Creation Stories: UK release date on Sky Cinema, trailer – and who stars in Alan McGee biopic with Ewan Bremner?

‘They offered me Ewan McGregor at first and I was like ‘well I don’t f***king look like Ewan McGregor’, and then they came back with Spud and I said ‘I’ll take it’
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Starring Ewen Bremner, written by Irvine Welsh and Dean Cavanagh, directed by Nick Moran, and produced by Danny Boyle, Creation Stories is a film that has a lot of Scottish music and film history behind it.

The new movie charts the rise and fall of McGee (played by Bremner and, in his younger years, Leo Flanagan) and his label Creation Records, which brought us Primal Scream and Oasis.

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It’s a story that takes in not just drugs and rock and roll, but politics, as McGee rubs shoulders with New Labour.

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Here is everything you need to know about it.

What is Creation Stories about?

Creation Stories charts McGee’s rollercoaster ride from skint Glasgow schoolkid with a passion for music and an entrepreneurial streak to becoming one of the biggest music moguls in the business, changing the cultural landscape of Britain from the 90s to now.

Ewan Bremnar as Alan McGee in Creation Stories (Photo: Sky Cinema)Ewan Bremnar as Alan McGee in Creation Stories (Photo: Sky Cinema)
Ewan Bremnar as Alan McGee in Creation Stories (Photo: Sky Cinema)

He’s been a musician, manager, record label owner, music blogger and businessman, managing, championing and promoting some of the biggest names in British music - Oasis, Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, Jesus and Mary Chain, Teenage Fanclub, and Happy Mondays.

He co-founded Creation in 1983, sold millions of albums, was courted as one of the founding fathers of Cool Britannia by Tony Blair’s New Labour, and was instrumental in the launch of the government’s New Deal which gave emerging musicians three years of funding to develop.

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Following Creation’s demise in 1999, McGhee continued in the music business launching further labels and catapulting bands like The Hives to platinum sales; his latest imprint, It’s Creation Baby, has releases due out from Charlie Clark, The View and frontman Kyle Falconer.

McGee himself has warned that the film may not be 100 per cent “factually correct”, telling the Scotsman the ending of Creation Stories is “a load of bollocks.”

"I accept it,” he added, “it’s a film, it’s Irvine’s portrayal of my life and I have to wear it.”

Who stars in it?

Star of the show is Trainspotting’s Ewan Bremner, who takes on the imposing role of McGee.

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Speaking about Bremner’s portrayal of him, the Creation Records boss told the Scotsman he expected to be “embarrassed” by seeing himself acted out on screen, but isn’t.

“The only thing I can honestly say is I don’t hate it – I can live with it,” McGee said. “I know that’s probably not a very good answer in print but that’s actually the truth. It’s good. It’s a really good portrayal.

"They offered me Ewan McGregor at first and I was like ‘well I don’t f***king look like Ewan McGregor’, and then they came back with Spud and I said ‘I’ll take it’.”

Elsewhere on the cast, Leo Flanagan (Waterloo Road) plays McGee in his younger years, Skids frontman Richard Jobson and Rori Hawthorn (Game of Thrones) play McGee’s parents John and Laura.

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Ciaran Lawless plays a young Bobbie Gillespie, while Gerry Knotts plays his dad, and Jack Paterson plays Primal Scream band mate, Andrew Innes.

Also on the cast are James Hicks (Maleficent), Mickey Gooch Jr. (Bill & Ted Face the Music), Suki Waterhouse (Pokémon Detective Pikachu), Elysia Welch (Outlander), and Seána Kerslake.

Look out for Irvine Welsh’s cameo as Titch, as well as plenty of appearances from the world of music and entertainment; eldest Gallagher brother Paul as a pub landlord, The Libertines’ Carl Barât, and comedian Ed Byrne as Alistair Campbell.

How can I watch it?

The film received its UK premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival in February.

It will be more widely available from Saturday 20 March, when it is being made available to watch and stream through Sky Cinema.