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Alan McGee: 'Glasvegas could be biggest in the world'

Former Creation man talks about Shockwaves NME Awards Glasgow gig

January 31, 2009 | 23 Comments
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Former Creation record label boss Alan McGee said that he believes Glasvegas could become the "biggest band in the world" after seeing them on the Shockwaves NME Awards Tour at the Glasgow O2 Academy last night (January 30).

The band played the hometown gig along with Friendly Fires, White Lies and Florence And The Machine, and are set to play again at the venue tonight (January 31).

Sending out a bulletin from his MySpace account after the gig McGee, a long-time admirer and friend of the band, declared that the four-some were the greatest band ever to emerge from the Scottish city.

"[Frontman] James Allan is a truly great songwriter," he wrote. "2,500 people in Glasgow singing 'It's My Own [b]Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry' is like a war cry set to a broken heart. Glasgow has never produced a band as good as this ever before.

"The band have got really, really good live as they can now all really play. They could end up being the biggest band in the world after watching last night. They are that good, it was that emotional.

"Roll on tonight, two sold-out Academys in Glasgow, 5,000 tickets. This time last year they were at [venue] King Tuts, 400 people.

"They make you believe in rock'n'roll. They make you believe in Glasgow, Paul [Donaghue]'s [bassist] auntie at 70, punching the air to 'Fuck You It's Over'.

"'Only in Glasgow dude,' I said. This city breathes rock'n'roll. The Glasvegas aunties at 70 are more rock'n'roll than [Coldplay's] Chris Martin will ever dream to be."

The Shockwaves NME Awards Tour continues tonight in Glasgow. See NME.COM/Awards/Tour for full information.

Are you going to the shows? If so send your reviews, stories and pictures to news@nme.com with "Awards tour" in the subject line and we will publish the best.

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Comments (23)

Add a comment

woofbear

Jan 31, 2009

Oh Mr. McGee...you've cried wolf so many times...

kanejb

Jan 31, 2009

They are good, but no. Not the biggest band in the world. You have to look at all the other good bands from Glasgow/Scotland first.

rockgeek

Jan 31, 2009

What a twat

filfil

Jan 31, 2009

If there is one person out there who knows nothing about music, it's Alan McGee. Just look at the last 15 years of his record-labels. It reads like a who-is-who of the worst and most embarrasing bands.His only achievement was to sign Oasis, but let's be clear about this: It does not take a genius to see Oasis play a club an realize that they are quiet good. My half-deaf grand-mother could have spotted that "Live Forever" is a good song.So please NME (and all the other media) can you please stop make news stories about every little blurb that McGee utters. By the way, if you read his blog, he claims that a band called The Grants will be the next big thing.... I rest my case.

aphexbin

Jan 31, 2009

oh dear- I actually like glasvegas, but I wish mcgee would shut up

thelosthighway

Feb 1, 2009

For me there are some aspects of what Alan Mcghee says that ring true, having been born and brought up in Glasgow my whole life there is an identity within the sound and lyrics that is raw and gives a certain representation of the Glasgow sound, albeit with a not to previous Glasgow bands such as the jesus and mary chain and my bloody valentine.I still have a problem with the heavily accented vocals, in the same way as say Scouting for Girls or Kate Nash....but if you are getting big shows in the US on the strength of your sound then fair play to the boys.Looking at the NME shockwaves line-up I think White Lies write the better songs, & perhaps their subject matter is centred on the more universal colderdarker feelings whereas Glasvegas success is grounded in the heart of Glasgow.

ape_dosmil

Feb 1, 2009

Don't get me wrong, McGee is an arse. But a statement such as "his only achievement was to sign Oasis" is way wide of the mark. The Jesus and Mary Chain? My Bloody Valentine? Both those bands are far more important than Oasis could ever hope to be. McGee's greatest achievement is discovering JAMC not Oasis.

markiechops

Feb 1, 2009

I think it was the success of Oasis that actually killed off McGee as a creative force. For releasing "Upside Down" alone I can forgive him his annoying bleating about Coldplay, but when you remember that this man oversaw the release of "Loveless", "Screamadelica" "Bandwagonesque", "Giant Steps" and "Copper Blue" within a 12-month period you begin to realise what an exceptional A&R man he was for a while. Too much white powder clearly saw off his muse, and he hasn't been involved in anything half-decent since XTRMNTR.

Eastpaw

Feb 1, 2009

yup, glasvegas are okay but please shut up mcgee

WolfAmoungWolves

Feb 1, 2009

I'll never understand why McGee doesn't spend more time bragging about how good Super Furry Animals are. They're more interesting than Glasvegas or Oasis, but McGee seems to have allowed himself to forget about them. This is what pisses me off about the man more than anything. Well, that and his his horrible little head.

broony

Feb 1, 2009

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.......McGee has lost the plot!!!!!

Jamie_Fullerton

Feb 1, 2009

Well, I just wish more people could be as blindly enthusiastic about music as Alan. It's a beautiful thing. JF.

Museician

Feb 1, 2009

I like Glasvegas but they won't get to those levels.

folklore

Feb 1, 2009

Tune yer ears in McGee, blabbing-on about yet another blindingly average band. "They make you believe in rock'n'roll" - WTF? Just like Oasis bum-raping The Beatles at every given opportunity? Glasvegas =style over substance: just because it's there doesn't mean it's any good.

x7gardind

Feb 1, 2009

I've got to say I don't think Chris Martin dreams of being that rock n' roll...

Splendid Fool

Feb 1, 2009

Well, I got nothing against enthusiasm and I'm certainly glad that McGee discovered JAMC (and Oasis). But, having bought the Glasvegas album after reading rave reviews, I have to say there are nowadays dozens or even hundreds of bands outside UK that deserve the "biggest band in the world" accolade much more than Glasvegas. Glasvegas, just as much of the UK bands of late are too much insular to make it that big!

Modern Rubbish

Feb 1, 2009

"The Jesus and Mary Chain? My Bloody Valentine? Both those bands are far more important than Oasis could ever hope to be". What a load of rubbish, if not so much musically, culturally Oasis are probably one of the most important bands of the last 20 years, love or hate em i don't think anyone could deny that, in terms of their cultural impact there hasn't been a band like them since, my bloody valentine and the jesus and mary chain were great bands, i wldn't say they were important though.

ava86

Feb 1, 2009

Maybe when they headline wembley stadium like Chris Martin and co. he can talk all he wants. Shamlessly hyping up his own bands

waterbob

Feb 1, 2009

hyping he may be, but they are not actually his band

sc_jag

Feb 1, 2009

There's too many people here in Glasgow who like a band purely because they happen to be from here. These are probably the same people who would no doubt slag off a band from another city if they were to sing their equivalent of having the "Baltic Fleeto up their arse". More folk should be looking at simply whether they like the music or not, not just because they happen to live down the road from you.

fishski

Feb 1, 2009

Not sure in what way Oasis are the most important band culturally in the last 20 years? They've shifted a lot of sales for sure, but that isn't culture and they don't hold a candle to either JAMC or MBV in terms of musical legacy.