In October 1990, The La's released an album that sounded unusually timeless. Release listing
Its twelve songs combined the melodic immediacy of 1960s British pop, acoustic and electric guitars, uncluttered arrangements and the distinctive voice of Liverpool songwriter Lee Mavers. At a time when British independent music was undergoing rapid change, the record seemed largely unconcerned with contemporary fashion.
The album included There She Goes, one of the most enduring British guitar-pop songs of its era, alongside Timeless Melody, Way Out, Doledrum and the sprawling closing track Looking Glass.
Yet the making of The La's was anything but straightforward.
Before the finished album reached shops, the band had worked with a succession of producers, recorded alternative versions of numerous songs and abandoned sessions that might have formed entirely different albums.
Producer Mike Hedges believed he had captured something exceptional during a series of 1989 recordings in Devon. Steve Lillywhite, who ultimately brought the album to completion, also recognized the strength of the material but struggled to make recordings that satisfied Mavers.
The finished LP was praised by listeners and critics, but Mavers himself remained dissatisfied with it.
For years, the earlier recordings became part of the mythology surrounding The La's. Then, in 2008, an expanded edition made substantial portions of those abandoned sessions available.
Taken together, the records and the producers' recollections reveal a more complicated story than that of a perfectionist songwriter unable to finish an album. They show a band repeatedly trying to preserve the particular qualities of its live performances while navigating changing musicians, production techniques and expectations.
Album Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Artist | The La's |
| Album | The La's |
| Released | October 1990 |
| Label | Go! Discs |
| Principal album producer | Steve Lillywhite |
| Additional production | Mark Wallis |
| Earlier recording retained | Bob Andrews' production of There She Goes, mixed by Lillywhite |
| Principal songwriter | Lee Mavers |
| Original album | 12 tracks |
| Deluxe reissue | 2008, including Mike Hedges sessions and alternate mixes |
Before the Album: Lee Mavers and the Liverpool Sound
The La's emerged from Liverpool in the 1980s, drawing upon a musical tradition with deep roots in the city's history.
Their sound was often compared with British guitar pop of the 1960s, but it was neither a straightforward revival nor a deliberate imitation of a single group.
Mavers' songwriting combined concise melodies with arrangements that could sound deceptively simple. Acoustic guitar frequently provided the rhythmic foundation, while electric guitars and bass gave the music movement and urgency.
Songs such as Way Out and There She Goes demonstrated that the band already possessed distinctive material before a debut album was completed.
The problem was not necessarily songwriting.
It was finding a way to record those songs that everyone—particularly Mavers—could accept.
John Power became a central figure on bass and backing vocals, while the group's guitarists and drummers changed during its early history.
Those changes complicate the album's recording story. Recordings made at different times could feature different musicians, even when the compositions were familiar.
MusicBrainz's recording credits list Neil Mavers and Peter Camell on most tracks, Chris Sharrock and John "Boo" Byrne on There She Goes, and John Timson and Paul Hemmings on Way Out. The Bandcamp album listing repeats these exceptions. These are published credit listings, not independently inspected original session sheets or physical liner notes; they should not be extended into complete lineups for the earlier sessions. Recording credits Digital credit listing
As The La's gained attention, the demand for a finished album increased. But the more the band recorded, the more difficult it became to settle on definitive versions of its songs.
The Recording History: A Succession of Attempts
1987–1988: Early Singles and Production Work
The La's released Way Out in 1987, establishing a recorded presence before their album was ready.
By 1988, There She Goes had become another important part of the band's repertoire.
During this early period, recording work involved producers and engineers including John Porter, John Leckie, Bob Andrews and Gavin MacKillop.
The surviving records don't provide a complete, uncontested schedule of every session. What they do establish is that several producers and mixers worked on material that would eventually appear on the debut or remain outside its original track list.
The 2008 deluxe edition preserves evidence of these attempts.
Its alternate material includes a John Porter mix of Doledrum, John Leckie mixes of There She Goes and Man I'm Only Human, and Bob Andrews mixes of Feelin' and Clean Prophet.
An earlier Way Out mix is identified under Andy MacDonald's name. Gavin MacKillop's association with earlier production should be kept separate from that mix label and from the finished album's digital credits. Deluxe mix listing
These aren't all equivalent credits: a remix, an alternate recording and an original production session represent different kinds of work. They shouldn't be treated as interchangeable.
Nevertheless, their existence establishes an important point.
Long before Lillywhite completed the album, there were already several recorded interpretations of The La's material.
1989: Mike Hedges and the Devon Sessions
The most substantial abandoned recording project was undertaken with producer Mike Hedges.
Hedges had worked with artists including Siouxsie and the Banshees. He wasn't an obvious match for a songwriter pursuing the immediacy of older British guitar records.
However, he had acquired vintage Abbey Road recording equipment, including a 1960s mixing console and multitrack recorder. That equipment was part of his appeal to the group's record company. Hedges account
The sessions took place in unusual surroundings: a house associated with Go! Discs founder Andy Macdonald's family, overlooking the Devon coast. Hedges account
Rather than working in a conventional commercial studio, Hedges and the band established a temporary recording environment in the house.
In a 2008 interview with The Guardian, Hedges recalled a mixing console installed in the living room and microphones sometimes positioned in informal spaces.
He said the sessions produced approximately 35 songs or song sketches. Hedges account
Not all were fully developed recordings. Some were comparatively rough performances, captured with minimal equipment. But Hedges believed the band had made recordings substantial enough to form an album.
He remembered a generally positive atmosphere for much of the project.
That optimism did not survive to completion.
According to Hedges, disagreements within the band and Mavers' dissatisfaction contributed to the decision to abandon the recordings. Other personal explanations offered in retrospective accounts are difficult to independently establish and should not be mistaken for a definitive explanation of Mavers' motives. Hedges account
What matters to the recording history is that Hedges' sessions were left unfinished as a commercially released album.
They would eventually become one of the most revealing surviving documents of the band's work.
What Happened to the Hedges Tapes?
The fate of the recordings became another part of The La's mythology.
One story suggested that Mavers had destroyed the original master tapes.
Hedges disputed that account.
He told The Guardian that the record company had lost the masters. He also described losing his own copy under separate circumstances. These are Hedges' statements, not an independently established account of the tapes' disappearance. Hedges account
According to Hedges' account in The Guardian, the material issued in 2008 was mastered from a cassette copy rather than recovered original multitrack masters. Hedges account
This has an important implication.
The Hedges recordings are invaluable evidence of how the band sounded during those sessions, but the released material cannot automatically be treated as a finished, approved alternative album.
The recordings were abandoned before final mixing, and their surviving presentation reflects the limitations of the source material.
They document a recording process, not necessarily the final album that Mavers would have chosen to release.
Late 1989–1990: Steve Lillywhite Takes Over
After the abandoned earlier sessions, Steve Lillywhite became responsible for bringing The La's debut to completion.
John Power recalled being at Eden Studios while the album was being finished with Lillywhite. His recollection supports that studio connection, without dating every recording or placing all twelve masters there. Power interview
Lillywhite was already an experienced producer, having worked with prominent rock artists and developed a reputation for records with distinctive instrumental sounds.
His problem was not a lack of good songs.
In a 2011 MusicRadar interview, Lillywhite praised Mavers' songwriting while recalling that recording the album could be frustrating. Lillywhite interview
He described situations in which several performances seemed excellent, only for dissatisfaction with another song to undermine confidence in what had already been recorded.
Mavers had a strongly held conception of the sound he wanted. The difficulty was translating that internal standard into performances and mixes that he would consider final.
Lillywhite nevertheless completed the album.
One detail illustrates why the production credits matter: the released There She Goes retained Bob Andrews' production, with Lillywhite credited for the mix. There She Goes credits
The record was therefore not simply a collection of songs that Lillywhite had independently recorded from scratch.
It represented the endpoint of a longer and more fragmented production history.
Track by Track: The Twelve Songs of The La's
The original album contains twelve songs. The alternate recordings discussed below refer to identifiable versions on the 2008 deluxe edition, not to every session that may have taken place. Original sequence
1. Son of a Gun
Original album: Steve Lillywhite, producer; Mark Wallis, additional producer, in available digital album credits. Album credits
Earlier released evidence: Mike Hedges version. Deluxe track documentation
The debut begins with an immediately recognizable statement of The La's approach: concise songwriting, guitar-driven rhythm and a melody that requires little ornamentation.
Son of a Gun demonstrates how the group's music could be energetic without sounding heavily produced.
The existence of a Mike Hedges version confirms that it was part of the earlier abandoned recording project.
This provides an opportunity to examine how a song already developed in the band's repertoire was treated during different attempts to complete the album.
The documentation establishes the existence of both versions, but doesn't by itself identify every arrangement or performance difference between them.
2. I Can't Sleep
Original album: Steve Lillywhite, producer; Mark Wallis, additional producer, in available digital album credits. Album credits
Earlier released evidence: Mike Hedges recording and Jeremy Allom mix. Deluxe track documentation
I Can't Sleep is especially useful for understanding the album's multiple recording histories.
The deluxe edition includes a Hedges recording and a separately credited Jeremy Allom mix.
That means identifiable alternatives to the original album presentation survive commercially.
The song's urgent arrangement is consistent with the band's tendency to use forward-moving rhythms and economical melodic ideas.
For an album-history study, however, the most important distinction is documentary: the separately credited mix does not by itself establish a separate recording session.
3. Timeless Melody
Original album: Steve Lillywhite, producer; Mark Wallis, additional producer, in available digital album credits. Album credits
Earlier released evidence: Mike Hedges version. Deluxe track documentation
The title of Timeless Melody is an appropriate description of the songwriting aesthetic that ran through The La's work.
Its melodic structure draws attention to Mavers' ability to create memorable guitar-pop songs without relying on elaborate instrumentation.
The track had a complicated release history before appearing on the 1990 album. The supplied research identifies the proposed 1989 UK single, GOLAS 3, as unissued in that configuration, with test pressings reported. A 45cat search listing describes test pressings only, but the full entry was inaccessible during verification. Classic Pop separately reports an aborted single release after test pressings had circulated, supporting the broader withdrawal history. The specific GOLAS 3 pressing details remain provisional; no producer or mix attribution is inferred. Release-history overview Discography entry
The Hedges version offers further evidence that the song had already been developed before the final album was assembled.
Those records should be distinguished carefully: a test pressing does not by itself establish a broad commercial release, and a surviving alternate recording does not prove that its arrangement was the one Mavers intended as definitive.
4. Liberty Ship
Original album: Steve Lillywhite, producer; Mark Wallis, additional producer, in available digital album credits. Album credits
Earlier released evidence: No version appears in the deluxe edition's thirteen-track Hedges sequence. Deluxe track documentation
Liberty Ship brings a more restless, rhythmically driven quality to the album.
Its arrangement demonstrates that The La's were capable of varying their approach within a relatively consistent guitar-based sound.
Unlike many of the album's tracks, Liberty Ship is not included in the Hedges recordings presented on the 2008 deluxe edition.
That absence is a limitation of the surviving commercial documentation, not evidence that Hedges or another producer never recorded it.
The available credits make the released version the clearest documentary starting point.
5. There She Goes
Original album: Produced by Bob Andrews; mixed by Steve Lillywhite. Track-specific credits
Earlier released evidence: John Leckie mix and Mike Hedges recording, alongside the original single history. Deluxe track documentation
There She Goes is the song most closely associated with The La's, but its recording history is more complicated than its apparent simplicity suggests.
The song was released as a single in 1988, before the debut album appeared.
It subsequently entered the 1990 album in a version that retained a Bob Andrews production credit and identified Lillywhite's contribution as mixing.
The 2008 deluxe edition includes additional material associated with John Leckie and Mike Hedges.
This makes the song one of the strongest examples of the band's repeated attempts to capture the same composition.
Each released version belongs to the broader recording history, although a credited mix does not automatically prove that a new basic track was recorded.
The finished song's lasting appeal lies partly in its economy: an instantly recognizable guitar figure, concise melody and direct performance.
The recording history shows how difficult it could be to settle on a definitive version of something that sounds so effortless.
6. Doledrum
Original album: Steve Lillywhite, producer; Mark Wallis, additional producer, in available digital album credits. Album credits
Earlier released evidence: Mike Hedges recording and John Porter mix. Deluxe track documentation
Doledrum provides another particularly useful example of The La's recording evolution.
In addition to the album recording, the deluxe edition includes a Hedges version and a John Porter mix.
The distinction between those descriptions matters.
A mix credit establishes work on an existing recording, but does not necessarily identify who produced its original basic track or where it was recorded.
The surviving versions allow the song's history to be documented more precisely than a general statement about the band repeatedly rerecording material.
The song itself balances a relaxed melodic surface with the sense of rhythmic movement found throughout the record.
7. Feelin'
Original album: Steve Lillywhite, producer; Mark Wallis, additional producer, in available digital album credits. Album credits
Earlier released evidence: Mike Hedges recording and Bob Andrews mix. Deluxe track documentation
One of the album's shorter tracks, Feelin' captures the group's direct, energetic approach.
Its compact structure contrasts with the extended arrangement of the album closer, Looking Glass.
The reissue includes material credited to both Hedges and Andrews, establishing multiple surviving treatments of the song.
Those recordings provide documentary evidence of the band's pursuit of different sounds without establishing a simple progression in which each successive version was necessarily an improvement.
The final album presents one resolution of that process, rather than the only version ever attempted.
8. Way Out
Original album: Available digital credits list Steve Lillywhite as producer and Mark Wallis as additional producer. This is distinct from the earlier single and deluxe bonus mix. Album credits
Earlier released evidence: Mike Hedges recording and Andy MacDonald mix; related production documentation identifies Gavin MacKillop. Deluxe track documentation
Way Out was one of The La's earliest commercially released songs, appearing as a single in 1987.
By the time the debut album was completed, the song already had several years of history behind it.
The 2008 deluxe edition preserves a Hedges recording and an earlier mix identified under Andy MacDonald's name.
The producer and mix credits associated with that earlier material require care: the name attached to a particular reissue track is not necessarily a complete production-credit history.
The song demonstrates how much of the album was drawn from material that predated its final recording sessions.
The finished LP was not simply the product of one creative period in 1989 or 1990. It gathered together songs developed at different stages of the band's existence.
9. I.O.U.
Original album: Steve Lillywhite, producer; Mark Wallis, additional producer, in available digital album credits. Album credits
Earlier released evidence: Mike Hedges version. Deluxe track documentation
I.O.U. reflects the album's preference for compact arrangements and a strong relationship between rhythm and melody.
Its presence among the Hedges recordings confirms that the song formed part of the abandoned 1989 project.
In the absence of additional verified documentation about its precise session dates or recording techniques, that surviving alternate version is the clearest historical connection.
The song is another reminder that a substantial portion of the final album's repertoire had already been recorded before Lillywhite completed the project.
10. Freedom Song
Original album: Steve Lillywhite, producer; Mark Wallis, additional producer, in available digital album credits. Album credits
Earlier released evidence: No Hedges version appears in the thirteen-track deluxe sequence. Deluxe track documentation
Freedom Song sits toward the end of the original album and retains the group's characteristic mixture of acoustic textures, melodic guitar playing and direct vocal delivery.
Unlike There She Goes or Doledrum, its alternate recording history is not clearly represented in the Hedges sequence released in 2008.
That doesn't mean other versions were never recorded.
It means that the available reissue evidence supports a more limited claim.
For an accurate album history, that distinction is important: documenting the absence of a commercially released alternate is more reliable than treating an incomplete archive as a comprehensive record of everything the band recorded.
11. Failure
Original album: Steve Lillywhite, producer; Mark Wallis, additional producer, in available digital album credits. Album credits
Earlier released evidence: Mike Hedges version. Deluxe track documentation
Failure appears near the end of the album, where the record begins moving toward its more expansive conclusion.
Its melodic and rhythmic character is consistent with the band's ability to give concise songs a distinctive identity through performance rather than elaborate production.
A Hedges version survives on the 2008 deluxe edition, confirming the song's involvement in the abandoned sessions.
The title may seem particularly suggestive given the album's difficult history, but it would be misleading to read the later production problems directly into the song without evidence.
The recording existed within a wider repertoire that the band had spent years developing.
12. Looking Glass
Original album: Steve Lillywhite, producer; Mark Wallis, additional producer, in available digital album credits. Album credits
Earlier released evidence: Mike Hedges version. Deluxe track documentation
The album closes with its longest and most ambitious composition.
Looking Glass moves beyond the compact format that characterizes much of the record, building through changing sections and instrumental passages toward an extended conclusion.
Its placement at the end gives the album a sense of scale that the earlier, shorter songs only hint at.
The Hedges version provides an especially interesting parallel because it documents an earlier attempt at a composition that plays such an important role in the finished record.
The existence of both versions makes Looking Glass one of the most promising tracks for a future, carefully documented comparison of arrangement and performance.
As the album closer, it also captures the contradiction at the center of The La's story: a finished recording capable of sounding expansive and complete, created during a process its principal songwriter never fully accepted.
The 2008 Deluxe Edition: Documenting the Abandoned Project
In 2008, a deluxe edition gave listeners access to a substantial part of the recordings that preceded the 1990 release.
The second disc began with thirteen tracks identified as Mike Hedges versions. MusicBrainz and Qobuz agree on their sequence: Deluxe sequence Digital track listing
I.O.U.
I Can't Sleep
Knock Me Down
Way Out
Doledrum
There She Goes
Feelin'
Timeless Melody
Son of a Gun
Clean Prophet
Come In Come Out
Failure
Looking Glass
Ten of the twelve songs on the original album are represented in this sequence. The exceptions are Liberty Ship and Freedom Song.
Three recordings—Knock Me Down, Clean Prophet and Come In Come Out—sit outside the original album track list.
Hedges Version History
| Original album song | In the released thirteen-track Hedges sequence? |
|---|---|
| Son of a Gun | Present |
| I Can't Sleep | Present |
| Timeless Melody | Present |
| Liberty Ship | Absent from this sequence; earlier recording not ruled out |
| There She Goes | Present |
| Doledrum | Present |
| Feelin' | Present |
| Way Out | Present |
| I.O.U. | Present |
| Freedom Song | Absent from this sequence; earlier recording not ruled out |
| Failure | Present |
| Looking Glass | Present |
### The Other Surviving Mixes
After the thirteen Hedges recordings, the second disc of the deluxe edition presents seven additional mixes associated with earlier production work.
| Track | Credited mix |
|---|---|
| Doledrum | John Porter |
| Way Out | Andy MacDonald |
| There She Goes | John Leckie |
| Man I'm Only Human | John Leckie |
| Feelin' | Bob Andrews |
| Clean Prophet | Bob Andrews |
| I Can't Sleep | Jeremy Allom |
The seven names above are the mix attributions supplied for review. MusicBrainz identifies the tracks as named mixes; Qobuz corroborates the names, although several of its titles say “Version.” Physical reissue liner notes were not inspected, so these are release-data attributions rather than independently authenticated session credits. Named mixes Reissue titles
However, a mixing credit does not necessarily indicate that the credited person produced or recorded the original performance.
Without session documentation, it would be misleading to treat all seven mixes as independent recording attempts.
The distinction is particularly important for Way Out: the supplied research associates Gavin MacKillop with earlier production and Andy MacDonald with a mix. The original single credits still require inspection; neither attribution establishes who recorded the album master.
Taken together with the Mike Hedges recordings, these surviving mixes demonstrate the complexity of the band's recording history while leaving some questions about session dates and personnel unresolved.
The original album also appears on the first disc, followed by broadcast recordings. Disc one sequence
The deluxe edition doesn't merely offer different takes of familiar songs; it documents stages of a recording process that otherwise might have survived only through interviews and conflicting recollections.
At the same time, the deluxe edition should not be confused with a definitive reconstruction of Mavers' intended debut.
The Hedges material wasn't completed as an approved studio album, and the surviving versions were assembled for release many years later.
Their importance is documentary as well as musical.
Why Lee Mavers Rejected the Album
The widespread description of Mavers as a perfectionist is not entirely inaccurate, but it can oversimplify what happened.
The accounts of Hedges and Lillywhite suggest that Mavers had unusually exacting expectations about recorded sound.
He wasn't merely searching for technically correct performances. He wanted a recording to communicate something more elusive—qualities he recognized in the music but struggled to hear reproduced to his satisfaction.
Hedges believed that the Devon sessions captured the band's character exceptionally well.
Lillywhite likewise admired the songs and considered Mavers a remarkable writer, even while describing the production process as frustrating.
Their recollections are not identical, and neither should automatically be taken as the complete explanation.
Mavers' dissatisfaction with the finished album remains an essential part of its history. But the available evidence doesn't justify treating every production disagreement as irrational or every abandoned recording as unsuccessful.
The larger story is about the difficulty of turning a strongly held musical ideal into a finished commercial release.
Release, Reception and Growing Influence
The La's was released by Go! Discs in October 1990.
By that time, the group had already established a reputation through its singles, live performances and the anticipation surrounding a debut album that had taken years to arrive.
The record brought together familiar material and songs that many listeners were encountering for the first time.
There She Goes became the band's most widely recognized recording, while Timeless Melody, Way Out and Feelin' helped define the album's melodic character.
The release didn't resolve the band's underlying difficulties. Instead of providing the foundation for an extended sequence of studio albums, it remained the group's only completed studio LP.
Its reputation nevertheless endured.
The combination of concise songwriting, distinctive guitar textures and a sound that avoided obvious period-specific production trends gave the album a lasting appeal.
Later reissues and the publication of earlier recordings also made it possible to hear the band's work in a broader historical context.
The recordings revealed not simply that The La's had struggled to finish an album, but that they had produced a considerable body of material while attempting to do so.
Why The La's Still Matters
The most striking feature of The La's is that the finished album can sound effortless even when its production history was anything but.
The songs are frequently concise and immediately memorable. Their melodies and arrangements seem uncomplicated on first hearing.
Yet behind those recordings was a succession of producer relationships, changing personnel, abandoned sessions and alternate versions.
For Lee Mavers, completing the record meant more than selecting the best available takes. It meant trying to capture a particular sound that remained difficult to define and still harder to preserve.
The released album may not have satisfied him, but it established the songs for generations of listeners.
The alternate recordings later made available show that there was never only one possible version of The La's.
Instead, their debut emerged from a collection of musical possibilities—some released, some rejected and others surviving only in partial form.
That complicated history is central to understanding the album.
The La's endures not because it perfectly resolved its creator's ambitions, but because the music retained its character despite the turbulent process of bringing it into the world.
Sources and Further Reading
1. The Guardian — The madness of perfection (2 May 2008)
Mike Hedges' retrospective account. Covers the Devon project, equipment, abandoned work and his account of the tapes. Its opening incorrectly dates the debut to 1991; it is not used for the UK release year.
2. MusicRadar — Steve Lillywhite on 16 career defining records (16 February 2011)
Lillywhite interview. The La's section documents his recollections of Mavers' songwriting and the recording difficulties.
3. MusicBrainz — 2008 deluxe edition
Deluxe release data. Documents disc order, thirteen Hedges versions and seven named mixes. Community-maintained metadata is not a substitute for session logs.
4. Qobuz — Deluxe Edition
Digital release listing. Corroborates the sequence and original-album production/mixing distinction. Several Hedges entries repeat original-album producer metadata; those fields are not used to attribute the Hedges sessions to Lillywhite or Andrews.
5. MusicBrainz — Original album release
Original twelve-track sequence and recording relationships. This entry describes a US CD edition, not a verified UK first pressing. Recording-credit relationships need physical-credit confirmation before being treated as definitive session documentation.
6. The La's — Bandcamp album listing
Digital album credits. Lists an October 1990 release and guitar/drum exceptions for There She Goes and Way Out. Account ownership and original physical credits have not been independently authenticated.
7. XS Noize — John Power interview
Power's recollection of Eden Studios. His comments about writing Four Walls place him at Eden while the La's album was being finished with Lillywhite; they do not supply a complete session chronology.
8. 45cat — Timeless Melody / Clean Prophet, GOLAS 3
Proposed UK single entry. Search metadata reports test pressings only. The full page returned 403; its detailed credits and withdrawal history remain unverified.
9. Classic Pop — Making The La’s (25 October 2021)
Release-history overview. A retrospective overview supporting the early single chronology, the withdrawn single history and the October 1990 release. Its precise session dates remain secondary reporting.
Historical source note: Exact dates and studios of some early sessions remain incompletely documented. Reissue mixing credits do not establish who recorded the underlying performances. Hedges' and Lillywhite's accounts are retrospective recollections. No authorized audio comparison or physical liner-note inspection was performed for this review.