HE was the man who discovered Oasis and he was officially hailed for his ‘Godlike Genius’ by the NME in 1996.

But Alan McGee is remarkably modest about his achievements in the music business.

Back in the 80s and 90s, the Scottish music mogul had a pretty much unrivalled knack for uncovering and fostering great talent. He championed acts like The Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream and My Bloody Valentine – but told Weekend there was no magic formula.

Alan said: “I was just putting records out with my friends and it blew up. Things just happened, I thought: ‘That worked’ and that’s kind of the way I’ve always been.”

The 58-year-old co-founded Creation Records which became one of the key labels in the mid-80s indie movement.

He added: “It was literally music that I liked. I’m still like that. If I like a band, I’ll sign them.

“It’s a gut instinct. But I’ve never signed people because I think they can sell, I just sign people because I think they’re good.”

Even Alan’s teenage years were filled with rock and roll stories.

He met Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie at King’s Park Secondary School in Glasgow but their paths did not really cross until they both joined the punk band, The Drains, in 1978.

Alan said: “I discovered T-Rex when I was 10 and Bowie when I was 11 so that was my journey.

“Bob did his own thing but we became best mates when I was 16 and he was 15.”

Also among the line-up for The Drains was Primal Scream’s Andrew Innes and when Alan moved to London he formed another band with Andrew called The Laughing Apple.

Warrington Guardian:

He added: “They were great times. The punk bands were great. I was a bit young to be in a punk band at first.

“I was 16 at the time but when I reached 19 or 20 the music was already changing and I was in a post punk band.”

The music scene continued to evolve but a lot of the characters at the centre of it stayed the same so when Primal Scream formed it was natural that they were drawn towards Alan’s Creation label.

But discovering Oasis was more of a happy accident.

Alan spotted the band in May 1993 at King Tut’s in Glasgow. He was there to see Boyfriend and 18-Wheeler and Oasis were not even meant to be on the bill.

He said: “They weren’t supposed to be playing that night and blagged their way onto the stage.”

Their history-in-the-making set included Up In The Sky, Bring It On Down, Helter Skelter and I Am The Walrus.

Alan added: “I happened to be there and it was absolutely fantastic so I signed them.

“We got on right from the start and I knew they were good but I didn’t think they were going to sell 60 million records.”

At that time Creation was severely struggling financially – and Oasis undoubtedly saved the label.

Alan said: “Oasis came around at the right point. We would definitely have been out of the game if it wasn’t for that.”

This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of Alan’s life in music and he will be sharing his tales and answering questions at the Pyramid on Friday, May 10. It all came about following a talk he gave for the British Music Experience.

The overwhelming response quickly led to a tour being devised.

Alan added: “My agent went: ‘This could be big. We could do a lot more shows’ and because I’m a grafter I said: ‘Let’s do it. Let’s see what happens’. So far, he’s got me 37 shows and we’re now talking about Australia, America and Europe so it will probably go on between me managing bands and doing records.”

Earlestown’s The Ks talk about the night they were discovered and signed by Alan McGee’s Creation23 label

Warrington Guardian:

ALAN McGee returned to the record label business in August with the launch of Creation23. Among the first bands he has signed are Earlestown’s The Ks.

Guitarist Ryan Breslin said: “We first had the connection through our friend Nikki Strange, who told McGee about us. I actually went down to meet McGee at one of the Creation23 nights he puts on at The Social in London and the first thing he said was: ‘Will you come down and play for me?’

“Nikki persuaded McGee to come up to Liverpool when we were playing at The Cavern as part of the Northern Exposure InMusic final along with five other up-and-coming bands.

“The minute we walked off stage he called us over straight away and said: ‘I want to put out your next record’. We were obviously over the moon.

“What a night that was for the band – not only to be announced the winners of the InMusic Final to play Croatia’s InMusic Festival alongside likes of The Cure, Foals and Suede but to also get a record deal with Alan McGee’s Creation23!

“He’s a great guy, very down to earth and very much for the people.

“We’re grateful to be in this position, but at the same time we feel it’s deserved as we give everything to this band.”

The Ks will be joining Alan on stage during his Pyramid talk.

Ryan added: “We have got a busy year ahead of us with some big festivals and plenty of shows around the country. We’re looking forward to a couple of dates in Warrington – at the Pyramid with McGee and at Neighbourhood Weekender.”

Meanwhile, a film has also been announced about Alan’s life.

It is based on his autobiography, The Creation Records Story: Riots, Raves and Running a Label, and Trainspotting duo Danny Boyle and writer Irvine Welsh are reuniting for the project.

Alan said: “It optioned by the film company about three years ago but I didn’t know about Danny Boyle being involved. He’s just jumped on to this film because he’s mates with Irvine.

“There’s a brilliant team behind it. I’m going to be consulted on it. It’ll be a ‘version’ of the book. I don’t think it’s going to be that realistic. I think it’s called artistic licence...”

An Evening With Alan McGee, including a set with his latest signing The Ks, is at the Pyramid on May 10. Visit pyramidparrhall.com or call 442345