Paul Weller, Super Furry Animals (pictured), CAST, BENTLEY RHYTHM ACE and ASIAN DUB FOUNDATION are among acts approached by Creation Records boss Alan McGee to appear on an album he is compiling to support the campaign to decriminalise cannabis in the UK.
McGee says he has sent out more than 50 letters to artists and has received ten positive replies so far. Artists who have given the project the nod include Hurricane #1, Jamiroquai, Massive Attack, Texas and Travis. McGee says all profits from the album will go to the Stapleford Centre, a drug addictions unit based in London.
“There’s other people I’m trying to get,” McGee said. “I’m trying to get hold of Marcus (Russell, Oasis manager) at the moment. I want it to be a lot of different bands. We’re trying to go outside Creation to make it interesting for everybody.”
McGee was asked to put the album together by Rosie Boycott, the editor of UK ‘quality’ broadsheet The Independent On Sunday, who has launched a campaign to decriminalise cannabis.
McGee says: “I think in 150 years drugs might be legalised but cannabis might be different. One in four people die of smoking. Nothing like that figure of people die from taking Ecstasy. And alcohol is the worst and most easily available drug of all.”
However, the Creation boss said that he’s only smoked cannabis on four or five occasions. “It was never really my drug when I was using. I was always more into uppers.” McGee says he’s aiming for a summer release for the as-yet untitled album.