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The La'sThe La's were a Liverpool-based band of the late 1980s and early 1990s, consisting of eccentric frontman Lee Mavers (vocals), John Power (bass, backing vocals) plus a series of guitarists and drummers. They were responsible for the original version of the famous pop song "There She Goes". The group attracted the attention of several record labels after a run of successful, enthusiastic gigs in their home town of Liverpool in 1986. They selected Go! Discs' reportedly generous contract, and soon entered the recording studio. After working with producer Jeremy Allom at the Pink Museum Studio in Liverpool, in May 1987 the band were set to release "Timeless Melody" (GOLAS 3) as their debut single. The single gained a "record of the week" accolade in the NME, yet frontman Mavers was unhappy with how it sounded so it remained commercially unreleased. B-sides included a version of "Clean Prophet" still not officially released to this day, and a blues jam entitled "Ride Yer Camel" that was around nine minutes long. This record is extremely difficult to find, being pressed in limited quantities. The band's first released single ("Way Out", released in October 1987 on Go! Discs (GOLAS 112)) was mixed with new producer Gavin McKillop, but attracted little notice at the time. The most blurb it got was a thumbs-up mention by The Smiths' frontman Morrissey in the music magazine, Melody Maker. Although it was hardly mentioned in every music magazine, those that reviewed the single generally raved about it. 5000 copies were pressed. The band were now enjoying success as a live act gaining a reputation as the next Beatles, due in part to their humble origins and Mavers' expressive lyrics. Their gigs were now on a national scale as opposed to merely local. A tape of demos the band had recorded in 1986 was circulating in bootleg circles at this time, and creating a minor buzz. It is rumoured that it was the strength of these demos that got the band signed. A further single (from again different recording sessions), "There She Goes", was released in 1988 with the B-sides "Come In Come Out" and "Who Knows", and although it garnered some attention and airplay, it too performed poorly in the charts. The music video remains iconic of the band, however, featuring them scampering through Liverpool streets, filmed on a handheld camera. The song has been used on several soundtracks, including the films "So I Married An Ax Murderer" and "Fever Pitch". The group then spent a couple of years recording and re-recording their intended album, with a revolving-door band lineup (only the core of Mavers and Power remaining the same). Discarded producers included The Smiths' producer John Porter, John Leckie (whose alternate take of "Feelin'" eventually became a B-side) and Mike Hedges (whose powerful alternate of "IOU" was a b-side on the last La's single, "Feelin'"). The lineup settled with Neil Mavers, Lee's brother, as drummer, and Peter "Cammy" Cammel as lead guitarist. With this lineup they entered the studio yet again (in December 1989) to attempt to record the debut album with producer Steve Lillywhite at Eden Studios, London. These would prove to be the band's last sessions, and the sessions from which an album was finally made. Recognition, at least critically, came in 1990 when the self-titled album, The La's, was finally released. The album included, among strong new material, re-recorded versions of all the previous singles, including a remixed version of "There She Goes", also re-released as a single. This time around, the song reached number 13 in the UK singles chart. Additional singles from the album included the LP versions of "Timeless Melody" and, after the band split, "Feelin'". Both did reasonably well, getting chart placings in the top 40. "Feelin'", thanks to a box set special edition release, got in the top 20. The band split before the 1991 release of "Feelin'", however. Amid rumours that Mavers had vowed not to record any new material until after the first had been re-recorded to his satisfaction, scrapped sessions remained a constant problem for the La's and their increasingly frustrated record company. The band actually walked out on the Lillywhite sessions, leaving Lillywhite to piece together the released LP from guide tracks by himself (much to the bands' consternation). This was one of Mavers' key complaints; he claimed Lillywhite used vocal guide tracks on the LP. Upon release the band gigged for a while whilst slating the record to the music press, before simply dropping out of the limelight. No studio work was ever done on a second album, despite Mavers having many unreleased songs and, according to local sources, endlessly recording them by himself in the privacy of his own home. The de facto breakup of The La's came when Power formed a new, more commercially successful but less critically acclaimed group, Cast, in 1993. "Cast" is the last word of "Lookin' Glass", the last song on The La's album. Mavers was never comfortable with media attention or with the results of all his recording sessions. With a few random ex-La's he resurfaced to play a few support slots for Dodgy, Paul Weller and Oasis in 1995, although he has since claimed this was to raise funds, as oppose to stage a full-blown comeback. These La's shows were supposedly atrocious. Mavers then worked with many Liverpool musicians, inspiring infrequent but not uncommon comeback rumours. A popular rumour now is that he and Power have re-established their friendship and are practicing new material, possibly for a tour. In 2001 The La's was re-released in the UK, under the Universal label (Go! Discs since having long gone under). It featured the album, now digitally remastered, plus previously available B-sides "All By Myself", "Knock Me Down", "Clean Prophet", "IOU Alternate", "Over", yet the release is missing many b-side tracks essential to most hardcore La's fans. In March 2005 The La's announced a three date UK reunion tour head of an appearance at Japan's Summer Sonic festival. La's, The La's, The
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