The Second Album Syndrome

The Stone Roses and My Bloody Valentine became notorious for a time for their failure to record follow-ups to wonderful debut releases. The latter famously bankrupted Creation Records (former boss Alan McGee's recent claim that MBV were his 'joke' band, proof that he could sell anything to the public at the time seems a tad disingenuous) and the former went into hibernation having the world in their collective hands, only to awaken and discover that the world had largely forgotten them, replacing them in their affections with a nascent Oasis.
And yet both of these pale in comparison to the trials and tribulations of one Lee Mavers and his forlorn attempts to get his shit together long enough to record the follow up to 1990's self-titled The La's. Rumours of persistent drug use, Mavers oft mooted perfectionism as well as a fear, perhaps, that the world had forgotten who the fuck they were (Cast did little to keep the flame alight) has resulted in a 20 year hiatus.
And yet, the NME recently reported that all is well with Mavers again and he's recruiting members for The La's Mk II (20 years on and he's still recruiting? It does little to debunk the Scouse stereotype in truth). He's played a few intimate dates of late and seems set to finally get himself into the studio and better his (quite patchy as it happens) debut. Here's hoping. That said, he'll never better this...........