In 1992, at a St Etienne concert at a club called SE1 in Victoria, I bumped into Lawrence. "Middle Of The Road" had just been released. He had two girls with him. These two later became Shampoo. Lawrence was the songwriter for the first two singles "Bouffant Headbutt" and "Blisters And Bruises" - under the name Discotheque USA - and he also named the band. The girls at the time were running the fan club magazine for Manic Street Preachers. I just remember talking to Lawrence whilst the two girls looked on disinterested.
From what I read, their Manics fanzine lead to them writing for the NME, which I'm guessing is how they connected with Bob Stanley... and from there to Lawrence.