Lightning Seeds

Biography

Lightning Seeds are an alternative pop and rock band from Liverpool formed by singer and guitarist Ian Broudie, who is also the main songwriter for the band. They are best known for their single Three Lions and the album Jollification. They have acheived two number-one singles in the U.K. singles chart, as well as Top 20 and Top 50 success in the U.K. album charts. In 1989 Ian Broudie began recording alone under the name "Lightning Seeds" and achieved success with the psychedelic synthpop hit...

Lightning Seeds are an alternative pop and rock band from Liverpool formed by singer and guitarist Ian Broudie, who is also the main songwriter for the band. They are best known for their single Three Lions and the album Jollification. They have acheived two number-one singles in the U.K. singles chart, as well as Top 20 and Top 50 success in the U.K. album charts.


In 1989 Ian Broudie began recording alone under the name "Lightning Seeds" and achieved success with the psychedelic synthpop hit Pure, from the album Cloudcuckooland, which reached the U.K. Top 20. The same year Joy and All I Want were also released but failed to make an impression. "Pure" had some success in the US Billboard Top 40 reaching number thirty-two. Both "Pure" and "All I Want" also reached the Modern Rock Tracks top ten. In 1991 Broudie returned to song-writing and moved labels from Rough Trade to Virgin.

The album Sense featured the song "The Life of Riley", written by Broudie for his son, which reached twenty-eight in the U.K. singles chart and just registered at ninety-eight in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. An instrumental version of the song later became better known as the BBC TV theme for the "Goal of the Month" competition. "Sense" marked Broudie's first Lightning Seeds song-writing collaborations with former Specials singer Terry Hall. The album's title track "Sense", co-written with Hall, climbed to thirty-one in the U.K. Singles Chart; however, the album stagnated at fifty-three.

Broudie's contract expired with Virgin and Epic agreed to sign him. Broudie put other projects on hold and embarked on a touring schedule.

By the end of 1993 Broudie had finished the Jollification (1994) album, which included contributions from Terry Hall and Simon Rogers as well as Ian McNabb. A promotional tour began in August 1994 with their lineup consisting of, guitarist Paul Hemmings, drummer Chris Sharrock, bassist Martyn Campbell, and keyboardist Ali Kane. The tour benefitted from the success of the second single from the album Change, which reached thirteen in the U.K. singles charts, becoming Lightning Seeds' second U.K. top-twenty hit. The album Jollification became a critical success, and the singles taken from this album, "Lucky You", "Marvellous" and "Perfect" made noticeable impact. Mark Farrow's album cover featured the use of computer graphics to create an enormous strawberry and depicting seeds with superimposed human faces.

The band bought Eel Pie Studios, created using a barge moored on the River Thames, from Pete Townshend of The Who. During this period a number of songs were recorded for the fourth studio album Dizzy Heights. The single "Ready or Not" was released before the album, and reached twenty in the U.K. singles chart.

In 1996 the Football Association commissioned Broudie and Lightning Seeds to write theme music for the Euro '96 football tournament. Broudie agreed on the condition that comedians Frank Skinner and David Baddiel wrote the lyrics. The resulting song, "Three Lions", became the band's first number one on the U.K. singles chart, and was adopted as a football chant, not only in the U.K. but also in countries such as Germany, where the single and accompanying video reached sixteen.

During this period the band achieved three more U.K. Top 20 hits, including a cover version of The Turtles' "You Showed Me", which beacame one of their biggest hits. Between 1996 and 1997 the band's line-up changed. Chris Sharrock left to work with World Party and was replaced by Mat Priest from Dodgy. Angie Pollock, who had previously worked with Shakespears Sister and Terry Hall, replaced Ali Kane on keyboards.

1997 saw the release of Like You Do, and a U.K. promotional tour followed. "What You Say", one of two new songs included with the compilation, was released but failed to register in the top 40. Part way through the tour Zak Starkey, son of The Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr, replaced Priest on drums.

In 1998 "Three Lions '98" was recorded for the World Cup in France, featuring a re-written lyric. The song reached number one in the U.K. singles chart, and became the first song to top the charts on two separate occasions with different sets of lyrics. In 1998 Lightning Seeds also performed on the main stage at the Glastonbury Festival and the V Festival in the U.K.

Their 1999 album Tilt was dance-orientated, and featured collaborations with Stephen Jones. The single "Life's Too Short" rose to twenty-seven in the U.K. Singles Chart. "Sweetest Soul Sensations" reached sixty-seven, and did not attract serious attention.

In 2000 Lightning Seeds performed along with Space and Stereophonics at Cream 2000. Later that year Broudie confirmed, in the Liverpool Echo, that Lightning Seeds were to take a long break after a final show at Liverpool's L2 venue.

The band's second greatest hits album The Very Best of the Lightning Seeds was released on the 12th June 2006, followed by the re-release of "Three Lions", which rose to nine in the U.K. Singles Chart.

In the summer of 2006 Ian Broudie formed a new Lightning Seeds line-up for indoor shows and festival appearances. The band released their sixth studio album, Four Winds, in May 2009, and appeared at festivals during July, August, and September the same year


* Official website
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