The Lightning Seeds are an English alternative rock and pop band from Liverpool, England formed by Ian Broudie (vocals, guitar, producer) in 1989.
Originally a studio-based solo project for Broudie, The Lightning Seeds expanded into a touring band following Jollification (1994). The group experienced commercial success throughout the 1990s and are well-known for their single "Three Lions", a collaboration with David Baddiel and Frank Skinner which reached No. 1 in the UK in 1996 and 1998.
1989–1993: Formation and early years
In 1989 Ian Broudie began recording alone under the name Lightning Seeds and achieved success with the psychedelic and synthpop hit "Pure", from the album Cloudcuckooland, which reached the UK 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 #32. Both "Pure" and "All I Want" also reached the Modern Rock Tracks top 10. In 1991 Broudie returned to song-writing and moved labels from Rough Trade to Virgin.
The album Sense (1992) featured the song "The Life of Riley", written by Broudie for his son, which reached #28 in the UK Singles Chart and just registered at #98 in the US 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. The album Sense would mark Broudie's first Lightning Seeds song-writing collaborations with former Specials singer Terry Hall. The album's title track "Sense", co-written with Hall and climbed to #31 in the UK Singles Chart, however the album only achieved #53.
1994–1998: Touring years and commercial success
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 benefited from the success of the second single from the album "Change", which reached #13 in the UK Singles Charts, becoming Lightning Seeds second UK 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 purchased 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 ahead of the album and reached #20 in the UK 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 #1 on the UK Singles Chart and was adopted as a football chant, not only in the UK but also in countries such as Germany, where the single and accompanying video reached #16 in their charts.
During this period the band achieved three more UK Top 20 hits, including a cover version of The Turtles "You Showed Me", which became 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 Keith York & 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 UK promotional tour followed. "What You Say", one of two new songs included with the compilation, was released but failed to register in the top forty. 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 #1 in the UK Singles Chart and became the first song to top the charts on two separate occasions with different sets of lyrics. In 1998, the Lightning Seeds also performed on the Main Stage at both the Glastonbury Festival and the V Festival in the UK.
1999–2005: Tilt and hiatus
Their album Tilt (1999) was dance-oriented and featured collaborations with Stephen Jones. The single "Life's Too Short" was heralded by BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles as "one of the band's strongest singles to date" and rose to #27 in the UK Singles Chart. ""Sweetest Soul Sensations" reached #67 and did not attract serious attention.
The Lightning Seeds performed along with Space and Stereophonics at Cream 2000. In 2002 Broudie confirmed, in the Liverpool Echo, that The Lightning Seeds were to take a long break after a final show at Liverpool's L2 venue. In 2002 Italian dance music producer Alex Farolfi sampled "You Showed Me" for his first solo single "Burnin'", which featured Corinna Joseph.
2006–present: Reunion and Four Winds
The band's second greatest hits album The Very Best of the Lightning Seeds was released on June 12 2006, followed by the re-release of "Three Lions", which rose to #9 in the UK Singles Chart. In the summer of 2006 Broudie formed a new Lightning Seeds line-up for indoor shows and festival appearances.
The band released their sixth studio album Four Winds, in 2009 Numerous festival dates followed with both Martyn Campbell and Angie Pollock reprising their roles in what was now once again a four piece group, with the position on the drum stool taken by Rob Allum. In a tour that took in numerous dates, including Dockfest, Cornbury, Guilfest, Cardiff big Weekend (where Angie contracted swine flu so the band performed for the only time to date as a three piece) Liverpool Philarmonic Hall and the V Festival, they played old and new tracks together to promote the new album. During December 2009 Broudie performed on a short acoustic tour, sharing the shows with James Walsh from Starsailor. He played along side Angie Pollock on keyboards with Riley Broudie contributing on guitar. In early 2010, a short Lightning Seeds tour was announced. Angie Pollock returned on keyboards, the Drummer was Stephen Gilchrist and Didz Hammond played Bass, with Riley continuing on guitar.
A string of summer dates followed, taking in dates across the country as far as York's Galtres Festival, Hampton Pool, Wychwood Festival, a gig at the Gloucester Guildhall as an approach to two Glastonbury Festival shows amongst many others. The line up changed again; Riley remained on guitar, Martyn Campbell returned on the Bass, Raife Burchill on drums and James Bagshaw (of The Moons) on keyboards.
A one-off gig in Indonesia at the Jakarta Playground festival, coupled with a long flight home was the Lightning Seeds based highlight of October and the lineup had changed slightly; the band returned to a 4 piece, with Rob Allum again replacing Raife on drums and Riley having gone to university.
DJ Mark says: "I've always loved the sweet yet sincere sound of The Lightning Seeds" since discovering them in the early 90s. Ian Broudie has a knack for creating wonderful pop tunes with incredible catchiness, sensibility and, above all, fun! I hope you enjoy the selections I'll feature this week from a truly wonderful band!"
acknowledgement: wikipedia.com
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