Lee Anthony Mavers (born 2 August 1962) is an English musician. Mavers was the songwriter, singer and rhythm guitarist in

The La's The La's were an English rock band from Liverpool, originally active from 1983 until 1992. Fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist Lee Mavers, the group are best known for their hit single " There She Goes". The band was formed by Mike Bad ...

and is best known for the song " There She Goes" from October 1988. Mavers was originally the bassist for the Liverpool group Neuklon circa 1980 to 1984. Mavers is a passionate supporter of

Everton Football Club Everton Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Liverpool that competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club was a founder member of the Football League in 1888 and has compe ...

and regularly attends

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a association football, football stadium in the Walton, Liverpool, Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area ...

. He is a good friend of fellow musicians

Liam Gallagher William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He achieved fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis from 1991 to 2009, and later fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2009 to 2014, before starti ...

, Pete Doherty, Johnny Marr,

Paul Weller Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul mu ...

and

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...

. He is the older brother of actor

Gary Mavers Gary John Mavers (born 1 September 1964), is an English television actor. Mavers graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and is best known for his portrayals of GP Andrew Attwood in ''Peak Practice'' which he worked on for 5 years as a ...

and Neil Mavers who was the drummer for The La's.

The La's

Mavers gained a reputation for perfectionism and eccentricity. Obsessing over the group's troubled recording efforts between 1987 and 1992, Mavers eventually retreated back to his Liverpool home after the release of the La's' eponymous debut album, his perception of the music industry soured by the fact the release was not a version of the album he wished to be made public.

More silence in the music press followed, barring one 1995 ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' interview. Mavers was at this point occasionally playing with other Liverpool musicians. Mavers disavowed the album in print while struggling to maintain his artistic integrity. In late 2003 a book about Mavers and his band was released, ''In Search of the La's: A Secret Liverpool'' which contained a 2000 dated interview with Mavers discussing his band and what he intends to do with his music. While providing insight into Mavers' personality, the book ends on an ambiguous note concerning his return to music. In March 2005 the La's announced dates in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and Ireland, their first in a decade, along with festivals sets such as

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...

and the

Summer Sonic The , also known as Supersonic, is an annual two- or three-day rock festival held at the same time in Osaka and Chiba, Japan. The majority of the bands playing in Osaka the first day go to Chiba the following day and vice versa. The line-up co ...

festival in Japan, with the line-up of Lee Mavers (vocals, guitar), John Power (bass), Jay Lewis of the band Cracatilla (guitar) and Nick Miniski (drums). The set generally consisted of old songs, including the perennial favourite " There She Goes", with new songs performed as encores. The drummer was quickly replaced by Mavers' old schoolfriend Ian Jasper, and live reviews have generally been favourable. New songs that would have featured, or will feature, on the 2nd album include "I Am the Key", "Fishing Net" A.K.A. "Something I Said", "Raindance" and "The Human Race". In March 2009, Mavers made a surprise appearance in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, joining Pete Doherty on stage to play "Son of a Gun" and "There She Goes". On 19 June 2011, Mavers made a rare outing, doing a secret acoustic set at the Deaf Institute,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

under the name of Lee Rude & the Velcro Underpants (a play on Lou Reed and

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise ...

): this featured Mavers playing with Gary Murphy of defunct Liverpool band the Bandits. Mavers and Murphy continued impromptu gigs in Sunderland, Glasgow and London, before heading abroad to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

and later to the Rock En Seine Festival in Paris and at UK festivals

Kendal Calling Kendal Calling is a music & arts festival, held annually at Lowther Deer Park in the Lake District, Cumbria in the North West of England. It has grown from a two-day, 900 capacity event in 2006 to a 25,000 capacity 4-day music festival. Kendal C ...

and

Bestival Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festival relocated to the Lulworth Estate in Dorset. The event was organ ...

, before bringing the 'stripped back' sets to a close at a homecoming show at Liverpool's O2 Academy after announcing they were set to return soon after recruiting a full band. An interview with Mavers also appears in the 2013 music interview book, ''Isle of Noises: Conversations with Great British Songwriters'', by Daniel Rachel. Within the interview, Mavers discussed the themes of certain songs and his songwriting craft (essentially describing himself as a conduit rather than author), again decried the sole album released by

, and also explained he has a "great patience" for the music to happen.

References

External links

*
Neuklon era photo of Mavers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mavers, Lee 1962 births Alumni of the University of Central Lancashire English male guitarists English rock guitarists English rock singers English male singer-songwriters The La's members Living people People from Huyton Musicians from Liverpool