The Jasmine Minks - Sad video free download

The Jasmine Minks signed to Creation in 1984 and have remained with McGee until this present day. Now presently signed to Poptones, the band have been there from the very start of the label and have seen virtually every band come and go.

Here Jim Shepherd from the band talks to us about what it was like in those early days, receiving letters from the Manics, McGee discovering the Mary Chain and what life is like on Poptones.

Tell us about the first time you met Alan and how you came to sign to Creation.

We had done a demo of a few songs in a small studio in Brixton, South London and sent the tape off to the Melody Maker. Ian Pye gave us a fairly nice write up and the next thing I know is that I get a phone call from a guy called Alan Mcgee. He was direct with me and said that he had heard of us through Ian Pye, he was starting a new record label and looking for groups. 'Do you like the Velvet underground?' he said and, of course, I said yes and the bond was made.

Alan came along to watch us rehearse - It was quite nerve-wracking having someone watch us. We played really fast and ran through all our songs without a break. The last song was 'Think' and Alan nodded vigorously after hearing it. We went for a drink afterwards and I remember Alan drinking half pints of beer (he soon changed that habit) which we thought was a bit unusual (we were heavy drinkers at the time and spent our weekends speeding on amphetamines with beer to keep us straight). He thought that some of our songs were good and that my guitar playing stuck out (Alan was later to try and do a deal with Cherry Red for me to do a solo guitar album in a Tom Verlaine style) but they were too long and needed trimming.