee’s own band, Biff Bang Pow, as well as musical heroes of his like Television Personalities. The modern idea of “indie” music grew very much from the scene that McGee and his pals accidently created in that pub that hosted the Living Room nights.

Creation Records went on to become one of the most important, and vital independent labels of the 80s and 90s, and I’d be willing to bet that, if you’re reading this, you have records originally released by them in your collection. A list of associated acts reads like a who’s who of independent British music of the last 30 years: Oasis, Ride, the House of Love, Swervedriver, Teenage Fanclub, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, Boo Radleys, Super Furry Animals, and many, many others. They began with gigs in a pub, moved on to stuffing 7” singles by The Jesus & Mary Chain into covers, eventually morphed through Ecstacy-fueled dance culture, and ended up bestowing Oasis upon the world in the mid 90’s Britpop years.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember about Creation is that after the post punk-era moved into New Romance, and everything went all glittery pop, they reminded us about rock & roll, and falling in love with the sound of jangly guitars. Not only did they record & distribute memorable music of their own, they never missed a chance to tout the stories of musical heroes who inspired them in the first place. These included Arthur Lee & Love, the Beach Boys, Alex Chilton & Big Star, and many others. At a time when many of these acts didn’t mean much in the underground, Creation acts went out of their way to make sure people knew about them.

It’s a great story, and worth reading about. The unfortunate part of the story is that, due to various financial challenges over the years, the label’s catalog got scattered far & wide to various major labels. The reason was survival…throughout its history the label was forced to either sign one-sided manufacturing & distribution deals with bigger labels, or even let some of their more commercially promising bands sign directly to bigger labels in order to bring much needed cash into the Creation bank account. This began with the Jesus & Mary Chain early on, and continued with the House of Love, Oasis, and others.

A fantastic collection of the early days, Creation Artifact: The Dawn Of Creation Records 1983-1985 (Cherry Red Records), is probably as close as we’ll ever see to a proper Creation box set. And this is partially due to the reasons described above.

Covering the initial two years or so of the label’s existence, the five-disc set is divided as follows: Discs 1 & 2 are singles released during the time, disc 3 is rarities & album cuts, disc 4 is demo recordings, and disc 5 is an excellent collection of BBC radio sessions. Any self-respecting Anglophile will want a copy of this as many of the 124 tracks included (by bands like the Jesus & Mary Chain, the Pastels, Biff Bang Pow, Jasmine Minks, the Loft, Bodines, Primal Scream, the Moodists, the Weather Prophets, and others) are previously unreleased. It comes with a beautifully designed book which includes a ton of memorabilia, a 12,000-word essay from UK journalist Neil Taylor, band biographies & reminiscences, and some other goodies.

Creation Artifact follows the Record Store Day 2015 Creation Records 45 (10×7″) box set – The First 10 Creation Records singles released between 1983 and 1984 presented in a deluxe lift off lid box and replica sleeves with a booklet containing reminiscences from the artists.