The La's

Well, since this fledgling blog is named after a Lee Mavers composition (well, sort of) - what better way to start than to mention my favourite band ever...

The La's.

A revolving door of four lads who ''shook West Derby'' (errmmm... Half Man Half Biscuit had already taken care of the Wirral, remember... apologies for the poor punnage!), The La's were active from the mid 80's (they signed amid a record label scrum in 1987) until 1991... with one LP and a clutch of singles to show for their efforts... Sporadic one off shows with yet more random line-ups popped up throughout the mid 90's, before a 2005 reunion of sorts seemingly bookended and closed a final chapter on the group.

Lee has since been quoted as being up for yet another project bearing The La's moniker, but sadly despite the skills he holds as a songwriter, seeing through new attempts at getting his music off the ground never quite come to fruition.

There are many videos of dubious origin and source showcasing various rarities/oddities/unrealeased-ities etc etc. And here is one of my favourites... the sporadically performed never finished nor properly titled gem that has been given the assumed title of ''Was It Something I Said'' (due to the repeated lyric obviously...), taken here from a live recording from a 1990 show in Rennes, France.

A simple Em/C/G progression (with the odd scuffed G, A and D minor thrown in towards the end), its a seed of a song with few words, but the tune and feeling are there for all to hear...
It begins to take on an almost reggae feel at times as the chord sequence swirls around and around...

Was it something I said?
Was it something in your head?
Get out your bed, yeah
Come fill your fishing net

Down to the bay, on my lonely way
Put out your love
And...
Come fill your fishing net

Nobody is quite sure if Lee ever got around to finishing it, considering the most recent 'performance' leaked on a hissy bootleg was made back in the late 90's as he ran through his new songreel for Liverpudlian group the Crescent (with a view to them backing him on mooted ''second album'' recordings...)

Notable band members over the years include John Power (Cast, now doing his solo blues project), Peter 'Cammy' Cammell (Guitar - Marshmellow Overcoat and an early version of Cast) Chris Sharrock (Drums - Oasis, Robbie Williams band) Barry Sutton (Guitar - Kung Fu, The Stairs, Mirrorball and various other Liverpool bands), Mike Badger (original founder of the group and it's name, left to form the Onset, and has since done various solo works)

See www.thelas.org for more information on Lee Mavers and The La's...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_La%27s