My Bloody Valentine are a rock band formed in Dublin in 1983. Since 1987, the band's lineup has consisted of founding members Kevin Shields (vocals, guitar, sampler) and Colm O Ciosoig (drums, sampler), with Bilinda Butcher (vocals, guitar) and Debbie Googe (bass). Their music is best known for its merging of dissonant guitar textures with ethereal melody and unorthodox production techniques, and helped to pioneer the alternative rock subgenre known as shoegazing during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Following several unsuccessful early releases and membership changes, My Bloody Valentine signed to Creation Records in 1988.
Creation Records and Loveless: 1988-1991
In January 1988, My Bloody Valentine performed in Canterbury, opening for Biff Bang Pow!, a band that featured Creation Records founder Alan McGee. After "blowing [Biff Bang Pow!] off the stage", My Bloody Valentine were described as "the Irish equivalent to Husker Du" by McGee, who approached the band after the show and offered them an opportunity to record and release a single on Creation. The band recorded five songs at a studio in Walthamstow, East London in less than a week and in August 1988, released You Made Me Realise. The EP was well received by the independent music press and according to AllMusic's Nitsuh Abebe, the release that "made critics stand up and take notice of the brilliant things My Bloody Valentine were up to", adding "it developed some of the stunning guitar sounds that would become the band's trademark". It debuted at number 2 on the UK Indie Chart. Following the success of You Made Me Realise, My Bloody Valentine released their debut full-length studio album, Isn't Anything, in November 1988. Recorded in rural Wales, the album was a major success, receiving widespread critical acclaim, peaking at number 1 on the UK Indie Chart and influencing a number of "shoegazing" bands, who according to Allmusic, "worked off the template My Bloody Valentine established with [the album]".  In February 1989, My Bloody Valentine began recording their second studio album at Blackwing Studios in Southwark, London. Creation Records believed that the album could be recorded "in five days". However, it soon "became clear that wasn't going to happen". Following several unproductive months, during which Shields assumed main duties on the musical and technical aspects of the sessions, the band relocated to a total of nineteen other studios and hired a number of engineers, including Alan Moulder, Anjali Dutt and Guy Fixsen. Due to the extensive recording time, Shields and Alan McGee agreed to release another EP and subsequently the band released Glider in April 1990. Containing the lead single "Soon", which featured the first recorded use of Shields' "glide guitar" technique, the EP peaked at number 2 on the UK Indie Chart and the band toured in summer 1990 to support its release. In February 1991, while still recording their second album, My Bloody Valentine released Tremolo, which was another critical success and topped the UK Indie Chart.  Released in November 1991, Loveless was rumoured to have cost over PS250,000 and bankrupted Creation Records, claims which Shields has denied. Critical reception to Loveless was almost unanimous with praise although the album was not a commercial success. It peaked at number 24 on the UK Albums Chart but failed to chart elsewhere internationally. McGee dropped My Bloody Valentine from Creation Records soon after the release of Loveless, due to the album's extensive recording period and interpersonal problems with Shields.
When were they signed with Creation Records?
1988,
1988,