entered London’s Eden Studios

The La’s then spent two years fruitlessly recording and re-recording their intended debut album, with a constantly changing band line-up, 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 have nevertheless spoken positively in interviews about the band’s songs and their respective sessions. The previously volatile band line-up settled in 1989 with Lee’s brother, Neil Mavers on drums, and Peter “Cammy” Cammell 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 line-up 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 considerable 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. In an October 1990 NME interview with Stuart Maconie , Mavers said that he “hated” the album because of the sound, which was “All f—ed up like a snake with a broken back”.