A Wirral schoolgirl got to meet her idol whilst on work experience. Lola Georges, 15, who wants a career in the music industry, was on work experience with local magazine La Vida Liverpool and was surprised by The Mysterines star Lia Metcalfe on Victoria Road, New Brighton.
Lola was on a placement with magazine owner Justin Hopper, where she was able to visit local music related businesses as well as co-present Justin’s La Vida Liverpool Live radio show on New Brighton Radio. She got much more than she bargained for through, when The Mysterines lead singer Lia Metcalfe took time out of her day to meet her in New Brighton.
The Prenton High School student is a huge fan of The Mysterines and had recently been to see them support The Arctic Monkeys in Manchester. The Wirral band have been taking the world by storm, with their latest album Reeling receiving critical acclaim and international tours featuring them on the same line up as the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Foo Fighters.
Despite their meteoric rise to fame, the local band have remained very much down to earth — evident in frontwoman Lia’s recent gesture. A breath of fresh air in an industry that can far too easily create over-inflated egos, Lia spent a good hour chatting with Lola and gifting the 15-year-old her valuable knowledge and experience of the music industry.
Lola said: “I had a great time on work experience with La Vida Liverpool and learnt a lot but I wasn’t expecting to meet Lia. When you meet a music star you don’t know what to expect — you worry they might be rude or full of themselves. But Lia was amazing, really friendly and answered all sorts of questions I had about her career and making it big.”
Lia taking time out for Lola that day made it a work experience placement to remember. Along with visits to music venues, recording studios and co-presenting a live radio show, the placement with La Vida Liverpool magazine was certainly a memorable one.
La Vida Liverpool owner Justin Hopper said: “Lola was our first of two work experience placements and she did so great! The way I see it, it’s much more than just work experience — it’s life experience and there’s no better way to learn than getting stuck in and getting out there and meeting people. Lola was very attentive and enthusiastic during her time with us so I thought it would be really cool for her to meet Lia.”
He continued: “I am friends with Lia, George and The Mysterines — they’re such great people, really sound and down to earth, so I knew Lia wouldn’t mind meeting Lola and letting her tap into her knowledge. It was a fantastic experience for Lola and hopefully the whole placement will inspire her — we must give our next generation all the tools and support to succeed. They are the future.”
What may have been a small act of taking out an hour of her time in her hometown for Lia, it represents a wonderful experience for Lola and a great example to fellow musicians who hit the bigtime. In a world where musicians often become deities with over-inflated egos, Lia’s act of kindness sheds even more light on how boss local legends The Mysterines are.
