The Libertines Carl Barat On Collaborating With Noel Gallagher

In an exclusive interview with Carl Barat of The Libertines, he talked to kulbritania.com about the likelihood of a future collaboration with Noel Gallagher and what the Manchester band meant to him.

We asked Barat that during the making of their third record there were rumours Noel Gallagher wanted to produce the album which finally never materialised we wanted to know if The Libertines would like to do something with him one day to which he replied:

"Yes, definitely. We'd like to do something with Noel. I suppose it was hard for him because we were recording in Thailand at the time. We love and respect Noel and we'd like to do something with him one day if he wants to, of course" and went on to add what Oasis meant to him when he was growing up:

"Oasis meant a lot to me. That's why I respect Noel and Oasis so much like I do because they were literally an Oasis in the middle of a lot of crap at the time. Oasis had this old school, rock n roll attitude which was great really. They were very inspiring. They were a very important band in my life for sure."

The full interview with The Libertines will be available soon.

Source: www.kulbritania.com

Noel Gallagher Urges Record Labels To Sign More Working Class Bands

Noel Gallagher has urged record labels to sign more working class bands.

The former Oasis man complains that since Arctic Monkeys emerged 10 years ago, there haven't been any great rock bands and the internet has had a negative impact.

He's now calling on labels to provide more support to new bands.

Speaking during an appearance on BBC Four's 'What Ever Happened To Rock 'N' Roll?', which airs this evening (July 23), he says: ''In theory the internet and YouTube should be helping new bands get off the ground but it hasn't - it's got worse. The record labels just aren't interested in working-class bands any more.

''[Rock'n'roll is not dead] as long as I'm still going, it's fucking not. It's there but it's certainly lacking the re-generation process.

''Since the Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, Razorlight and The Libertines there has been nothing. You name me one band since them. So that's 10 years ago. So the evidence is that it is kind of in hibernation.''

Earlier this year Gallagher took a swipe at "shit" charts shows and mainstream radio, stating that if Oasis were starting out today they "would have nowhere near the impact" that they had in the '90s.
 He told NME at the time: "If you're Number One in the charts now, it automatically means you must be shit. Bands now go cap-in-hand to the industry and the industry has already decided what it wants for the fucking chart stars. But the charts are all the fucking same. Every single song in the Top 10 is the same shit with a different voice."

Source: www.nme.com

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Noel Gallagher: "It's Disturbing That A Dude With Fake DJ Decks Is The Future"

The former Oasis man was talking to XFM at this year's T In The Park Festival when he made the comment on current headliners.

Noel Gallagher has told XFM that he finds large-scale EDM artists "disturbing." Before performing at this year's T In The Park Festival, Noel was speaking about the current state of headliners.

"It's quite telling…that still at festivals the biggest draw are bands who have been around for ten years" he said. "Kasabian are the newest of that lot. They've been around ten years."

"Radiohead, Coldplay, Prodigy, Chemical Brothers. They've all been going fifteen years. So once that generation of nineties bands eventually decides they've made enough money and will retire, then what are we left with?"

I find it quite disturbing" he went on,  "for the future of festivals (and youth culture, in a way) if a dude in a hat and a pair of fake DJ decks pressing play on a CD player is what it's all about. That's quite a bleak future."

As well as Noel Gallagher, Kasabian and The Libertines, the likes of David Guetta and Avicii also headlined the festival.

You can hear the full interview here.
Source: www.xfm.co.uk

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Noel Gallagher On Playing Obscure Oasis B-Sides And T In The Park

Noel has told XFM that he's playing less Oasis songs in his live sets now, admitting that "there's no point trying to be clever about this".

Noel Gallagher has promised to play "the big tunes" at his live shows, in favour of "obscure Oasis b-sides" that his newer fans won't recognise. "I've done enough gigs to know. There's no point trying to be clever about this," Noel told XFM's Jim Gellatly.

"Playing obscure Oasis b-sides - although they're great and I love them - there's like 11 people dotted around the arena going berserk. And there's 8901 people kind of just thinking: what's this?"

"If I go see Neil Young...I want him to play the bangers, do you know what I mean?...I want him to play the big tunes."

Noel also praised the line-up for T In The Park, where he'll headline alongside Kasabian and The Libertines.

"I looked at the bill for T In The Park and I would probably say out of all the festival bills I've seen, they've smashed it this year. They've got the Libertines, Kasabian and The Prodigy and dare I say it, myself on the same weekend is no mean feat.

"It's always great to gig in Scotland, no matter where it is...I'll bring my wellies and my tartan umbrella."

And Noel thinks that closing out the festival will bring its own joys - like reducing grown men to tears.

"I'm closing it aren't I? Sunday night...there's going to be some casualties there during The Masterplan."

Listen to the interview here.

Source: www.xfm.co.uk

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Noel Gallagher Turns Down Invite To Work With Libertines

Noel Gallagher has said that he cannot accept Carl Barât's invite to produce the new Libertines album.


As reported, Barat announced he wants Noel Gallagher to produce the eagerly awaited record, stating, "I'd love to work with him", in the new issue of NME, which is on newsstands now and available digitally.

However, speaking to NME in a video interview you can watch above, Gallagher states that the band's insistence on recording abroad means he will be unable to participate.

"We've exchanged a few emails but unfortunately they want to do it in Thailand," Gallagher says. "With the best will in the world, I'm on tour and I can't do it. I would genuinely love to be involved but they're going to do it in Thailand and I can't be in Thailand."

The High Flying Birds singer does offer a piece of advice to The Libertines, however, regarding their third album. He stated: "As long as they don't overthink it, they'll be alright."

Speaking to NME, The Libertines' Carl Barat had previously said: "I know Noel's really busy, but hopefully he's got a bit of time for the Libertines who love him so."

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds release their second album in March. The Libertines are expected release an album later in 2015.

Source: www.nme.com

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Carl Barat Wants Noel Gallagher To Produce The New Libertines Album

Carl Barat has announced he wants Noel Gallagher to produce the next Libertines' album, stating, "I'd love to work with him".

In the new issue of NME, which is on newsstands now and available digitally, Barât explains why he wants the Mancunian to work on the record - which he says will probably be recorded in April. "I'm going to email Noel Gallagher. I know he's really busy, but hopefully he's got a bit of time for the Libertines who love him so," he says.

Barât reveals that Gallagher has already expressed an interest in taking on the role, adding: "Noel's Noel, isn't he? I'd love to work with him. He's hilarious, but he has such clarity of vision as well. That's something the Libertines could certainly use."

The Libertines' long awaited new record is expected to be released later this year. It follows a series of high profile reunion gigs from the band in 2014, including a sold-out date in London's Hyde Park and three nights at Alexandra Palace. Barat recently said that songs he and Doherty had already written for the album were "surprisingly upbeat".

Pete Doherty has confirmed to NME that The Libertines will be recording their first album in 11 years at Karma Studios in Thailand. The band released a short video in December that showed them signing a record deal with Virgin/EMI in Thailand in lieu of the release. They have since been confirmed as the first headliners for T In The Park 2015.

Meanwhile, Pete Doherty will play two solo live shows at London's Brixton Jamm on February 22.

Source: www.nme.com

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Noel Gallagher Pledges Support For Greenock Charity Gig

Former Oasis star Noel Gallagher has pledged support for a charity gig in Greenock.

The singer-songwriter handed over a signed Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds CD to be auctioned.

Greenock organiser Michael Scott is the brains behind next month’s gig, which is headlined by The Complete Stone Roses and is in aid of Ardgowan Hospice.

He contacted the musician’s management team and other top bands and has been delighted at the response.

Michael said: “A massive thank-you to Noel Gallagher and his manager for sending this.

“I’m a huge fan of Noel’s — I might have to auction it for myself!”

Other items include signed CDs from James and souvenirs from The Libertines.

He said: “They all think it’s amazing that I’m organising such a big event. Some of them have had family members cared for at a hospice.”

Michael also managed to secure a signed CD from indie rockers The Charlatans after meeting them last month.

He said: “They’re a cracking bunch of guys.”

Tickets have been selling fast for the gig, which is being held at Greenock Town Hall on Saturday 21 March.

Michael said: “The concert is nearly sold out after increasing the capacity.

“We are also trying to arrange a big after-party as well.”

Michael wants to raise as much as he can for a charity which is close to his heart.

He said: “I’ve had family and friends who have been looked after in the hospice.”

The Soviets are one of the support bands and tickets cost £17.50.

For more information visit www.justgiving.com/michaelscharityconcert

Source: www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk

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Noel Gallagher Wants To Produce The New Libertines Album If He Has The Time

Noel Gallagher has told Q Magazine he would definitely be interested in producing the Libertines new album. 

He said "I'll definitely be interested in the Libertines LP. If I had time I'd love to produce that record. I love those two (Carl Barrat & Pete Doherty). I hope the record is as interesting as the journey making it, because, if they actually do make it, that'll be amazing in itself. And I'm sure, if it's all old tunes that they've binned off... I know people go, 'Oh, f**king hell', but. having binned off loads of old tunes myself and still discovered odd bits here and there, there's bound to be some good stuff there".

The current issue of Q is on sale now here!

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Tickets On Sale Now For 'This Feeling' New Year’s Eve Shows

Libertines legend Carl Barât & his new band The Jackals are to see in 2015 by playing two tiny New Year’s Eve This Feeling club night shows at The Macbeth in Hoxton and the Amersham Arms in New Cross.

The band will initially take to the stage at the Amersham Arms in South London around 10pm before hot-footing it across London to Hoxton’s 300-capacity The Macbeth North London for a second show after midnight.

Carl Barât said of the This Feeling NYE shows “I’ve always had a thoroughly enjoyable night DJing at The Macbeth and Amersham Arms so I’m chuffed that the fellows at This Feeling and Jack Daniel’s are letting me and the Jackals play at both venues on New Year’s Eve. It will be a great way start to 2015.”

Tickets £25 adv / £30 door (very limited) | 8pm - 4am | rest of the line up to be announced Dec 1st

**Tickets go on sale now!

info & advance tickets www.thisfeeling.co.uk

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Alan McGee On His First Impressions Of Liam And Noel Gallagher And More

Watch the video below in which Alan McGee discusses his initial impressions the Gallagher brothers, Oasis, his thoughts on Pete Doherty and the challenges of managing The Libertines, and reflects on a career spanning 30 years in music...

 

New Autobiography On Alan McGee's Incredible Rock N Roll Life

Former Creation records boss Alan McGee is telling the true story of his incredible life with the publication of his autobiography, Creation Stories: Riots, Raves and Running a Label.

He’s the man who signed Oasis and was responsible for one of the greatest music labels in rock ‘n’ roll history.

And now former Creation records boss Alan McGee is telling the true story of his incredible life with the publication of his autobiography, Creation Stories: Riots, Raves and Running a Label.

It’s a riveting, rollercoaster of a read documenting incredible highs as Oasis became the biggest band in the world and crushing lows as the Glaswegian’s life fell apart due to drink and drugs.

However, it was Wales that would became his great redeemer and McGee’s sanctuary from the excesses of the music industry.

Buying a house in Hay-on-Wye in 1997, initially as a holiday retreat, the music mogul moved to the Welsh countryside for good five years ago, desperate to escape London with his wife Kate and their daughter Charlie.

“I think I was going past McCartneys the estate agents in Hay-on-Wye and I saw this gaff,” says McGee, recounting the story of how the border town first cast its spell.

“Now I don’t know if it was a rock ‘n’ roll message being sent because of the name of the estate agent but I’d prefer to say it was all down to Led Zeppelin if I’m honest.

“ I remember when I was 15 and Led Zepplein were walking over the hills in Wales and had these big houses. I thought to myself if I ever make it I want one of them.

“No matter what happens, I’ll never move from here. There’s a ley line under us, Strata Florida, which runs straight through the house, all the way from Glastonbury to Aberystwyth Castle, with us in the middle.”

Describing life in Powys as a spiritual rehab, McGee says he spent five years reading, watching films and bringing up his daughter, happily isolated from the rat race.

The rest was recuperative in every sense because after five years he was ready to re-immerse himself in the music industry, but on his own terms.”

The 53-year-old, who also launched the careers of Primal Scream, Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and Super Furry Animals amongst others, announced his long-awaited return to the music industry this year with 359 Records – a joint collaboration with long-standing independent label Cherry Red, run from his Powys base.

“The best thing I ever did was going away for five years. Where I live is completely spiritual. I can sit in my room, look at the Black Mountains, and I can just decide should I or should I not go and do this or go and do that?

"I find in London that everything is like a bumrush every single time. It’s just too much."

“We split to Wales because London is such a me-me-me culture,” he adds. “It got so boring.

"You come down here and people are actually nice. You don’t usually meet people in London who are actually nice.

"Everyone has got an agenda. Me and the missus were in London for too long. Plus my daughter was around six or seven and I thought ‘I really don’t want her to become Londonised’.

“I think I’m averse to London,” he adds. “It eats your soul. It’s not people’s fault, it’s just there’s no spirituality in London.

"There may be creativity, but there’s no spirituality. People are on the breadline, and they’re just used up as a resource.

"People just end up using each other, you know, eating each other, it’s a kind of cannibalism. It freaks me out. All I ever want to do in London is get in and get out of it.

“With the technology now, it means you can run everything from home. I’ve got the book out, I’ve got a record company, a publishing company and two films all coming out, and I’m running it from my bedroom in Wales.

“The bottom line is, if I can do it on a Blackberry and a computer, anyone can do it – because I’m not that bright. You’ve got to have the confidence, but once you go after it and do it, then you realise you can do it.”

The reborn music mogul has never been busier. In addition to his autobiography and 359 Music, his first film as producer, Kubricks, has secured a distribution deal and he will be making an appearance in the forthcoming music industry comedy Svengali, which stars Welsh actor Johnny Owen and Sherlock star Martin Freeman.

McGee, who DJs regularly around the world, will be returning to one of his favourite Welsh haunts – the Mountain Ash Inn pub in Mountain Ash – next Saturday for another 359 Music night, after launching the label in Wales back in September.

Being introduced to landlord Tony Rivers through mutual acquaintances, the former Creation Records man admits it’s a place he loves.

“I just came and DJed one Sunday night and there were about 200 of them singing Oasis songs,” he laughs. “I had a blast so I kept coming back.

“When we started the label I said we would come back here and do a 359 Music night, because I like it here. I don’t think this part of the world gets the publicity it deserves. I think too many people see it as a backwater and a forgotten part of Britain.

“When we said we’re going to do the launch in Mountain Ash, people were saying to me ‘well where is it?’

But I love it, it’s this little rock ‘n’ roll haven in the middle of the valleys with posters of The Smiths and Sex Pistols on the wall it’s unlike any pub you will ever see.”

Creation Stories: Riots, Raves and Running a Label is out now, published by Sidgwick & Jackson.

Read excerpts from Alan McGee's book:

Super Furry Animals get tanked up

Signed by Creation Records AnR Mark Bowen (from Wales) they were perhaps the last great Creation band. They came out of the Cardiff music scene, and their lead singer Gruff Rhys was really charismatic. Mark took me to see them in the Camden Falcon at the end of 1995, where they were supporting Pearl Lowe's terrible band Powder.

The sound through the PA was that bad I thought Gruff Rhys was singing in Welsh. I told him afterwards it would help sales if he'd sing in English, and he said , 'I was!'

My only real interference with them was insisting that The Man Don't Give A F**** come out as an A side, instead of a B side. It could have been written for me, you know there was no that wasn't going to be a single on my label!

We had fun marketing the band. We were going to give them a full page in the NME, and they said, 'We don't want that, we want a tank. We want to deliver the single to Radio 1 in a tank.

That kind of logic wouldn't have appealed to every label boss, but it seemed perfectly reasonable to me and I happily handed over the money. It probably got loads more press attention than an advert would have done, but that wasn't the thinking behind it. It just appealed to my sense of mischief. I wonder if my sense of mischief, whatever trouble it's got me into, has also led to some of my greatest successes.

The Libertines go wild in Wales

I had a great idea, I'd take Pete Doherty and Caral Barat to the house I'd bought in the Welsh countryside, get them away from the temptations of London and they'd write the next album in nice peaceful setting.

I couldn't control it. Everything else, I've been able to control the scenarios. The Libertines were completely out of control.

Everybody had warned me but I didn’t listen. One morning  Carl Barât smashed his head against a sink, after a row with Doherty. His eye was hanging out of his head. There was so much blood it was unbelievable. He managed to do £400-worth of damage to a big marble sink.

Bill Clinton bunks up

These days I don't travel nearly as much. I'm a family man, and I like the quiet of Wales. People comes to see us.

Bill Clinton came to stay once. I was going to do a gig in New York in May 2001, and on AOL messenger Peter Florence, the director of Hay Festival, said, 'Hi Alan, what are you doing next weekend?'

When I said I was in Amaerica, the next question was, 'Can Bill Clinton stay in your house?' I told (my wife) Kate, and she was very excited. 'What! Of course he can.'

I didn't particularly want Bill Clinton to saty at my house. American presidents, I know what their game is. Clinton's no different to the others, he's just really eloquent. But if Kate wanted it, that's okay: Clinton could stay.

The irony of all ironies was that Kate, who thought she was going to get to hang out with Clinton, wasn't even allowed to stay in her own house! She got kicked out and had to stay with Peter Florence's mum!

That was the end of being a hotel for the literature festival.

Courtney Love

She's been to stay at my house in Wales. She's a keen horse rider.

You can ride out of my place for miles into the countryside. She lost a £40,000 bracelet when she fell off her horse up there and asked me to send out a search party. There's no way we would have found it. For all I know, there's still a £40,000 bracelet up the hill.

Plant and Page

I've many of my heroes through becoming well known in music. I used to see Robert Plant wandering around. In 2005 he phoned me up and asked me to DJ his son's wedding.

Well, you don't get more flattering offers than that, and I showed up at the wedding in Robert's place down the road. Jimmy Page had just got sober and was wandering around. Jimmy Page is a god to me.

I remember putting Lola by The Kinks on as the first song and seeing Jimmy and Robert head to the dance floor and start dancing together, that was the absolute highlight of my DJing career!

Source: www.walesonline.co.uk

Russell Brand Would Want A 'Taxidermied Noel Gallagher' On Desert Island

Russell Brand has told BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs programme that if he were to become stranded he'd want a stuffed Noel Gallagher as his luxury item.

When asked by presenter Kirsty Young what item he’d want with him to make his life more bearable, Brand asked: "You can't take a person, can you? I can't take Noel Gallagher as a luxury item, as a minstel?" Young replied: "You could take him stuffed." Brand then said: "That’s the perfect thing. I'd like a taxidermied Noel Gallagher, perhaps somehow misrepresented – like wearing one of Liam’s jackets."

Later he added: "I've got my stuffed Noel Gallagher to worship and dress up, if I want to. I can do what I like to him. It’ll be a mockery of that man on that island."

For his eight musical choices, the comedian and actor picked:

Amy Winehouse – 'You Know I’m No Good'
Daniel Johnston – 'Like A Monkey In A Zoo'
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – 'Red Right Hand'
The Libertines – 'Tell The King'
Ravi Shankar With Family & Friends – 'I Am Missing You'
Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip – 'Thou Shalt Always Kill'
Nirinjan Kaur – 'Triple Mantra'
Morrissey – 'Now My Heart is Full'

Earlier this year, Brand performed with Noel Fielding for the Teenage Cancer Trust Show at London's Royal Albert Hall as part of a week of events organised by Gallagher. During the show, Brand played a video recorded at Gallagher's house, which showed the singer's children punching a Brand face mask while shouting, "I hate Russell Brand!"

Source: www.nme.com

Blue M&M Nearly Kills Liam Gallagher

Liam Gallagher has put his constitution to the test with a rock ’n’ roll lifestyle stretching back to his teenage years.

But the Beady Eye star has received his first serious glimpse of the Pearly Gates after a blue M&M sent him crashing into anaphylactic shock last month.

Liam has been diagnosed with the life-threatening nut allergy after suffering a reaction to his favourite sweets while staying in a hotel on tour.

And now the former Oasis man has to carry a special injection with him everywhere he goes in case a rogue nut creeps into his system.

Speaking at the launch of The Red House restaurant in south-west London, he said: “I’ve done some stuff over the years but never, never did I think a f****** blue M&M would be the thing that could have killed me. I was in a hotel on holiday and got in about the mini bar.

“I was bored and hungry, so it’s what you do, man. I’ve always liked M&Ms so I got into them. I had a blue one.

“My mouth started to swell up and I could feel it tightening my throat, man. I had to go to the docs and get it checked out straight away.

“It happened again a couple of weeks after and now I’ve got to carry a syringe about with me in case of emergencies. Proper Pete Doherty gear.”

The singer was out on the town to support his Pretty Green clothing business partner Chris Jonns, who has opened a new top-notch restaurant and bar near the King’s Road. Beady Eye are about to release second album, BE, which he is itching to get out and tour.

Liam was drinking with brother-in-law Liam Howlett from The Prodigy, Hurts’ singer Theo Hutchcraft, rappers Rizzle Kicks and The Libertines hero Carl Barrat.

Liam’s missus Nicole Appleton, her sister Natalie and fellow All Saint Shaznay Lewis were on the lash too.

The night ended in The Box club in Soho in the wee small hours.

Luckily it’s not the kind of venue to leave peanuts out for the punters...

Source: www.thesun.co.uk

Alan Mcgee Auctioning Off Original Oasis Demo And More

Former music mogul Alan Mcgee is selling off his collection of rock memorabilia, including an original demo tape by British band Oasis.

MCGee, who founded Creation Records and discovered the Wonderwall hitmakers, is selling his prized pieces after admitting he no longer feels attached to the past.
As well as the Oasis demo from 1993, other items include never-before heard tracks by The Libertines, notes from Hole singer Courtney Love, and a book given as a birthday present by Noel Gallagher’s then-wife Meg Matthews.

MCGee tells the Manchester Evening News, "I’m just clearing out all this rock and roll rubbish from my house. I’ve no real interest in the past and have sort of moved on from the music scene - I’m more interested in books and films now.

"I’ve probably only sorted out 30 per cent of the stuff so there will be more to come in future auctions. If anyone asks if I’m selling all this stuff because I’m skint (poor), it’s not true: I live in a very big house in the country."

The lots will be auctioned off as part of a larger music memorabilia sale in Manchester, England on Saturday (25Feb12).

Source: www.contactmusic.com

Alan McGee Talks Creation, Oasis And More

The story of Creation really is one of the greatest ever told - Creation Records that is.

Maverick boss Alan McGee, who signed Oasis and Primal Scream, started the label with a £1,000 loan in 1983 and sold it to Sony for £30million in 1999.

The self-dubbed President Of Pop ran his business fuelled by a cocktail of drugs until a major health scare panicked him into going clean.

He admitted: "I was on one continuous bender from 1987 until 1994. Until Oasis came along the Creation staff were more rock and roll than the bands we signed. Then Oasis came along and things got even crazier.

"I was permanently off my head on cocaine, ecstasy, acid and speed. We'd be awake for three days.

"We went one further than having dealers hanging around. We just employed them instead.

"But they were different times. If you behaved now like we used to people would phone the police."

Alan's label is up there with Factory Records from Manchester and America's Motown and Sub Pop as the great music independents of the past century.

He gave us (What's The Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis and Screamadelica from Primal Scream and dominated Nineties music in the Britpop era.

Alan's love of music was forged in his hometown of Glasgow, where he grew up with Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie.

They went to see The Clash in 1977 and vowed to make something of themselves through music.

A new documentary, Upside Down: The Creation Records Story, captures the spirit of the label on film for the first time. It is now being shown in cinemas and will be released on DVD next Monday.

Alan, 50, said: "No one has ever managed to successfully convey what it was like in the eye of the storm. This film really captures it."

Creation are mainly associated with Oasis, the band McGee signed on a handshake with Noel Gallagher in 1993 after catching them at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow.

But it had all begun in the Eighties when McGee moved to London to start club night The Living Room.

He ploughed any cash not spent on drinking into the fledgling Creation Records and enjoyed his first hits with The Jesus And Mary Chain, The House Of Love, My Bloody Valentine and Ride.

A major turning point came in the late Eighties, when McGee heard acid house and persuaded Gillespie to take notice. Primal Scream were inspired to make their album Screamadelica.

Alan moved Creation into new premises in Hackney, east London, which became their operations centre for their most hedonistic years.

Alan recalled: "I went to the Hacienda club in Manchester one night and dance music suddenly made sense. Shaun Ryder was off his head leading 600 wild-eyed ravers on the dance floor."

The next few years were the busiest, with McGee signing bands and releasing records weekly.

He said: "During our creative peak in about 1991 I was motoring in all senses. I was banging records out but I was out of my mind too."

The year saw a run of Creation albums that are regarded as classics, including Screamadelica and Loveless by My Bloody Valentine.

But with Alan's industrial consumption of narcotics his attention to the business side of things was not as good as his ear for music.

He said: "Things got so out of hand I went to America and signed a deal for Shane MacGowan worth £300k. It wasn't until I got back home someone pointed out he wasn't even one of our acts."

It seemed the Creation rollercoaster was coming off the rails when Alan saw a new band called Oasis. It would change his life.

Alan said: "I was up in Glasgow seeing my dad and I wasn't sure I'd even go to the gig. I got there early by mistake. Oasis were on first, before most people arrived. There was this amazing young version of Paul Weller sat there in a light blue Adidas tracksuit. I assumed he was the drug dealer and that Bonehead, the guitarist, was the singer.

"It was only when they went on stage I realised it was the lead singer Liam Gallagher. I knew I had to sign them.

"Noel and I talked after the show and just said 'done' and he turned out to be a man of his word.

"I was lucky to be there. We didn't send out scouts. Most of my signings were because I happened to see new bands. That couldn't happen any more. If a new band as much as farts it's all over the internet."

During the early Oasis years Alan joined in the partying, which became wilder than ever.

He said: "We would jump on a private jet on a whim and fly to Brazil or LA for a party."

It all came crashing down on a visit to Los Angeles in 1994. Alan was staying at the Mondrian hotel when he felt so ill he called the reception desk for help. Soon he was being taken to hospital in a wheelchair and wearing an oxygen mask. He checked into a clinic and disappeared from the music scene for nine months.

Alan returned to watch the rest of the Britpop era from a clean perspective. He said: "The joy of running a record label had left me but there was a new feeling of having the biggest group in the world. It was a great two or three years."

The scene reached its biggest in 1996, when Oasis played back-to-back gigs in the grounds of stately Knebworth House, in Hertfordshire. By the end of the decade Alan had sold his remaining Creation shares to Sony for £30million - having already let 49 per cent go in 1992 for £3.5million to avoid bankruptcy.

Later he ran another label, Poptones, club night Death Disco and managed The Charlatans and The Libertines.

In 2008 he bowed out of the industry and moved to rural Wales with wife Kate Holmes and daughter Charlotte.

He says he hates everything about the modern music industry.

He explains: "I'd have to be doing sponsorship deals with coffee companies just to put a gig on. It's all about brands now and dealing with accountants."

Source: www.thesun.co.uk

Best British Track?

For a forthcoming feature in Q Magazine they are seeking nominations for the best, most quintessentially British track by a British artist since 1960. Just one track that you, the Q reader, believe best reflects the British experience in that time.

It might be Live Forever by Oasis, That's Entertainment by The Jam, could be Panic by The Smiths, Born Slippy by Underworld, or Up The Bracket by The Libertines, or of course - something totally different. The choice is yours!

Simply enter here and keep an eye out for it possibly appearing in a future issue of the magazine!