The La’s JOHN REED REMEMBERS

THE BAND WHO PROMISED TO BE LIVERPOOL’S OWN

STONE ROSES

Lee Mavers is an enigma. As creative mainspring in the La’s, he was hailed as one of Britain’s most promising songwriters of the late 80s. The La’s’ first and biggest hit, “There She Goes”, was pure, shimmering brilliance - a sort of indie Beatles and Byrds condensed into two-and-a-bit soaring minutes of chiming guitars and scouse romanticism.

After being postponed several times, the band’s eponymous album finally appeared in autumn 1990 - though Mavers, unhappy with the mix, disowned the record. Nevertheless, it consolidated the La’s as Liverpool’s equivalent to the Madchester assault of the Stone Roses and the Happy Mondays - and their melodic swagger influenced the whole Britpop generation. All looked rosy, in fact, as the La’s were whisked off to tour Japan, Hawaii(!) and America, in the summer of 1991.

And then… nothing. The Stone Roses spent half a decade pondering over their “Second Coming”, but they seemed positively prolific compared to Mavers. While he’s spoken of in reverent tones by such notable tunesmiths as Noel Gallagher and popped up for an acoustic set at a Paul Weller concert, the possibility of a second La’s long-player has looked about as likely as a sighting of Lord Lucan - in other words, it ain’t gonna happen.

Or will it? You see, a cursory pub-crawl around Liverpool reveals numerous stories

of Mavers’ work-in-progress. Apparently, Lee has dutifully visited his Liverpool studio, with a variety of musicians (among them ex-Stairs guitarist Edgar Summertyme). Insiders suggest there are anywhere between 20 and 50 completed songs - but “don’t hold your breath”, insists a weary press officer. And a one-off La’s gig at a college ball at the Sheffield Octogan in 1993/94 (with bassist James Joyce, ‘Boo’ on guitar and Lee’s brother Neil on drums) introduced several new songs.

In the meantime, Mavers’ hermit-like

existence and, er, odd behaviour (his few interviews have been, shall we say, conceptual in tone) have painted him as a latter-day Syd Barrett, Brian Wilson (in his quest for perfection) or Arthur Lee - patently talented but, well, perhaps a little off the rails. And all three have attracted reputations for a dalliance with drugs: it was alleged that Mavers had a prolonged heroin addiction.

Mavers’ enigma has been made all the more mysterious by the rampant success of his old sidekick, John Power, the only La who stuck with the band from the day they signed to Go!

Discs in 1987 to that swansong U.S. tour four years later. Then Power grew disillusioned: a Radio 1 broadcast of a Marquee show (23rd April 1991) included two of his songs, “Follow Me Down” and “Fly On” (alias “Alright”), alongside Mavers’ material. And he used to perform a solo acoustic version of “Fine Time”.

But according to Power, Mavers seemed reluctant to share the songwriting - in effect, implying the La’s was his band - and Power quit in late 1991 to form Cast (see last September’s issue for the full monty). Matters had already come to a head onstage at London’s Town & Country Club in 1990, when Mavers and Power “physically squared up against each other”. “We’d put a song of mine in the set,” Power told Q, “and he decided that because it was my song, he wasn’t going to sing. So I shouted, ‘Sing the fucking backing vocals’. Then we stopped and it all went off.”

That wasn’t the only reason for Power’s frustration. The La’s’ album, it emerged, had been a painful exercise, a protracted affair spread across numerous recording studios and producers. “I was a bit suspicious because Lee wanted to do all the recording in the kitchen,” Power explained. “And then it was, like, ‘Nah, that sounds wrong - and don’t dust the guitars. They sound better with dust on them’!”

Eventually, Mavers actually walked out on the album. Go! Discs boss Andy MacDonald

“We kind of want to finish what the La’s started”

(Noel Gallagher, 1994)

and producer Steve Lillywhite (of U2 fame, etc.) were left to piece the album together, and the LP was eventually issued in late 1990, promoted by a flurry of singles as Go! Discs disguised the poisonous atmosphere between band and label.

Not that the album sounded patchy. Its opening shot, “Son Of A Gun”, was a short and sweet ode to “a man who’s at loggerheads with his past”. The song set the scene for the album’s rootsy, organic R&B, scented with the melodic, mid-60s aggression of Beatles/Byrds/Who, and the manic, earthy strum and ‘out there’ lyrics of just-turned-electric Dylan.

“I Can’t Sleep” was suitably restless and crisper than a packet of Walker’s, with Pete Townshend power chords and truckloads of vitality. Possessed of an equally jaunty canter was “I.O.U.”, with a hilarious piece of advice:

“On the street for knowledge/You must eat your porridge/I’ll feed you - you’ll feed me/I’ll see you can stand on your own two feet”. And “Failure” was the La’s at their harshest, as a grunge intro gave way to Mavers’ screeches and growls, guitars fighting over a Bo Diddley rhythm - like a claustrophobic early Stones.

Despite its veneer of scouse jollity, “The La’s” was darker than the Britpop it helped inspire (of today’s crew, only Supergrass can marry summer pop and sinister vibes so admirably). One of the band’s earliest songs, “Liberty Ship”, had the air of a sea shanty (sensible title, then), with its medieval folky atmosphere and quirky pace. “Freedom Song” was tackled with minimal accompaniment, a ballad steeped in the folk protest tradition. And “Doledrum” was attacked at breakneck speed, though Mavers’ desperation and a raga-like drone offset the song’s melodic spring.

Best of all was the epic finale, “Looking Glass”, the calm after the storm of so many two-minute tunes. Over a poignant acoustic backdrop, Mavers sung this fragile quest for identity with real feeling as it built to a haunting climax. “Looking Glass” felt like the La’s’ darkness after the light of the Stone Roses’ “I Am The Resurrection”. In other words, the party’s over, boys.

The problem was its timing. Had “The La’s” escaped a year or so earlier, then the album’s impact might have been much greater. As it was, the Roses, the Happy Mondays, the Inspiral Carpets, the Charlatans, James - the list seemed endless - had all broken into the charts, ushering in an era when indie pop (for want of a better term) climbed the corporate stairs from underground to overground.

It shouldn’t have taken the La’s so long.

The band had been created by poet-turned-musician Mike Badger as early as 1984. He and Mavers were both from Huyton in south-east Liverpool and shared a love of ‘organic’ music. At first, they co-existed as songwriters: Lee definitely had the sharper eye for melodies while Mike was inspired by Captain Beefheart and the primitive sound of his old rockabilly and blues records. By the time Badger was wrestled out in late ’86, the band had built up a decent local reputation with what Melody Maker described as “surreal rock’n’roll”. The 18-year-old John Power had already joined on bass and a promising demo tape swiftly lured record company interest.

Eventually, the La’s signed in mid-’87 to Go! Discs, the PolyGram-funded label behind names like the Housemartins and Billy Bragg, for what was reputed to be a six-figure sum. Their first single, “Way Out”, followed that autumn in a blaze of publicity and critical applause. The song’s theme was a common one, suggesting Mavers’ desire to escape the drab existence of life on the dole - a sentiment later expressed by Noel Gallagher, for example, in “D’Yer Wanna Be A Spaceman?”.

Its busy waltz rhythm, lush mixture of acoustic and warmly distorted guitars, and subtle harmonies felt totally out of time - it shared little in common with scenesters like the Wonder Stuff, the Darling Buds and the House Of Love, or the noisier strains of U.S. grunge pioneers like Sonic Youth, the Butthole Surfers and Dinosaur Jr.

A year later, “There She Goes” sealed the

La’s’ place in pop history, though the song had to wait a further two years before it charted. If one single per year felt slow, then 1989 was even worse. In April, Go! Discs announced a new single, “Timeless Melody”, but it was scrapped at the last moment, the first in a series of about-turns from Mavers. Already, the band claimed their LP had just been finished “after two years’ work”. Sure, the single’s production sounded wind tunnel-like and the rambling lo-fi blues of “Ride Yer Camel” made Jon Spencer sound like Jon Bon Jovi. But it was a portent: Mavers’ quest for perfection, bypassing the slick production of modern studios for a more ‘authentic’ feel, would be the downfall of the band.

18 months passed and a more polished (ironically enough) “Timeless Melody” finally greeted the world as a taster for the LP in autumn ’90. Blessed with some superb, eye-brow-singeing guitar, it retained a carefree, summer-afternoon melody that touched even the most cynical of 60s-drenched souls. It also disguised the latest in a string of personnel changes: a stable La’s line-up had been found in guitarist Cammy and Lee’s brother Neil on drums. A reissue of “There She Goes” consolidated their most famous moment; and the punchy “Feelin’” ushered in 1991 with a frantic, rockabilly-tinted rhythm.

As the cogs of Go! Discs’ efficient industry machine turned, the La’s were packed off on a ‘world’ tour and nominated for a Brits Award, “There She Goes” was rotated on MTV and the band were due back in the studio in May, expressing a desire to find a more ‘organic’ sound. If it was any other group, a second album would have been forthcoming. But this is the story of the La’s. Imagine the best Cast songs mixed with the strongest titles on “The La’s”: that’s what we might have expected. Instead, John Power got a divorce from Mavers, forged a new life for himself with Cast and left his old cohort to threaten a comeback for decades to come…

“The rambling lo-fi blues of ‘Ride Yer Camel’ made Jon

Spencer sound like Jon Bon Jovi.”

“A Secret Liverpool” was a local, one-sided LP involving the La’s’ founder, Mike Badger.

The album was later re-pressed with an extra side - including the La’s’ debut recording.

“Elegance, Charm And Deadly Danger”, another local LP, featured two La’s songs.

This ‘86 demo tape sported superb caricatures of Mavers (top left) and Power (bottom right)!

Mike Badger (La’s founder and member 1984-86)

My biggest inspiration was Captain Beefheart. I had the good fortune of meeting him when I was 18 - in Manchester City Art Gallery in 1980. He was over doing his “Doc At The Radar Station” tour. He was swearing at his notebook in the gallery foyer and I asked if I could see his sketches. We had some sparkling moments. Later, I found that fantastic Beefheart LP, “Clear Spot”. My life was never the same again!

I used to be a performance poet. I did a Granada TV appearance as Badgeroo & the Badgerettes - a plural name for a singular person! Then I had a group, the Kindergarten Paintset - three girl singers, three guys. We did conceptual, experimental rhythms and played a few gigs around ’81/’82.

In 1983, the band broke up and I was pretty upset and moved to London. I recorded “The

Time I Grew Forever” there, set to a piece of classical music by Leroy Anderson but with the tape accelerated from 33 to 45 and this poem over it. That was released on a compilation, “A Secret Liverpool”, credited to Roy G. Biv, which is the spectrum abbreviated - red/orange/yellow/green/blue/indigo/violet.

The guy behind it was a friend, Carl Davies - brother of Ian Davies, alias Ian Hart, the actor who played Lennon. We couldn’t afford printed sleeves, so we cut out the covers in brown paper, printed them with a John Bull print set and released 500 one-sided albums. Kindergarden Paintset were also on the LP: I played percussion and sang backing vocals.

I came up with a new band name after a

dream I had which said (laughs) “The La’s”! It had nothing to do with that Liverpool euphemism, “la” - short for lad - but evolved into that wholeheartedly. I liked its simplicity, that it could mean different things in different languages and that it’s a note on the musical scale. In fact, the La’s’ first imaginary album title was “Dole Pay Me So Far La We Know”, because we were signing on!

Another 500 copies of “A Secret Liverpool” were made - this time, two-sided with the La’s’ “I Don’t Like Hanging Around” on the other side. That was recorded before I went to London, with the Modernaires from Chester who’d done a John Peel session. Their drummer was Dave Baynton-Power, who now plays with James. They were quite experimental, into grooves and Sun Ra. Someone wrote to Mojo saying “I Don’t Like Hanging Around” was similar to the Monochrome Set.

Lee Mavers hung around with us. He used to be in Neuklon, a Huyton punk band. Roger Eagle, who ran [legendary Liverpool punk venue] Eric’s, called them the future of rock’n’roll! Lee joined on bass around ’82. He was into Jean-Jacques Burnel, looked like James Dean and had a Triumph Thunderbird motorbike - (laughs) I don’t know if he rode it, though! But he was cool. I came up one weekend and bumped into him: “Hi Mike, I’m getting into Beefheart”. It was someone else who understood!

After that, I knew I was going to work with Lee. When I got the coach back from London, it was one of those strange ironies in life: he was at the bus stop as the coach pulled into Liverpool! We got on well and from October ’84 through to summer ’86, we really pulled the best out of each other. He was an incredibly talented guitarist and singer. He’d play Big Bill Broonzy songs, note perfect. Wow! We were into blues, rock’n’roll, rockabilly, punk - earthy, organic, “real music”, as we’d call it. We co-wrote the songs. I couldn’t play the guitar then, I was the vocalist - I wasn’t really singing. It came from my poetry background, wordplay. We sounded like early Patti Smith or the Velvets. It was quite conceptual.

We found a cheap, Council-funded studio the Attic (though it was in a basement!) and recorded sessions that were the foundation of the La’s. Tony Russell was an engineer there who was also a drummer so he stepped in. Timmo was the original drummer - Lee’s

• SOHO WENDY This clumsy skiffle rant from 1984 was one of their earliest demos: Mike’s words, Lee’s riff.

• RED DEER STALK A Fall-esque tune co-written by Mavers and Badger, taped at sessions for the “Elegance, Charm And Deadly Danger” compilation in 1985.

• I DID THE PAINTING A short, manic, Mike Badger instrumental a Ia Sonic Youth/My Bloody Valentine.

• YOU BLUE A dark, jazzy acoustic blues demo from 1985.

• MOONLIGHT This Badger/Mavers tune dates from 1986.

• WHAT DO YOU DO? Another ‘86 demo with Mike Badger singing: think of an early, relaxed lnspiral Carpets.

• OPEN YOUR HEART Mike Badger sings on this co-written offering, demoed and played live in 1986.

• TREES AND PLANTS • MOONBATHER • DOWN AT THE SPACEROCKETRY

The first was a rockabilly number taped in ‘86; the last was built around a Bo Diddley rift. All three were reworked by Mike Badger’s next band, the Onset, for their” Pool Of Life” LP on Probe Plus (later expanded on the “Pool Of Life Revisited” CD).

• BREAK LOOSE • GET DOWN OVER

Two of Mike Badger’s La’s songs. • CALLIN’ ALL

A legendary Mavers/Badger co-composition from ‘86, an intense call-to-arms with an Olde Englishe feel that lent its name to a six-song La’s demo tape and was scheduled to appear on the La’s’ album - again as the title track - as well as a limited edition French CD. The song was still in their set in 1991.

• TEARS IN THE RAIN A “fantastic” Mavers song, according to Badger.

• RIDE YER CAMEL

A primitive, crudely-recorded and improvised lo-fi epic inspired by old blues records by the likes of Big Bill Broonzy that was scheduled for the scrapped edition of “Timeless Melody” but was probably best left in the vault!

• I AM THE KEY This splendid song was aired during a live TV broadcast of a La’s gig; apparently, Mavers is still working on it!

• JUMPING JACK FLASH The only known La’s cover was this Stones classic, sporadically performed live.

• THE WAY WE CAME An encore tune, according to a live set list.

• SWASHBUCKLER Alongside two future Cast tunes, the La’s’ live set from 1991 ended with this instrumental encore, It was an apt title, too, for a Hendrix-ish psych-blues jam that Ocean Colour Scene might have been proud of. Or maybe it was a homage to early Led Zepp. Who knows?

A Secret Liverpool What Was It Like, La?

The La’s in March 1989. L TO R: Barry Sutton, Chris Sharrock, JohnPower and Lee Mavers.

“Beefheart was swearing at his notebook in the gallery foyer.”

Freedom Songs: Unissued La’s

brother-in-law, John Timson - and he was with the La’s later when they signed. On bass, we had this punk from the Eric’s days - Jasper. He couldn’t even play but Lee showed him the notes.

Jasper played on our first session: “My Girl (Sits Like A Reindeer)”, “Sweet 35” and tracks like “Red Deer Stalk”. The first two were released in 1985 on Push Records’ “Elegance, Charm And Deadly Danger” compilation. Push stood for Promotional Umbrella For St. Helens -

I’d been to St. Helens Art College. Everyone had three minutes so each of these St. Helens bands had one track. But both our tracks were one-and-a-half minutes long! Dave Evans was the album’s main instigator. He was our fleeting bass player for one gig but then didn’t turn up!

“Reindeer” has a Beefheart-like discordant rhythm with a rant about my girlfriend. Lee took it note-for-note and changed it into “Feelin’”.

He just dropped all my reindeer nonsense! Songs were always about teenage love, i.e. when you’re 35, you’re over the hill! So “Sweet 35” was ironic, about love that’s more mature, a sultry and gentle lament.

The first La’s gig wasn’t until February 1986. We played a brilliant gig with Benny Profane upstairs in a little pub, the Lamb, in St. Helens. I fell off the stage and landed on the PA system, which sounded like a nuclear explosion. We used to play a local Liverpool haunt, the Monro on Duke Street. The Bunnymen had made it trendy by playing a one-off gig there. We didn’t get paid but the Chinese landlord gave us Chinese food. We also did gigs with the Marshmallow Overcoat, with Barry Sutton, who was later in the La’s.

Lee was bringing his songs in, which co-existed with my stuff. I was playing guitar by then and we hung out with different musicians, a fluctuating line-up. It was part Lee not liking them and part musicians not being interested. Lee was intense but a cracking laugh. We were on a roll doing gigs. We blagged a Tuesday night residency at the Pen & Wig, a basement club a street away from Mathew Street [the legendary location of Eric’s and the Cavern]. We were pulling them in and it was going great.

In summer 1986, I started on a music scheme supposed to help unemployed musicians in a recording studio and via gigs. It turned out to be a farce, a front for bad Liverpool political bollocks. The band I was in on this scheme, the Zephyrs, had John Power on bass. The other group had Paul Hemmings and Tommy Scott, who later formed Space, so it was quite a melting pot. Paul was in a melodic pop band, the Twangin’ Banjos, who played a couple of

gigs with the La’s. John Power hadn’t been playing long but

what he lacked in experience he made up for in talent and enthusiasm. He was only 18 and completely in awe, I think, of me and Lee, because we were mid-20s. So John joined and now the whole thing moved faster - John had a whole entourage of mates. We were gigging so much: in December alone, we played sixteen gigs around Liverpool.

But then the friction set in between me and

Lee. I felt the balance had shifted towards something which wasn’t what I’d envisaged. It was sad. I felt his ego had gone. He’d swallowed this shit about us being the greatest thing alive and I felt he resented my presence in the group. Eventually, just before Christmas ’86, we were setting up for a gig when he was being obnoxious. It became intolerable and I thought, I’m getting off.

I’d been playing lead and rhythm and singing half the set and Lee wasn’t interested in those co-written songs after I left. We’d had some great songs, though - “Open Your Heart”, “What Do You Do”, “Moonlight”. Lee used to play brilliant rock’n’roll guitar on “Trees And Plants”. I’ve got a song by him on tape better than “There She Goes”: he had a fantastic song, “Tears In The Rain”. I’m in my arts studio now

where much of the La’s’ album was first recorded. The Attic demos circulated around Liverpool. I know Oasis came across them and Noel talks about us.

The next time I saw John. he was hanging round with Paul Hemmings, who’d joined as guitarist to play Lee’s songs. Then Paul was out: it was horrible because people found out Lee and John were playing with other people, as opposed to them being straight with you.

I can’t tell you how extraordinary it was, after recording five songs in a day on four-track with Lee, being overwhelmed by the music and not having to remix it, to learn he had scrubbed the LP for the umpteenth time. The absurdities surrounding the La’s are all true!

We had this great song. “Callin’ All” - I wrote the music, Lee wrote the words. He loved this song: it was an apocalyptic call to arms. We were always quite deep in our thoughts about the esoteric side of life. Then I read in Viz magazine in ’89/’90: have you heard about the new La’s album, “Callin’ All”?! I was shocked. So I got a solicitor, who sent a letter to the La’s’ label, Go! Discs. The next thing, “Callin’ All” didn’t exist. I felt pissed off because it felt like, rather than give credit to this person who’d had an integral part in both the band and this great song, they’d shelve it.

In fact, it was only last year I could delve into the La’s’ history - it was too upsetting before. But I see Lee from time to time. Amicable enough? Yeah. You grow. We’ve both got families and that changes your perception on life immensely.

This demo tape was named after an unissued Badger/Mavers song, “Callin’ All” - originally slated as the title track of the La’s’ LP.

This postcard came with promo 12”s of the La’s’ debut single, “Way Out”. That’s Paul Hemmings (far left) and John Timson (second left).

“Way Out” was the La’s’ debut single. This is the hard-to-find ‘five-track’ 12” EP.

First time around, “There She Goes” didn’t chart, despite the appeal of this four-track 7”.

“He’d swallowed this shit about us being the greatest thing alive.”

Paul Hemmings (Guitarist 1986-87)

By 1986, the La’s were playing the Pen & Wig and getting a crowd of John’s mates from his old school, Quarrybank. I must have seen them 20 times around Liverpool - you couldn’t go anywhere without them playing. They’d done a fantastic demo at the Attic: it’s effectively the album though lots of songs came later. I reckon that was their most creative time because Mike’s a good songwriter and he and Lee bounced off each other. Lee also had a few songs from the Neuklon days. I’ve seen photos of Neuklon - Lee had this big quiff!

Meanwhile, I joined this Manpower Services scheme with Mike, John Power and Tommy Scott. We’d play community centres. It was a classic case of old bingo halls with sparkly curtains, playing Lou Reed covers to twelve-year-olds. We did a punk rock Frank Sinatra -

“New York, New York”, “Strangers In The Night”. God knows what the kids thought!

Then it had to be a choice. Lee’s songs were filling out the set and he and Mike had a “this town isn’t big enough for the both of us” situation. Lee was very driven and intense and knew where he was going - you could see it in his eyes. Anyway, Mike left, I joined and within a month or so, Andy MacDonald from Go! Discs heard a demo tape and things went mental. Every record company phoned up and said they’d fly up to watch us rehearse. One night, we played the Everyman, a caff with a bar downstairs, and it was absolutely packed. Every A&R man was there. But Andy seemed like a nice guy so we signed to Go! Discs.

We moved down to London to do some

recording, seven of us living in a big house in Ravenscourt Park, but that lasted all of three months. You couldn’t make any noise because of the neighbours. A lot of good songs were written around then, though. My mum and dad had an old Victorian house in Liverpool with an outbuilding, old stables, where we’d rehearse. I’ve got lots of demos recorded on a ghetto blaster there - “Way Out”, “Timeless Melody”, “There She Goes”. Lee came across one morning with that fantastic riff for “There She Goes” and the rest fell into place - the

middle eight came later. “Over”, a B-side of “Timeless Melody”, was recorded on this radio cassette. It was a sunny day, the second time we’d played it. I remember all of us being completely stoned. I pressed the pause button and it captured a moment we never got again - and the single was mastered from that.

We also did some stuff in the Bunnymen’s eight-track demo studio in Liverpool, because Pete De Freitas - God bless him - helped us out. He came to gigs and loved our stuff. This is when he’d got back from New Orleans after that legendary wild weekend [with the Sex Gods]. At that time, we did the Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”!

We also messed around with the Who’s “My Generation”. Lee liked “Magic Bus” - and that Who sound of guitar chordings and drums. We also listened to Captain Beefheart. We tried to track him down to produce the LP but Virgin Records said, if you find him, great, we’ve got a royalty cheque waiting for him! His recordings were so fantastic - we wondered how he got those sounds, like a whole band going for it in the studio, not separated.

“Way Out” was recorded at Townhouse 3 in Battersea. That was a ten-day thing, quite good fun. Timmo used to go out with Lee’s sister - in fact, he’s married to her with two kids. “Knock Me Down” and “Endless” were also recorded at Townhouse 3. The extra tracks? “Liberty Ship” and “Freedom Song” were demos recorded when Mike was in the band but there was some business about an EP having a maximum of four tracks - so it got changed.

We did tours of England while we were in and out of studios. It got ridiculous trying to record anything. I do sympathise with Lee

because, when you catch a moment and then separate all the tracks and try it again in the studio, it sounds too clean and clinical. That went on and on. I got fed up and thought, something’s not quite right. I want my life back. And there were definitely dark clouds looming (laughs). Did Lee get irate? Yeah. He’d like a song at first and then he wouldn’t.

I got off and people drifted in and out, a wilderness time. They were in the Pink Museum Studio in Liverpool for ages. Another session was in Coventry. The session with Mike Hedges is reckoned to be the best, when Lee allegedly tried to destroy the tapes. John Power stuck through it, through thick and thin - and hats off to him. I couldn’t cope with it. Lee likes a recording and then picks faults with it. But you have to let go or you’ll carry on re-recording forever.

I think the final album’s 50/50 - you should hear the early demos. I think Steve Lillywhite did the best he could in the circumstances from bits and pieces. On some tracks, Lee walked out, so what else could Steve do? Some of the LP sounds tired, “Doldrum” particularly, but some of it sounds great. Second time around, “There She Goes” was a big hit but I think things went downhill. They didn’t like America, touring there in 1991. Lee described America as like Birkenhead - whatever that meant!

Barry Sutton (Guitarist, 1988/89)

The first time I met Lee, the La’s were playing their second-ever gig at a party around Sefton Park in May 1986 - Marshmallow Overcoat were playing as well. I used to work for the Fall as a roadie, a big influence because Mark took me under his wing - it was like being the sorceror’s apprentice.

We were into British and American psychedelia, the Elevators, Love, Beefheart, and the Butthole Surfers’ “Locust Abortion Technician”. Marshmallow Overcoat was my band but I also played with the Walkingseeds from 1986. Nirvana were bang into us. There was some tour diary in Paris around 1990, with Kurt Cobain going, I’ve found a copy of “Skullfuck” by the Walkingseeds. Cool!

The La’s weren’t that hot then. Cammy was playing bass for us and knew Lee from Huyton. Lee was bang into what we were doing and we ended up having a jam with him. Me and Marshmallow Overcoat’s drummer, Tony Mogan, shared a flat in Toxteth and Lee was round a lot. He wrote “Liberty Ship” and other tunes there. We knocked

“Timeless Melody” Mk II preceded the long- delayed La’s LP as a single in September 1990.

“There She Goes” fared better second time around, helped by this nifty 7” box set.

A promo cassette for the scrapped version of “Timeless Melody”.

The La’s’ last single, “Feelin’”, was also given a box set treatment on its release in early ’91.

around together. Tony even stood in for a couple of La’s gigs.

I’d got disenchanted with the Walkingseeds. One night, me, Lee and Cammy went back to this flat and jammed for twenty hours, if you can believe that! Lee said, dead low key, ‘Here’s a tape of our songs, learn them’. But after being asked to join the La’s, I had to go to New York to record a Walkingseeds album, “Upwind Of Disaster” so I couldn’t do it.

Lee went, ‘We’ll have to leave it then’, and they got in an old school friend of Lee’s, Boo, who’s on the cover of the first version of “There She Goes” from 1988. Boo played on “There She Goes” and the B-sides but he was only in the band for two months. He’d got a place in the Royal Northern College Of Music, which was a prestigious course.

When I came back from New York, I thought I’d missed my chance, but Lee said, ‘Are you still into it?’. I was dead made up! They had already started work on the album - but loads got binned. Lee wasn’t so much of a perfectionist; he was after a sound that’s difficult to get from modern studios. He’s into Bo Diddley and James Brown and they might not be technically brilliant recordings but they’re dead exciting. On “Diddley Daddy” by Bo Diddley, the vocals are dead distorted but that makes it boss - a dead hard sound that gets to you.

In the eleven months I was in the band, we recorded the album three times to various stages of completion. The first one was on eight-track in the Attic, which was maybe 50% finished. That was kinda self-produced. Edgar Summertyme from the Stairs [defunct but authentic 60s-sounding Go! Discs garage band] was working there. He played with Lee last year, which influenced his playing and writing - he’s gone all minimal. He’s now in the Is Rights, who are sensational.

The second version in the Pink Museum in Liverpool lasted two-and-a-half months. An Australian guy worked with us, Jeremy Allom. Then an in-house Canadian guy took over. I had an acetate of “Timeless Melody” from the Pink sessions. Although the playing was good, the recording quality wasn’t terribly great. That’s GOLAS 3. We did a video,

which was scrapped. A sleeve design was printed up with us four, a yellow background and black writing. I have a T-shirt of it - only about ten were made. And there were cardboard stand-up shop display things with the design but I don’t think sleeves were printed.

That single was also to have a song called “Ride Yer Camel”, a blues jam which never came out. That was recorded in a flat I was staying in on Huskerson Street in Liverpool on a tape deck, which sounded like a ten-minute Muddy Waters tune. And “Clean Prophet” and “All By Myself’, the only La’s tracks I’m on - they eventually came out later.

Anyway, Lee was working on 24-track with

people like John Leckie. The key thing was he played these amazing eight-track demos of songs like “Doledrum” and “Son Of A Gun” and said, that’s what I want it to sound like. To this day, they haven’t been bettered - he says that himself. The tonal quality of the instruments is fantastic. The acoustic guitars are rich and full. Modern studios are geared towards. synthesisers and not very kind to guitars.

We did a couple of tours - interesting! (laughs) The gigs were boss but it was a mad time. There was pressure from Lee to work and improve which made me a better guitarist. If you’re interested in music, you don’t want to be sitting on your arse thinking you’re great. He was the most totally driven person I’ve ever met. There was a late night telly programme of a half-hour excerpt of a gig from the Town & Country Club from 1989 - the me-and-Chris line-up. It’s got a song called “I Am The Key” - in fact, Lee’s working on it now. I think there was also a concert broadcast of the Neil-and-Cammy line-up.

Chris Sharrock had to leave, because the record company stopped the money for a while

and he had a mortgage to pay and his kid. Neil Mavers and Cammy were in a band at the time - they were toying with names and I’m not sure they even had a gig but they used to practise in the Attic. They were sensational - what the Stone Roses were trying to do on “Second Coming” but failed, grooves with a Zeppelin/Hendrix feel.

When Chris left, Lee got Neil and Cammy in as a unit and I got ousted. Cammy is one of the most talented guitarists I’ve come across - and I know hundreds of musicians. Some people are special - and he’s one of them. My playing was going downhill because there was that much pressure, I was finding it hard to cope. In a way, I’m glad I was with them for just that year because things got strained between me and Lee and now we’re mates again. He’s a difficult person to be in a band with but he’s a lovely friend.

I’ve heard the stuff Lee’s doing now and it’s well better than before. I know about twenty unreleased La’s songs. One’s “Mindfield”, another is “Raindance”, one of the best songs the La’s have ever done - it’s got a Bo Diddley/“Magic Bus” feel. A lot of tunes have been knocking around for years. The structures are looser, more groove-based and the words are more interesting. He seems to be writing minimal, haiku-like words. They’re not ‘wordy’ but you can read a lot into them. The provisional release date for a new record is 2007 so don’t hold your breath! He works to his own timescale, God bless him.

See, Lee isn’t interested in money or fame. His absolute concern and focus is the music and I’ve never met anyone who’s so single-minded and has as much integrity. If he’d have played the game, which he didn’t want to do, he would be a millionaire by now - double Oasis. Noel’s a really nice lad but he doesn’t come close to Lee.

Mike Hedges (Producer, 1989) It came about via Go! Discs — I’d been working with the Beautiful South. I’d been collecting vintage equipment and the desk we used was early EMI Abbey Road, which Lee

Timeless Melodies “We spent four months in a studio in Liverpool and then scrapped everything” (Lee Mavers, June 1989) • A demo session at Liverpool’s Picket Studios featured versions of

“WayOut”, “Doledrum”, “Come In, Come Out”, “Callin’ All” and “LibertyShip”. Produced by Mick Moss, this won them the deal with Go! Discs.This isn’t to be confused with the later “Callin’ All” demo tape.

• The four-track demos on the “Way Out” 12” were taped at the Attic in Liverpool in 1986; Mike Badger features on “Liberty Ship”.

• The La’s’ first single, “Way Out”, was recorded in late summer 1987 at Townhouse 3 Studios, Battersea. Produced by Lee Mavers and Gavin Mackillop, it featured Paul Hemmings on guitar and John Timson on drums. “Way Out” was remixed for the follow-up, “There She Goes”, while the version of “Knock Me Down” was recycled on “Timeless Melody”.

• Paul Hemmings’ parents’ outhouse was the location for a 1987 radio cassette demo, “Over”, which sneaked out on “Timeless Melody”. Same line-up as above.

• The rural surroundings of the Manor in deepest Oxfordshire may well have inspired the recording of the “There She Goes” EP in summer 1988. The ever-present Mavers and Power were joined by a guitarist simply known as Boo, new drummer Chris Sharrock and producer Bob Andrews. “There She Goes” was then remixed by Steve Lillywhite for the 1990 reissue and LP.

• Now it gets complicated. The La’s recorded an album’s worth of material at the Pink Museum Studio in Liverpool in early 1989 with new guitarist Barry Sutton and producer Jeremy AIIom. The sessions included the scrapped GOLAS 3 version of “Timeless Melody” and a more organic, reverb-drenched “Clean Prophet” (a different version of which graced the re-recorded “Timeless Melody” single). The sessions did, however, spawn “All By Myself” (on the reissue of “There She Goes”).

• Next, the same line-up travelled to Devon with veteran producer Mike Hedges in late summer 1989, before completing the album in Willesden Green. It was scrapped. Only “I.O.U.” materialised - the “Alternate Version” on the “Feelin’” EP.

• Drafting in a new guitarist Cammy and drummer Neil Mavers, the La’s tried again with John Leckie in Chipping Norton Studios in 1990. The sole product lies again on the La’s’ last single: an “Alternate Version” of the lead track, “Feelin’”.

• Finally, Go! Discs brought in heavyweight producer Steve Lillywhite (in Eden Studios, Chiswick, West London, in 1990). He was left with a mopping-up exercise when Lee Mavers walked out on the album. The whole LP bar “There She Goes” came from the Lillywhite sessions, including a re-recorded “Way Out”.

• Well, not so finally. Lee Mavers has been dutifully visiting Flat Scabies’ home studio in Brentford and a studio in Highfield Street in Pall Mall just outside Liverpool city centre, off and on for the last few years, recording the La’s’ projected second LP with musicians like brother Neil and Edgar Summertyme.

“We’re gonna do the next album ourselves. We’re not gonna let

anyone else interfere in the broth and we’re gonna dish it up as we like it.”

(Lee Mavers, August 1991)

There they go: The La’s roll-call MIKE BADGER (Above right) (born 18/3/62) After leaving the La’s in late 1986, their founder member created the (country/folk-ish) Onset, with ex-La’s Paul Hemmings and Tony Russell, described by Pete Frame as “the most arresting group in captivity”. Mike now splits his time between his current band, the Kachinas, and his critically-acclaimed Lost And Found metal sculptures, exhibiting in Bristol later this year. These inspired the title of the new Space LP, “Tin Planet”; indeed, Mike designed the artwork. JOHN POWER (Above left) (born 14/9/67) Power left the La’s to form Cast in 1992. For the full story, see RC 217. PAUL HEMMINGS (Left) Hemmings played on the first La’s single, after spells with the Twangin’

Banjos and Thrashing Shit. The guitarist then joined the Onset, the Australians with Tommy Scott

(now in Space), Sensurround (with John Robb) and is now in the Lightning Seeds.

TONY RUSSELL One of the many ex-La’s drummers now owns a newspaper distribution business.

JOHN TIMSON ‘Timmo’ is married to Lee Mavers’ sister with two kids and apparently spends his

spare time messing around with engines.

MARK BIRCHALL Mark had played in local bands like Rafique, the Front Room, the Lloyd Collection and Second Language before replacing Timmo on drums in October 1988. After a dozen gigs, he left to join Charlie Don’t Surf. Mark is now a sound engineer at the Picket, Liverpool, and plays in a band called Food. IAN TEMPLETON Currently in Shack, Ian sat in on drums in between Birchall and Sharrock. CHRIS SHARROCK After spells drumming with Liverpool combo the Cherry Boys (best known for their single, “Kardomah Café”) and, more prominently, the Icicle Works, Sharrock joined the La’s in early ‘89 but left two years later. More recently, he played with World Party before joining Paul Hemmings in the Lightning Seeds. BOO Boo (real name John Byrne) played with Sharrock in the Cherry Boys. He played guitar on the classic “There She Goes”, before studying an academic music course. He now teaches music. BARRY SUTTON Sutton founded Marshmallow Overcoat in 1983 with two ex-Riley Men (drummer Tony Mogan and future La’s guitarist Cammy), issuing a 12” EP, “What’s Going On” (Skysaw SKY 1, 2/85) and appearing on several cassettes. Barry then joined a second band, the similarly maniacal Walkingseeds, but had dropped both outfits for the La’s by late 1988. He stayed just a year, but subsequent spells with Cast, Smaller and his own band Froth haven’t dimmed Sutton’s enthusiasm for music. He currently fronts Kung Fu. PETER JAMES CAMMELL (Right, above) Before the La’s, this lanky guitarist played in the Riley Men and Marshmallow Overcoat. Like Sutton, Cammy is in the process of unveiling a new band. NEIL MAVERS (Right, below) (born 8/7/71) Lee’s younger brother plays drums in Bullet, who are now signed to London Records. LEE MAVERS (born 2/8/62) Close sources talk with awe of 20/30/50 (take your pick) new La’s songs, which Lee is honing to perfection in Liverpool... JAMES JOYCE (born 23/9/70). Another Huyton lad who played bass after Power’s departure had previously been in a school band with Neil Mavers. He’s currently in Speedball.

appreciated. It would have been used on Beatles albums and certainly John Lennon’s. The Abbey Road desks were torn to pieces and built into others so it was bits and pieces, anyway.

During a ten-day period, we recorded sixteen songs and then mixed them in a couple of days, banged out the mixes and delivered it. We were very short of time. They were recorded on my mobile down in Devon in Andy MacDonald’s parents’ house overlooking the sea, and overdubbed and mixed in my flat in Willesden Green. Sabotaged by Lee? No, this was just a forgotten album simply because the line-up of the band changed, I believe. Lee was completely happy with it until John Power and Chris Sharrock went on holiday with their girlfriends - they got a cheap offer in Hawaii.

At that stage, Lee was over the moon with the album, soon after it was finished. I don’t think Lee was that pleased that he didn’t go with them! And when they came back, it was all a bit sour and he decided he didn’t like the album at all and wanted to redo it. Consequently, Chris left the band, and John was furious because he thought it sounded really good. I think John’s also been quoted as saying it was “the best La’s album” - the one that never got released.

Lee was brilliant. I got on really well with Lee until we came very near to the end and I got the feeling he didn’t want it to be finished. Because he was really happy with everything, he’d performed fantastically and wasn’t difficult to work with. But during the last few days of overdubs, he started saying, no, this or that isn’t

good enough. He was backing off. And he was protesting too much when he knew things were perfectly good enough. He’d say that bass is out of tune; everyone else would say, no it’s not; oh, he’d say, I meant the guitar. Then things became a problem.

One brilliant night we had, they were sitting in the dining room in this house in Devon playing songs - they went through about 35 unreleased tunes and they were amazing, absolutely stunning. I believe it was taped and Andy MacDonald has it. The original demos of four/five songs that Lee did that he was always trying to recreate had such a vibe about them it was almost impossible, especially “Looking Glass”. I still listen to them now. Lee is absolutely a genius.

John Power (Longtime La’s bassist and current Cast frontman)

I met Mike Badger on this three-day-a-week course. They were going to teach us how to use a music desk and equipment, it was all musicians. If people needed a band in a granny home or a school, we’d go and play music for them. I met Mike, who’d come up with the name the La’s, and within a week, it was like, I’ve got a band, we’ve got some gigs, do you want to play bass? Then I met Lee. His dad or grandad was a jazz guitarist.

Mike Badger had this song, “My Girl (Sits

Like A Reindeer)”, and Lee had the riff. Mike and Lee separated - and Lee took the riff and made “Feelin’”. It was very rock’n’roll. I joined the band a few weeks after.

Was it bad? No, It wasn’t bad. Things happen in life that are really bad; that’s what you have to measure things against. The La’s was good - I just left.

The La’s was strange because it was mainly Lee and me, with other people coming and going. It ended up with me, Lee’s brother Neil on drums and Cammy on guitar for two years. I left because I had some songs, some ideas, and wanted to try them out. I realised it was all down to me. We have to be held responsible for our actions. You take on board what you want to take on board - that’s if you recognise you have a board! (The La’s performed two Power songs, “Follow Me Down” and “Fly On” [alias “Alright”]).

I didn’t have to ask someone whether they were good songs. It was just a natural progression. When I was in the La’s, it became apparent I was more interested in my stuff than anyone else, same as they were. You look after your own children, like.

The first album was done in many different forms. I was just coming into a different bubble. I was becoming a songwriter, and you either react to things or you don’t. Instead of thinking about it, I actually did it, and that’s the only reason I left the La’s. It’s so far away... The world turns!

The La’s played in and around Liverpool throughout 1986 and the first half of 1987 before signing to Go! Discs Records

����������� �������Cat. No. Title SINGLES Go! Discs GOLAS 1 WAY OUT/ENDLESS (7”, p/s, 10/87)…………………………………………………....£15 Go! Discs GOLAS 112 WAY OUT/KNOCK ME DOWN/ENDLESS (12”, red & silver p/s, 10/87)…………....£20 Go! Discs GOLAR 112 WAY OUT/KNOCK ME DOWN/ENDLESS/LIBERTY SHIP (4 Track Demo)/

FREEDOM SONG (4 Track Demo) (‘5-track’ 12”, blue & silver stickered p/s, original pressing with “Freedom Song” sequenced as separate track, 10/87)……...£25

Go! Discs GOLAR 112 WAY OUT/KNOCK ME DOWN/ENDLESS/LIBERTY SHIP (FREEDOM SONG) (‘4-track’ 12”, blue & silver stickered p/s, with “Liberty Ship” & “Freedom Song” segued & stickered track-listing on back sleeve, 10/87)..………………………….….£25

Go! Discs GOLAS 2 THERE SHE GOES/COME IN, COME OUT(7”, red p/s, 11/88, No.59)…………..…£10 Go! Discs LASEP 2 THERE SHE GOES/WHO KNOWS/WAY OUT (New Version)/

COME IN, COME OUT (7” EP, blue p/s, 5,000 only, 11/88)……………………..……£12 Go! Discs GOLAS 212 THERE SHE GOES/COME IN, COME OUT/WHO KNOWS/

MAN I’M ONLY HUMAN (12”, p/s, 11/88)…………………………………………….…£15 Go! Discs LASCD 2 THERE SHE GOES/COME IN, COME OUT/WHO KNOWS/

MAN I’M ONLY HUMAN (CD, card sleeve, 11/88).......................……………….….. £18 Go! Discs GOLAS 3 TIMELESS MELODY/CLEAN PROPHET

(7”, unissued, 10 test pressings only, 4/89)……………………………………….…..£60+ Go! Discs (no cat. no.) TIMELESS MELODY/CLEAN PROPHET/ALL BY MYSELF/RIDE YER CAMEL

(advance promo cassette, typed generic inlay, 4/89)…………………………..………£25 Go! Discs LASEP 3 TIMELESS MELODY/ALL BY MYSELF/THERE SHE GOES/CLEAN PROPHET

(10”, unissued, 4/89) Go! Discs LASDJ 312 TIMELESS MELODY/CLEAN PROPHET/ALL BY MYSELF/RIDE YER CAMEL

(12”, promo-only, 500 pressed, 4/89)………………………………………………..…£50+ Go! Discs LASCD 3 TIMELESS MELODY/CLEAN PROPHET/ALL BY MYSELF/RIDE YER CAMEL

(CD, unissued, 4/89) Go! Discs GOLAS 4 TIMELESS MELODY/CLEAN PROPHET (7”, blue p/s. 9/90, No. 57)……………..….£6 Go! Discs LASMC 4 TIMELESS MELODY/CLEAN PROPHET (cassette, green inlay, 9/90)…….…….......£5 Go! Discs GOLAS 412 TIMELESS MELODY/CLEAN PROPHET/KNOCK ME DOWN/OVER

(12”, purple p/s, 9/90)…………………………………………………………………….…£8 Go! Discs LASCD 4 TIMELESS MELODY/CLEAN PROPHET/KNOCK ME DOWN/OVER

(CD, orange card p/s, 9/90)……………………………………………………….…...….£10 Go! Discs GOLAS 5 THERE SHE GOES/FREEDOM SONG (7”, p/s, 10/90, No. 13)..............….…………£5 Go! Discs GOLAB 5 THERE SHE GOES/FREEDOM SONG/ALL BY MYSELF

(7”, numbered box set with badge & 3 stickers, 10/90)……………………………..…£10 Go! Discs LASMC 5 THERE SHE GOES/FREEDOM SONG (cassette, 10/90)………………………...…....£4 Go! Discs GOLAS 512 THERE SHE GOES/FREEDOM SONG/ALL BY MYSELF (12”, p/s, 10/90)..……...…£7 Go! Discs LASCD 5 THERE SHE GOES/FREEDOM SONG/ALL BY MYSELF (CD, 10/90)…………..…£10 Go! Discs GOLAS 6 FEELIN’/DOLEDRUM (7”, p/s, 2/91, No.43)…………………………………………...…£4 Go! Discs GOLAB 6 FEELIN’/I.O.U. (Alternate Version)/FEELIN’ (Alternate Version)/DOLEDRUM

(7” EP, 33rpm, numbered box set with badge & 3 stickers, 2/91)…………………....£10 Go! Discs LASMC 6 FEELIN’/DOLEDRUM (cassette, 2/91)………………………………………………...….£4 Go! Discs GOLAS 612 FEELIN’/DOLEDRUM/I.O.U. (Alternate Version)/LIBERTY SHIP (12”, 2/91)...………£7 Go! Discs LASCD 6 FEELIN’/DOLEDRUM/I.O.U. (Alternate Version)/LIBERTY SHIP (CD, 2/91)……….£10 Blanco Y Negro NEG 104T THE FEVER PITCH EP (12”, 4 artists, includes “There She Goes”, 4/97).....……......£4 Blanco Y Negro NEG 1O4CD THE FEVER PITCH EP (CD, 4 artists, includes “There She Goes”, 4/97)……...….…£4 Blanco Y Negro NEG 104C THE FEVER PITCH EP (cassette, 4 artists, includes “There She Goes”, 4/97)….…..£2

ALBUM Go! Discs 828 202-1 THE LA’S (LP, with inner sleeve, 11/90, No.30)………………………………….….....£25 Go! Discs 828 202-2 THE LA’S (CD, 11/90)……………………………………………………………….….....£10 Side One: Son Of A Gun/I Can’t Sleep/Timeless Melody/Liberty Ship/There She Goes/Doledrum Side Two: Feel/n/Way Out/I. 0. U/Freedom Song/Failure/Looking Glass

OTHER U.K. PROMOS Go! Discs LASDJ 112 WAY OUT (12”, same tracks as standard 12”,

stickered plain sleeve with promo postcard, 9/87)……………………………………..£25 Go! Discs LASDJ 212 THERE SHE GOES (12”, same tracks as standard 12”. 10/88)……………………...£15 Go! Discs LASDJ 412 TIMELESS MELODY (12”, same tracks as standard 12”, co. sleeve, 8/90)………...£12 Go! Discs LASDJ 512 THERE SHE GOES (12”, same tracks as standard 12”, co. sleeve, 10/90)….…..…£10 Go! Discs LASDJ 612 FEELIN’ (12”, same tracks as standard 12”, company sleeve, 2/91)…………….…..£10 Go! Discs LA’S CD 1 THE LA’s SOUND SAMPLER (There She Goes/Way Out/Timeless Melody/

Son Of A Gun/I Can’t Sleep) (CD, “Timeless Melody” is slIghtly different to LP version, 1,000 only, 11/90)………………………………………….…...£15

Bl. Y Negro NEG 104 CD.J 2 THERE SHE GOES (CD from Fever Pitch film, 1-track, 4/97)…………………….…...£5

IMPORTANT FOREIGN ITEMS Go! Discs 888 924-2 WAY OUT/KNOCK ME DOWN/ENDLESS/LIBERTY SHIP (FREEDOM SONG)

(German CD, 1987)…………………………………………………………….………….£45 Go! Discs 869 370-4 THERE SHE GOES/ALL BY MYSELF/(Previews of “Timeless Melody”, “Feelin’”

& “Way Out”) (U.S. cassette, 1990)…………………………………………………….….£6 Go! Discs/London CDP 403 THERE SHE GOES (U.S. promo CD, jewel case or digipak, 1990)…………………...£7 Go! Discs 4092 THERE SHE GOES/COME IN COME OUT/WHO KNOWS/FAILURE (live)

(French CD, card sleeve, 4,000 only, via Les Inrockuptibles magazine, last track mistakenly listed as “Calling All”, 1991)………………………………………£15

Go! Discs/London COP 547 THERE SHE GOES (Steve Wyrostok Remix)/(7” Alternative Intro Mix)/ (Unplugged Mix)/(Instrumental) (U.S. promo CD, 1991)………………………………£20

Go! Discs/London COP 564 TIMELESS MELODY (live at Chicago Metro)/THERE SHE GOES (live at Marquee)/ I CAN’T SLEEP (live at Chicago Metro)/I CAN’T SLEEP (U.S. promo CD, 1991)….£20

IMPORTANT COMPILATION APPEARANCES Davies LP d2vor 8 A SECRET LIVERPOOL (LP, 1-sided, stamped brown paper/cardboard sleeve,

includes tracks by Roy G. Biv & Kindergarden Paint Set, 8/84)………………………£20 Davies LP d2vor 8 A SECRET LIVERPOOL (LP, 2nd pressing, 2-sided with folded gatefold sleeve,

adds La’s’ “I Don’t Like Hanging Around” [as “I Don’t Like Hanging”!], 9/84)……… £20 Push PUSH 001 ELEGANCE, CHARM AND DEADLY DANGER (LP, includes

“My Girl (Sits Like A Reindeer]” & “Sweet 35”, 12/85)……………………………… …£20 The video for “There She Goes” appeared on three compilations: “Carry On Disarming” (NME/CND DISARM 1, 10/89), “Awesome!” (PMI MVP 9912893, 2/91) and “The Brits 1991 - Volume 1991” (Telstar TVE 1029,2/91). Many thanks to Andrew Bowden, Mike Badger, Paul Hemmings and Phil Hayes for their help with info and illustrations. Thanks also to Map Records, Opal Music, David L. Clark, Vinyl Tap, Joe Davidson and Mindy Canning at M.C.P.S.

FROM THE TOP: “The La’s” album now sells for £25 on vinyl; the LP was promoted by this CD sampler - was “Sound” a working title?; and two American La’s promo CDs from 1991, featuring exclusive remixes and live material.

Mint Value