"If you want, I’ll tell you a life story / about a man who’s at loggerheads with his past all the time”. Indeed! Stranger things have happened; the rise of Keane for one thing, but straight out of left-field comes the return of The La’s and Lee Mavers, Liverpool’s very own Brian Wilson. It’s been thirteen years since John Power walked out on The La’s, or more specifically, Lee Mavers, and give or take a handful of underwhelming mid-nineties outings, the movements of Mavers’ La’s have been shrouded in mystery. Whilst Power enjoyed commercial - if not critical – success with Cast, Mavers has remained, to all intents and purposes, in exile, as the Syd Barret/Brian Wilson legends grew around him. Mavers ‘cult’ status has been afforded as a result of myriad factors; from rumours of serious drug abuse, the periodical interest of the serious papers (Guardian, Mojo, Q etc), the endorsement of contemporaries from Noel Gallagher to Pete Docherty, to a plethora of third-hand ‘stories’ relating to Mavers apparent eccentricity.
Added to this, are the facts. The La’s were publicly dismissive of their one and only album – citing the machinations of their record label who, frustrated with Mavers perfectionism (the recording was scrapped at least five times), enlisted Steve Lillywhite to produce their debut LP, against the bands wishes. However, the real substance behind Mavers enduring appeal is in his songs. The La’s left behind them an impressive body of work and the sophistication of songs such as Callin’ All, Over, Looking Glass, Son of A Gun, There She Goes and Timeless Melody serve to belie the ‘druggy/scouse/scally’ image that is often attributed to the band. Furthermore, if we are to give credence to the rumour mill, there are tales of the hundred or so songs that Mavers has written in his hiatus; one song The Human Race is said to be even better than the enduringly brilliant There She Goes. Somewhere along the line, hatchets have been buried and Mavers and Power are back working together again. McCartney to Mavers’ Lennon, Power was always the beating heart of The La’s – the spirited force pushing the creative genius of his partner onwards; it’s no mere coincidence that Mavers only really lost his way when Power jumped ship in the first place.
So here we are, against all odds on a sunny Tuesday night in Manchester, and here amidst the artfully disheveled haircuts are the great, the good, and the not so good (Johnny Marr, Noel Gallagher and Haven, respectively), all gathered to witness the second coming of The La’s. After a ridiculously long wait, both in years and in The Ritz, The La’s kick off with a feverish opening salvo of Son Of A Gun, Clean Prophet and Liberty Ship, backed by a devotional crowd, singing along to every word; a feat which brings a smile to Mavers famously reticent face. Owing to a last minute line up change, the band are at times a little rough around the edges, or rather, the drumming is (out goes the rehearsed drummer Nick Miniski, in comes Lee’s non-drumming mate Jasper – what, Mavers… eccentric?), but to be fair, if it’s stoic professionalism you’re after, then you’re probably round the corner watching U2 doing their Joy Division meets Echo and the Bunnymen thing. Audience interaction is minimal, and the stage set-up sparse, but for those looking more for music than spectacle, The La’s offer a spirited set comprising all of the songs on the eponymous LP, plus a string of memorable b-sides and rarities. Amongst the many highlights being Timeless Melody, I.O.U. (replete with note perfect harmonising from Power), Callin’ All, a rockabilly tinged Feelin’ and, of course, There She Goes. They encore with I Am The Key and the sublimely brilliant Over before indulging in a second encore of a new song called, it seems, Gimmie The Blues. In essence it’s just an extended 12 bar blues but it is, nonetheless, a fitting end to a memorable night. On the back of bands like The Libertines there is currently a massive amount of good will and residual affection for The La’s. We’ll just have to wait and see what Lee Mavers is going to do about it.
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