Jeremiah Creosote

Mr Creosote in his dining room (2001)

**Jeremiah Creosote** (born 4th June 1966), known professionally as **Mr Creosote**, is an English musician, businessman, media personality and restaurant patron. He rose to fame as the front man of the rock band Creosote from 1982 - 1997, continuing as a solo artist after the band's dissolution. His eccentric personality and large size have made him an iconic figure in popular culture, and he remains a controversial figure in the UK.

His best known music is generally recognized as being the records released with his band Creosote in the 1980s, which were met with large commercial and critical success. The band's breakup saw band mates George Hudson and Howard Taft depart simultaneously in 1997 after long standing personal and creative differences within the trio.

Creosote's musical reputation was tainted by his 2003 solo debut album *Eggs On Top*, which met with a highly negative critical response. In 2006, Creosote announced a 'big break' from music, before the collapse of Creosote Inc. forced him into bankruptcy in 2010, causing him to retreat from public view. In the wake of his time in rehab that same year he announced he was 'reformed' and intended to 'return to music shortly'. This led to the release of *Bringing it Home* in 2012, alongside a series of comeback albums through the 2010s.

## Early Life (1966 - 1982)

Mr Creosote was born Jeremiah Fallon Creosote on the 4th June 1966, an only child, and son of businessman and hereditary peer Fallon Creosote. After his parents divorce in 1974 Jeremiah and his mother moved to the affluent Manchester suburb of Altrincham, where he attended a local primary school. His teachers remarked on his high intelligence while singling him out as one of the schools worst trouble makers, once almost expelled for sending a paper aeroplane sailing into the headteacher's face during morning assembly.

In 1977 as Creosote began studying at Altrincham Grammar School For Boys, he came across The Sex Pistols album Never Mind the Bollocks and became engrossed in punk music. At age 12 he purchased an electric bass and began playing along with his favorite tracks, and wrote his first song at the age of 14.

In 1981 he began performing live in various local punk bands, cobbling together his own musical projects with whoever he could find, until a show around this period caused him to run into guitarist George Hudson and drummer Howard Taft, who were also trying to form a band. In 1982 the trio first performed as "Mr Creosote and his friends", with Jeremiah as the clear front man and principal songwriter.

## Musical Career

### Mr Creosote and his Friends (1982 - 1986)

In their initial phase, the band struggled to find a definitive sound, sitting somewhere between traditional punk and new wave. This made them initially difficult to advertise in local venues and the members were seriously considering abandoning the project altogether due to the lack of gigs. However, by 1983 they had managed to attract some attention in the Manchester scene and had improved enough on their instruments to secure more dates. This era of the band was characterized by highly experimental use of synths and drum machines to create some dance-like backdrops to their songs which otherwise resembled more traditional punk.

In 1984 the band recorded an EP, which the members regarded as a disappointment, as their live sound was poorly captured and they could see how their strict adherence to the punk ethic was doing a disservice to their instrumental and songwriting talents, particularly those of George Hudson. Following this the band made an effort to change musical direction, more openly courting the sounds of popular music and traditional rock. This sound was quickly honed and defined the band's 1980s style.

The band continued gain popularity with their new sound over the next two years, until they opened for The Smiths in 1986 and were subsequently signed to EMI after record personnel witnessed the performance and spoke with Jeremiah Creosote backstage.

### Creosote (1986 - 1997)

After signing with EMI the band released their first album Creosote to instantaneous commercial and critical success. All of its singles took top 5 positions in the charts and the following European Tour was wildly successful. A North American Tour somewhat muted the band's spirits, with poor attendance figures and unenthusiastic performances. It was during this period Mr Creosote began drinking heavily to deal with the poor situation.

Shortly after the conclusion of the 1986 tour it became apparent the band was actually in a large amount of debt due to Creosote's mishandling of the band's books, which had primarily failed to account for the debut album's failure to meet projected sales in the US. 'He had evidently just glanced at the projected figures, not the actual ones, and gone "ah dabble", and continued with his apparently studious pen strokes in the tables, but it meant just like that a loss of around half a million quid just wasn't accounted for.', Taft would later reflect. This led to the band's rapid recording of their sophomore LP, 'There's Still More'. Despite the recording process being plagued by argument and conflict between the band members, it far exceeded its predecessor, with all of its singles going to number #1 in the UK. It was the first Creosote album to become successful in the US, going platinum within 5 months there. The album was promoted by an almost year long tour which left the band weary of their own music, with plans to take time off. However, they still found themselves compulsively writing music for the band while supposedly resting, resulting in a return to the studio to record Stained Tablecloth.

Even with its experimental approach, *Stained Tablecloth* was another commercial success, largely thanks to the radioplay of its lead single of the same name. This brought on another two years of touring, completing in 1991. By this point all band members were complaining of serious physical and mental exhaustion, with Howard Taft becoming addicted to sleeping pills and Hudson and Creosote's binge drinking descending into almost nightly arguments.

In early 1991, the band announced they would be taking 'at least' a 5-year hiatus. With the full extent of their personal troubles not yet publicized, the announcement was met with confusion and some derision from fans and journalists. All 3 band members took lengthy holidays, bought new homes and began to 'enjoy their earnings'.

Creosote used the early 1990s to begin his business and media acquisitions, which were further propelled when he inherited millions from his father, who died in June 1991. He began networking with editors of newspapers in London and it became a common joke on fleet street that Jeremiah had 8 luncheons a day simply to remain friends with enough important figures. It is unclear quite how Creosote grew his personal wealth to such an extent in in this period, but he subsequently claimed to have 'got lucky' on the stock exchange after ploughing his father's inheritance into an extremely diverse investment portfolio. He launched his record label, Big Boi Records, in early 1992 and called a press conference announcing his plans to rejuvenate British rock music as a businessman, producer and 'patron' of upcoming bands. The NME complimented his timing, but he was either unable or unwilling to capitalize on the emergence of Britpop the following year.

The band was forced into re-recording their fourth album by EMI in 1995. During the recording process, the band experienced a breakdown of communication and co-operation. Frequent arguments over Creosote's interference in the recording process led to serious incidents, such as Creosote's barricading himself in the studio for 4 days and refusing to leave. The resulting record, *Smouldering Jambalaya*, was considered a disappointment by Taft and Hudson, who announced their departure following a tumultuous tour.

### Solo Career (1999-present)

Studio-perfectionism further delayed the release of his a promised EP throughout 1999, and Creosote decided to "put it off until Christmas", thus "5 Minutes With Mr Creosote" was released on the 24th December as a "Christmas gift for the kids". The EP received very mixed reviews, with a particularly unfavourable response from the NME's Herbert Dinkleferger, who had traditionally championed Creosote in the face of criticism.

*Eggs On Top* was Mr Creosote's first full length album. It was released on the 7th May 2003 and competed with Railway Kings Ruinous Ways for peak chart position in the UK on its day of release. The album's dismal commercial performance at the time saw Creosote lose his contract with EMI by the end of the year, and met with overwhelmingly negative responses from critics and fans.

The ensuing tour was even more disastrous for Creosote, performances were sub-par due to his abuse of alcohol and anger at the audience responses to newer material. During this period he attempted to publicly withdraw himself from music, promoting his restaurant L'Elegant in London and claiming his 'greatest priority' was his newly independent label, Big Boi Records. The backlash to Eggs on Top dealt a serious blow to Creosote's reputation, with widespread mockery of the effort and increasing scrutiny turned on his financial struggles to explain the failure. Creosote would later claim the experience led him into 'major re-evaluations'. And caused serious writers block and fear of creating original music throughout the 2000s. 2005's *Yesterday's Leftovahs* consisted mostly of acoustic versions of previous songs, primarily his biggest hits but also featuring some more obscure fan favorites. The album was released through Big Boi Records and generally met with positive reviews on release. It would be another 7 years before he released a new album.

Creosote announced a new album in the summer of 2011. Due to his financial situation at the time, the album was funded largely by wealthy friends and family and it was later confirmed George Hudson and Howard Taft also helped fund the project. Creosote attempted writing on guitar for the first time, despite having long been proficient in the instrument, he had previously believed his creativity was rooted in the bass. *Bringing It Home* was released on 25th April 2012 to mixed to positive reviews and good commercial performance, charting at number 3 in the UK. Fans and critics alike agreed the album included his best song-writing since Stained Tablecloth, with a freshness in his folk approach and sound.

Overconfidence and his old penchant for excess led Creosote to re-enter the studio almost immediately after the tour. Insiders reported there was considerable enthusiasm around the recording initially, but arguments over production led to the expulsion of 3 different producers, before Creosote took over the task entirely. *Trolley Spokes* was released on the 21st March to mixed reviews. The album was generally popular among fans due to Creosote's return to experimentation and psychedelia which had featured on *Stained Tablecloth* in 1989, though many acknowledged the weakness of some tracks. The album was a commercial success and further buoyed his financial recovery.

Creosote regularly claimed he was 'saving up songs' throughout 2017/18, spurring fan interest in a forthcoming release. He finally announced he was entering the studio in late 2018, claiming to be taking on his most 'conceptually ambitious' album to date. *Too Big to Fail* released unannounced on 15 June 2019 to an overwhelmingly positive critical reception.

## Railway Kings Feud (2002 - 2006)

In the summer of 2002 George Hudson openly criticized Creosote for the first time following a particularly poorly sourced hit-piece in Creosote's UK Music Now magazine that week, in which alleged insiders made claims about The Railway Kings. The article was particularly acrimonious in its descriptions of band members from its unidentified sources, mentioning heavy drug use and alluding to extramarital affairs. Rumours about Hudson's promiscuity were said to be contributing to his marriage problems at the time, heightening his anger at Creosote's blatant hand in the matter. Hudson stated that from then on 'nothing was off-limits', and that he wanted to see Creosote 'fully shown-up for the fraud he is'.

Taft added to the flare up by publicly mocking Creosote's disastrous bridge opening in Gorton, stating he was 'not fit to open anything but a packet of crisps', which was subject to much gleeful quotation in the tabloids the following day. The embarrassment over this incident led Creosote to declare 'all out war', in The Sun, promising his upcoming full length studio album would 'put theirs to shame', and condemning Taft as a 'big bully who dis-respects the hard work of Manchester construction lads', contradicting completely the hand Creosote's elaborate celebrations had played in causing the bridge's structural failure.

What followed was a war of words in the tabloids, with Creosote turning out a hit-piece a week in UK Music Now, many of which drew libel lawsuits and caused the disintegration of the magazine by the next year. Many disputes arose over song writing credits, with Creosote claiming many Hudson penned tracks were in fact his, and Hudson claiming there had been several 'suspicious' attempted thefts of his written material over the last few years. On the 5th of December Hudson fought three men who attempted to force their way into his London home, using a coat stand to cause a concussion in one man, while the other two fled the scene upon the hurling of a Gretsch guitar from the top of the stairs. The remaining man was subsequently taken to hospital, where he was questioned by police the next morning. The man claimed amnesia prevented him from remembering the incident or his motives. Incidentally Creosote arrived at the hospital almost immediately following the man's hospitalization, claiming he was concerned for Hudson's well-being, without any explanation for why he was so close by at the time of the incident.

The peak of the feud is widely regarded to have come at the release of the single 'Buggers' by Creosote on 20th April 2003. The song was a hip hop diss track which took aim at The Railway Kings. While largely light-hearted, the song alluded to the upcoming release of *Eggs on Top* and the 'unveiling' of Hudson as a 'plagiarist'. When the two albums were released, Creosote was widely considered to have lost out, with *Eggs on Top* selling fewer copies than *Ruinous Ways* and being met with a critical backlash. Despite this, he had won a place headlining the pyramid stage at Glastonbury 2004, while The Railway Kings were relegated to the lesser 'other stage'. Amid drunken insults from Creosote - who was performing badly - there was an exodus of fans from his performance to see The Railway Kings.

Both Hudson and Taft increasingly made negative comments regarding Creosote Inc. throughout 2004/5. Several songs on Ruinous Ways were widely interpreted as references to Creosote and his business ventures, with some even suggesting this was central to the album's title and concept. By the late 2000s, the media's amplification of comments made by both parties subsided. Upon Creosote's entering rehab in 2010, Hudson and Taft released a statement claiming they hoped their former friend 'gets the help he needs' and expressed their wishes to put the feud behind them. Allegedly, the statement initially incensed Creosote, who saw it as patronizing, but after leaving rehab he claimed to have been deeply affected by the statement, which had motivated him to stay sober.

## Outside of Music

### Political Activism

Creosote has made several interventions in politics over the course of his career, via endorsements, campaigns and participation in public debates. He was a frequent critic of Conservative governments through the 1980s and 90s, claiming many of his songs were critiques of Thatcherism. He supported Tony Blair and New Labour, before briefly endorsing the Conservative Party in 2015. During the 2016 EU referendum, he argued for Brexit, though later reneged on this view, claiming to have supported the campaign ironically.

Since the mid 2010s, he has endorsed increasingly left wing figures, supporting Jeremy Corbyn for Prime Minister and Bernie Sanders for the US Presidency.

### Amateur Boxing

Jeremiah embarked on a brief amateur boxing career in the late 1980s, while his musical career was beginning with Mr Creosote and His Friends. He experienced mixed success, but has repeatedly claimed boxing to be a life-long hobby, along with exaggerations of his official record.

### Paintings

Creosote is a painter with a series of published works, having taken up the hobby while in rehab.

### As a Businessman & Restaurateur

Creosote's business activities reached their zenith in the mid 2000s via Creosote inc. He currently maintains a selection of moderate business interests and his current net worth is not publicly known. He is well known for his ownership of L'elegant restaurant in London and for his association with a number of other bars and eateries in the UK, generally in rural locations and spa towns.

His additional intellectual properties include the Mr Creosote's Days Out series and his autobiography.

## Controversies

In 1988 and 1989 Mr Creosote was the only member of Creosote to publicly address the former band mate Eric McShane, who was at the time doing a minor media circuit as the 'forgotten member' for his early gigs with Taft and Hudson. Creosote called him 'pathetic and 'a loser', and suggested he 'go back to thumping his tubs for the school band'. While some agreed with this view, others pointed out McShane was merely making use of this moderate publicity to provide for his wife and two children, and hardly seemed a person deserving of public abuse from far richer and more successful figures.

During his 1995 holiday to the Maldives Mr Creosote was photographed sticking two fingers up at a passing French cruise ship from his own private yacht. Later that day, he pursued the vessel in open ocean and fired flares at the ship's cabins, breaking several portholes. Though nobody was hurt this forced the cruise to be cut short in order to repair the damage. Creosote later evaded charges by claiming it was the result of misfired fireworks, and without substantial evidence nobody could prove otherwise. Many passengers claimed they heard Creosote yelling insults through a loudhailer at the time of the incident, and that'd at one stage entered the water and attempted to swim towards the cruise ship before giving up due to its speed.

In 1999 Creosote was criticized heavily for his claims to have 'come up from the rough parts' when talking about his upbringing in Manchester. Several tabloids circulated pictures of his house which he and his mother occupied from 1974 - 1985, a four bedroom suburban detached with a large drive and gardens. In response he attempted to claim the pictures were 'forgeries' and continued to fabricate stories about having to occupy small flats with his mother on various estates in the late 70s. The comedic 2003 Railway Kings' B-side "I Had it Rough (believe me)", is widely thought to be a remark on this incident, though its punching chorus is commonly used as a rallying cry against 'people who glorify the whole "slumming it" rubbish', as Hudson later put it.

In June 2003 Mr Creosote referred to his former bandmates as 'doley buggahs', alluding to Hudson briefly being on job seekers allowance around 1984/5. Within a week, the Daily Mail published a story revealing Creosote himself took government welfare for a similar period, despite the support of his wealthy mother likely covering his living expenses. He was roundly condemned for this hypocrisy and actually made a public apology 2 days later, claiming he wasn't aware he had been receiving benefits at the time and would be paying 'every last penny' back to the Department for Work and Pensions. In a spectacular misfire, he had TV cameras follow him to Whitehall where he attempted to pay the sum in coins, only to be informed the payment could under no conditions be legally accepted by the department.

## Legal Issues

Throughout the Creosote's career he has garnered a reputation for bad behaviour, on and off the stage in the 80s, including run ins with the law over petty assaults and football hooliganism. This escalated into serious lawsuits in the late 90s and 2000s as his business practices were exposed. Journalist Johnathan Freedland described Creosote as '...something of a British Al Capone, it's well known to us that his extra-musical endeavours are strewn with criminal misdeeds and wrongdoing, so much that it has become a part of his celebrity. As of 2021, they haven't found anything to get him with yet.'

### Football Hooliganism

In late 1983 Mr Creosote received a police warning for 'pushing bystanders' at a Manchester United game. Details of the event are scant, but Hudson and Taft would later claim Creosote began attending football matches simply to get into trouble, often becoming 'incredibly inebriated', and that he had shown no interest in the sport or supporting Manchester United until that year. Jeremiah would regularly wish United to lose simply to see them relegated from Division 1, so he could travel to the smaller market towns of Division 2 teams on away games and outnumber their support as they had in the 70s. After more 'trouble'. Creosote was banned from several stadiums and began to devote more time to his music, however, a large figure in a trench coat was sighted outside the Maine Road stadium shortly before modified fireworks were loosed over the stadium walls, interrupting an FA Cup match in 1985.

In July 2021, Creosote was sighted by several people at post-match violence after England's defeat in the EURO2020 final. Two days later, *The Daily Mirror* reported he had assisted in helping Harry Maguire's father into an ambulance after he fractured ribs, while also performing a citizens' arrest on a fan who threw a brick at an Italian restaurant. Investigations into the incident cleared Creosote of any potential wrongdoing in September. It emerged he had not been attending the game, but had watched it on television from a bar in the Wembley area, he announced all drinks were on him after England went 1 nil up in the opening minutes. After witnessing the drunken clientele stream out of the bar in anger at the final result, he went with them, claiming to feel personally responsible for their actions. He subsequently intervened to try and restrain the most violent fans, with the help of the boys, but fled the scene after mere minutes to contact his lawyers.

### Match-fixing in Amateur Boxing

In 1985 Creosote was questioned by police in connection with match-fixing amateur boxing bouts in Manchester and London. At the time he was competing as a heavyweight in an attempt to raise his public image. Two of his opponents claimed to have been approached before their fights with an offer of money in exchange for giving a knockout win to Creosote in the first round. One had agreed to do so, but was never paid after he went down in the first round. Local hubbub about a series of other suspicious bouts featuring 'knockouts from invisible punches', drew a further three boxers to admit they had been offered money to throw their fight in a specific round, though in this case they received the money before the fight, the envelopes disappeared from their locker rooms shortly afterwards. The offers had come by phone and they identified the voice as similar to Creosotes'. Ultimately, police pinned events on gang activity and abandoned the case due to the relatively small sums of money involved, along with the 'patchy' backgrounds of the accusers.

In 2004 George Hudson claimed Creosote had 'absolutely' attempted to bribe fighters in the 1980s, saying it was likely he used a 'fake mustache and overcoat' to approach naïve and inebriated competitors in pubs.

### Assaults

Creosote has been involved in numerous physical altercations through his career. In the summer of 1990, he became especially antagonistic towards paparazzi, often chasing them down for photographing him outside pubs. On 6th June he threw a pint glass at a photographer who was taking pictures over the fence of a beer garden in Kensington. The resulting injuries resulted in an out of court settlement.

### Police Bribery Allegation

In 1990 Creosote pressed a £50 note into the hands of a police officer who was involved in an investigation into a fracas Creosote had with a journalist in Central London. Creosote then claimed he intended the money as a gift to get the officer 'a good lunch'. The police were unconvinced and began a prosecution. Creosote argued the amount was genuinely what he considered a reasonable spends for a light lunch, bringing receipts from L'Elegance of his recent orders, going so far as to wheel out entire meals in the courtroom to make the point. His lawyers argued it could not be proved Creosote knew the man was police officer, since he was off-duty and out of uniform at the time of the incident. Creosote was acquitted in 1991.

### Driving Offences

Creosote was fined for speeding in 1998 on the outskirts of Dartmouth. He claimed to be completing a tour of the UK's pubs, titled '75 pubs in 1 month' for The Observer, and was late for his next pub, justifying his excess speed. No such article ever appeared.

In 1999 Creosote was involved in a serious accident in Chiswick, while exiting the M4 on a journey from Heathrow Airport to L'Elegant in Kensington. He was subsequently arrested and charged with five driving offences, including dangerous driving, being uninsured, having no licence, and failing to produce his documents. He was released on bail and appeared in court in April 2000. His attempts to plead not guilty caused the prosecution to reveal he had crashed his car while attempting to eat a pork pie. They also called up a series of witnesses from London and Manchester - where his reputation as a driver was well known - to testify that he had previously engaged in dangerous driving. Creosote was accused of throwing foodstuffs out of his car windows at other drivers, as well as regularly stopping in the road and exiting his vehicle with an umbrella to threaten drivers he believed were following him too closely. On cross examination, it transpired Creosote lacked knowledge of the rules of the road; he believed zebra crossings meant he was 'allowed to swerve into the other lane to avoid the pedestrians' and claimed there was no right of way at junctions.

To avoid the case dragging out further, Creosote pled guilty. He was fined £5,000, sentenced to 300 hours of community service and banned from driving for 15 years. As of 2023, he claims to retain a driving licence and boasts he is 'a very cautious driver'.

### Creosote Inc. Lawsuits

Under Creosote's ownership, Creosote Inc. was landed with numerous lawsuits from 2007 onward. These included unsafe building practices by Creosote Construction, unfair detainment by Creosote Security Services, customer overcharging by Creosote Energy and financial misconduct by Creosote Banking. Many were settled out of court, while the rest found the company innocent at trial. This prompted a further charge of jury tampering by Scotland Yard, which was dropped. The company was eventually fined £9 million in 2011 after an investigation by the FCA found it hid losses during the financial crisis, as well as deceiving investors and potential buyers as it wound up its operations in 2009. Its report was appended by evaluations that the entire enterprise had been based on spiraling high-interest debts, while expenditures 'leaked out of every pore' to many undisclosed sources.

Ensuing public opinion felt Creosote was never adequately held accountable for the dubious practices of his businesses. Various journalists and legal experts have claimed Creosote's intense personal network of connections in the UK, along with his ability 'do favours' for individuals and groups who were bringing action, have kept his feet out of the fire despite the transparently fraudulent and criminal nature of Creosote Inc..

### Unusual Allegations and Police Interactions

Creosote was detained by police outside the palace of Westminster in 1996, for reasons which were never publicly disclosed.

In 2000, Creosote was accused of placing his own products on the shelves in a branch of Aldi in Leicester. He was detained by security and taken to a nearby police station, where CCTV footage allegedly exonerated him. It remains unclear how the accusation came about.

In 2007, Creosote was accused of deliberately downloading malware onto computers in several different public libraries in Birmingham, with no charges or evidence brought. According to one account, the incidents were accidental due to Creosote's fondness of playing online flash games on public computers while visiting new towns. Others have speculated this was part of a larger scheme to promote his video games.

In 2014 several sources for a Chinese news website alleged Creosote was sighted in North Korea, despite the notoriously difficult entry requirements for the country. This was followed by a spate of reports of Creosote appearing at restaurants in Shanghai. It was speculated that Jeremiah was performing some form of business or diplomatic function in partnership with the ruling CCP in China, due to the ease with which he had 'waltzed in and out' of the countries. The situation was never publicly acknowledged by Creosote or resolved by Western media.

In 2021 he was videoed scaling a telephone pole in Bristol and installing a black box. The police were subsequently summoned and were seen questioning Creosote from a distance on a video which appeared on Facebook Live. Creosote later claimed the event was a 'hoax', while Avon and Somerset Police declined to comment.