The La's formed in 1984, with original member Mike Badger stating that the band name occurred to him in a dream, as well as it being Scouse for "lads", and having obvious musical connotations. The band existed briefly as an arthouse/skiffle-type outfit with a few tracks released on local compilations. Lee Mavers joined in 1984 as rhythm guitarist, eventually gaining songwriting prominence and emerging as the band's enduring figurehead. Longtime bassist John Power joined the group in 1986, having met Badger on a local council-run musicianship course. Badger however left the group in late 1986, to form The Onset.
The band attracted the attention of several record labels after a series of performances in their home town in 1986, and demo tapes copied from a session at the Flying Picket rehearsal studio in Liverpool began circulating. One of these demo tapes was sent to Underground Magazine. A journalist there with the task of reviewing unsigned bands gave the cassette to Andy McDonald at Go! Discs. Several record labels later became interested in signing the band. The band chose to sign with Go! Discs.
The band's first single Way Out was mixed with producer Gavin MacKillop. When it was released in October 1987, it broke in to the top 100 and was praised by The Smiths' frontman Morrissey in the music magazine Melody Maker, but attracted little notice. The band continued to perform around the UK and gained success as a live act, drawing comparisons to The Beatles due to their origins, vaguely Merseybeat sound, and Mavers' expressive lyrics.
There She Goes was released in 1988 with the B-sides "Come In Come Out" and "Who Knows". The song garnered moderate attention and airplay, but performed poorly in the charts. The music video for "There She Goes" features The La's scampering through run-down Liverpool streets and was filmed in an afternoon on a handheld camera. It was later re-released a number of times, the earliest being 1990's Steve Lillywhite mix. After working with producer Jeremy Allom at the Pink Museum Studio in Liverpool in May 1989, the band were set to release "Timeless Melody" as a single. While test pressings had been sent out for review, and was nominated for "record of the week" in the NME, Mavers was reportedly unhappy with the production and the single release was scrapped.
The La's then spent two years fruitlessly recording and re-recording their intended album, with a constantly changing band lineup, where only the core of Mavers and Power remained the same. Discarded producers included The Smiths' producer John Porter, as well as John Leckie and Mike Hedges. Both Leckie and Hedges in interviews have been very complimentary about the band's songs and their respective sessions.
The previously volatile band lineup settled in 1989 with Lee's brother, Neil Mavers on drums, and Peter "Cammy" Camell as lead guitarist. The group then entered London's Eden Studios in December 1989 to again record their debut album with Simple Minds and U2 producer Steve Lillywhite. Despite this lineup being arguably the most stable, and press interviews from the time painting them as extremely confident, the sessions still did not satisfy Mavers. In one instance Mavers was reported to have rejected a vintage mixing desk, claiming it did not have the right sound because "it hasn't got original Sixties dust on it" although this claim has since been revealed as apocryphal. The Eden sessions with Lillywhite would become the band's final attempt at recording the album. The frustration of not achieving the right sound and mood in their songs, as well as increasing friction with Go! Discs, who had spent a considerable sum of money on recording sessions for the album, led to them simply giving up on the sessions. Lillywhite pieced together the recordings he had made with the group into what became the eventually released album. The band, particularly Lee Mavers, were not pleased with this decision.
Among the band's complaints were that Lillywhite used vocal guide tracks on the LP and that he did not "understand" their sound. Mavers would later go on to claim that the band had played poorly deliberately during the sessions in the hope that the material would not be released, as they did not gel with Lillywhite from day one.
However, recognition, at least critically, came for The La's in 1990 when the self-titled album, The La's, was released. The album reached #30 in the UK charts and received a Silver certification, but the album did not fare as well overseas. The album only reached #196 on the Billboard 200 and to date has sold fewer than 50,000 copies in the U.S.
The album included, among new material, re-recorded versions of all the previous singles, including a remixed version of "There She Goes" which was then re-released as a single. This time around, the song reached number 13 in the UK singles chart and remains the most visible and enduring of all the band's songs.
Additional singles from the album included the LP versions of Timeless Melody and Feelin'. Both sold reasonably well, reaching chart placings around the top 40. A short promotional tour proceeded, accompanied by television appearances on shows such as Top of the Pops. Press interviews conducted during this period were generally confused in tone, owing to the fact the critics generally adored the album yet Mavers was assuring journalists that he "hated" the album and it was "like a snake with a broken back".
1991 promotional tour dates were fulfilled in the UK and Europe including a few festivals, a well-received US tour. Bassist John Power left the group on the 13 December 1991, frustrated with having played essentially the same set of songs since 1986, and resurfaced a year later with his band Cast. The remainder of the 1991 concerts were performed with James Joyce on bass as well as a handful of 1992 dates. The band stopped touring and rehearsing in 1992 until further short-lived reunions, with various line-ups, throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
The band disbanded in 1992, with Mavers restarting the band various times in the years since (one between 1994 and 1996 and again in 2005). The band reunited in June 2011 as a duo consisting of Mavers and bassist Gary Murphy.
Timeless Melody
The La's Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Whenever the thought reminds me
Breaking a chain inside my head
The melody chord unwinds me
The rhythm of life unties me
Brushing the hands of time away
If you look in your mind
Open your mind
Even the words they fail me
Oh look what it's doing to me
I never say what I want to say
It's only a word believe me
If only the world could see me
I promise I'd send the word away
If you look with your eyes
Do you know what you will find
Open your mind
The melody always finds me
Whenever the thought reminds me
Breaking a chain inside my head
The melody chord unwinds me
The rhythm of life unties me
Brushing the hands of time away
If you look in your mind
Do you know what you will find
Open your mind
Open your mind
Open your mind
The La's's "Timeless Melody" is a reflective and introspective song that reflects on the power of melody and how it can inspire a person to break free from the constraints of their mind. The song speaks about how melody can act as a chain-breaker for a person's thought process that is often entangled in a web of negative and inhibiting thoughts. The lyrics suggest that melodious tunes can bring a sense of freedom and serenity by untangling our mind from the complexities of everyday life. The song speaks to the idea that melody can be looked at as a vehicle to escape from our own minds and the limitations we often put upon ourselves.
The lyrics in the song touch upon the theme of communication breakdown, reflecting on how difficult it can be to express oneself in words. The song suggests that words can often fail to convey the depth and complexity of the emotions that a person harbors within them. Hence, melody and music can be used as an alternate medium of expression to convey meaning and emotion, which words may not be able to.
Overall, "Timeless Melody" is a song that encourages the listener to keep an open mind and embrace the possibility of a melodious escape from the mental constraints of everyday life.
Line by Line Meaning
The melody always finds me
The wonderfully harmonious rhythm of music always manages to bring joy to my life
Whenever the thought reminds me
Whenever a concept, notion or reality intersects with me, the tune permeates my thinking
Breaking a chain inside my head
Breaking free, hopping over a hurdle or discarding an obstruction that restricts my thinking, resulting in a more composed mental state
The melody chord unwinds me
The music's chords release all emotional tension that grips me, engendering a feeling of freedom
The rhythm of life unties me
A musically induced trance frees me from life's qualms and upheavals
Brushing the hands of time away
The melody slows down time, allowing me to forget about the past and not dread about the future
If you look in your mind
If you introspect and reflect on yourself, do you have an understanding of who you are?
Do you know what you will find
Do you have insight or knowledge of what you'll uncover?
Open your mind
Be receptive to new thoughts and ideas
Even the words they fail me
Words are inadequate to express the power of the melody
Oh look what it's doing to me
The music creates such emotional upheavals that my body reacts in physical ways
I never say what I want to say
Sometimes words fail me, and I'm unable to express myself adequately
It's only a word believe me
Words can be misleading, misleading, and sometimes inadequate to express my feelings
If only the world could see me
If only the world could understand me better and see who I really am
I promise I'd send the word away
I promise I would forget my vocabulary and use just the melody to convey myself accurately
If you look with your eyes
If you sight and observe things around you, what can you find?
Open your mind
Open your receptivity to new emotions and ideas
Open your mind
Brace yourself for new sensations and challenges
Open your mind
Don't let the past and doubtful future cloud your ability to absorb experiences today
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LEE MAVERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
MILLENNIAL ANIMAL
Glad to see more videos about The La’s and Lee on YouTube, I’m from Liverpool, live pretty close to Lee, but he’s rarely seen out and about, and if he is, people don’t seem to ask for photos or even know who he is I think, so In a way I think he got what he wanted. When you listen to the “crescent tape” it’s hard not to think of what might’ve been, but if he wanted to put those tunes out, I think he would have. Also, the Liz Kirshaw version of I Can’t Sleep live at the bbc is insane if you haven’t checked it out. Also if you haven’t, listen to the crescent tape, and the kitchen tape even though Lee said it was shite hahaha.
Zajac music
Just where did you find those versions of timeless melody and feelin’ at the end ?! They are unbelievable ! I need them pls !
Jared Bigelow
Most of those versions were found on Spotify!
Ogabugabedj
I've been blessed that during this time of pandemic I've discovered many artist, after listening to deep discovery of the britpop era of the 90s i realized that before that there are many artist that influence the bands from the 90s. I had discovered the la's after discovering the stone roses and happy mondays, nice video dude 👍
Daniel Smith
mate you should listen to the cresent tape 1998, its lee jamming with this band called the cresent what he saw in liverpool really good, probs what would of been on the second album
Edwards Industries- 9 years ago
Dude this video is so well informed and edited, The La's are my top band of all time too. Try not to pull a Lee Mavers n disappear off the face of youtube n that, like id love to hear yer takes on other bands(Maybe The Verve or Stone Roses etc)
nevermindthe bollocks
Classic album
Scott Beaton
The Mike Hedges version of Looking Glass is where it's at
Hazed
Well done laaa!
Nick Thorp
Biblical laa!