Alan McGee has announced that he has retired from the music industry. McGee, the man who either discovered, managed or put out records by the likes of Oasis, The Mary Chain, Primal Scream, Ride, My Bloody Valentine, Sugar, Teenage Fanclub, Super Furry Animals and the stupendously shit Heavy Stereo among others, announced the news via his Facebook page. He told BBC 6music:

"I stopped doing the record company about a year or two ago because I think they're pointless things, like dinosaurs or trams or something. I think I'm a man of the times, kind of like Tony Wilson really. We don't really have a place in the music industry anymore because we actually like music. I think the prerequisite for being in the music industry is not liking music and playing the corporate game, agreeing with your boss".

So, McGee has wound down his Poptones label and quit this management lark. For all his occasional self importance and pomposity, he will be greatly missed, having been at least partially responsible for some of the greatest independent music this country has ever produced during his 25 years in the game. We'll be looking at his career in depth in a Feature next week.