Creation Stories

This biopic of Alan McGee, the self-mythologising svengali behind Creation Records, makes for a wild and funny rock 'n' roll ride. McGee's bands defined the indie musical landscape of the 1980s, and those that would dominate the mainstream in the 90s, but we first meet him as a young punk in the late-70s strumming a tennis racket and dreaming of success. Swapping Glasgow for London, he decides to make a go of it, flying by the seat of his leather pants as his fledgling label takes shape. Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting) plays the grown-up McGee with an in-your-face energy, which complements the amphetamine-charged pacing of Nick Moran's film. McGee's chance encounter seeing an early Oasis gig in Glasgow is singled out as a watershed moment, after which his label goes supersonic while he himself hits rock bottom and winds up in rehab. Thankfully, co-writers Dean Cavanagh and Irvine Welsh (adapting McGee's own memoir) forego too much sermonising about the perils of booze and pills, even cheekily suggesting McGee's conversion to New Labour was an equally damaging influence. The supporting characters are sketchily drawn but McGee's family serves to ground the story and humanise our unruly hero, while musical contributions from the Jesus and Mary Chain to Primal Scream provide a roaring soundtrack to a remarkable life story.