You Love This Song

First, however, they had to finish the album. That finally happened, thanks to producer Steve Lillywhite, the man behind classic albums from U2 and Peter Gabriel, among others. His mission? To salvage the long-overdue sessions. ''Lee was mad,'' says Lillywhite, using the word in the British sense. ''But he is also, pound for pound, the best artist I've ever worked with. An absolute genius.''

Ultimately, the band's label, Go! Discs, asked Lillywhite to mix the final version without any input from Mavers. Although Mavers agreed to help promote the album, he told New Musical Express, ''I hate it. It's the worst, a pile of s---. There is not one good thing I can find to say about it.''

When the La's finally hit U.S. stores in November 1990, critics and fans disagreed with Mavers, and ''There She Goes'' spent 10 weeks on American charts, reaching No. 49. ''I thought it would be big, a lot bigger than it was, but then forgotten like a lot of pop songs,'' says Byrne. ''In retrospect, the opposite happened.''

The song, in fact, got more popular over the years, and that success has afforded Mavers financial security. But artistically, he has kept a frustratingly low profile. Friends say he's penned dozens of fantastic songs since ''There She Goes.'' But he hasn't released a single one. Why? Because, amazingly, nearly 15 years after its release, Mavers remains fixated on perfecting his first album. The La's is to Lee Mavers what SMiLE was, for 37 years, to Brian Wilson: unfinished business. ''Lee's still in denial that he's got a record out,'' says Lillywhite. ''He's not going to do any more recording until he makes that album. In his mind, he still hasn't.'' Lillywhite recalls a moment when the La's were recording with him in London. Mavers played a song on the guitar that was one of the best Lillywhite had ever heard.

''Who did that song?'' he asked.

''That's one of mine, la','' replied Mavers. ''It's called 'Fishing Net.'''

''That's brilliant!'' said Lillywhite. ''Can we record it?''

''No,'' said Mavers. ''That's for the second album.''

John Power left the La's in 1991, after an onstage quarrel with Mavers, and the band was over. Power soon formed Cast, which would become one of England's biggest Britpop bands. As for Mavers, he pretty much disappeared. A father of four, he is separated from his wife and lives on the same street where he grew up. Occasionally, he'll surface to play with local musicians or to take a halfhearted stab at recording, but all of his efforts so far have been desultory.

''Why?'' says Allan Mason, a music supervisor for movies, who used ''There She Goes'' in The Parent Trap. ''Why would someone so gifted deprive the world of all that he could give it? If Lee Mavers has songs as good as 'There She Goes,' why can't we hear them?''

U2 is playing the City of Manchester Stadium tonight in front of more than 50,000 fans. A mile away, at the Manchester Ritz, the La's are gearing up to wow a smaller crowd of about 800, and it's hard not to ponder what the band could have been had things gone differently. After a 70-minute set comprising only pre-1991 material, the La's return for a second encore. The audience explodes in roars when they suddenly launch into an unfamiliar tune, ''Gimme the Blues.'' Though it's the least accomplished song of the night, the crowd begs for more.

Mavers smiles, and for the first time in two evenings (in more than a decade, really) he addresses his fans in person. ''We've got more songs,'' he says, ''but they're not ready yet.''

A few weeks later, after repeated requests for an interview have been denied by Mavers' management, Listen to This manages to track down the singer's home phone number. He listens patiently to a request for some answers. But before we can ask anything about the unexpected reunion, the drug rumors, or the supposed new material, Mavers brings the conversation to a polite but firm close. There will be time for that, he says, ''after our new music comes out. Cheers, mate.''