Lee Mavers

Lee Antony Mavers (born 2 August 1962) is an English musician, best known for being the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist in the La's.

The La's Mavers gained a reputation for perfectionism and eccentricity particularly due to the fraught recording of their debut album. Obsessing over the group's troubled recording efforts between 1987 and 1992, Mavers eventually retreated 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 had wished to be made public.

More silence in the music press followed, aside from one 1995 NME 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.

On 19 June 2011, Mavers made a rare outing, doing a secret acoustic set at the Deaf Institute, Manchester, under the name of Lee Rude & the Velcro Underpants (a play on Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground): 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 and later to the Rock En Seine Festival in Paris and at UK festivals Kendal Calling and Bestival, 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 book, Isle of Noises: Conversations with Great British Songwriters (Picador), by Daniel Rachel. Within the conversation, Mavers discussed the themes of certain songs and his songwriting craft (essentially describing himself as a conduit rather than author), and again decried the sole album released by the La's.

Personal life Mavers is an avid supporter of Everton Football Club and regularly attended Goodison Park. Mavers is now a regular at the club's new home Hill Dickinson Stadium.

He is the older brother of actor Gary Mavers and Neil Mavers, who was the drummer for the La's.

Legacy