The Lightning Seeds

Initiated by Ian Broudie, The Lightning Seeds are best known for their track "Three Lions", which has become a recurring anthem at English soccer stadiums. Born in Liverpool on August 4, 1958, Ian Broudie went on to form the bands Big in Japan and Original Mirrors, followed in 1983 by the duo Care. Also known as the producer of Echo & the Bunnymen, Wall of Voodoo and The Fall, it was under the pseudonym The Lightning Seeds that he recorded a homonymous track in 1989, followed by the album Cloudcuckooland (1990), on which he teamed up with Ian McNabb, Henry Priestman and Andy McCluskey. Buoyed by the neo-psychedelic title track "Pure" (#16), the inaugural opus reached #50 in the UK and #46 in the US. Signed to the Virgin label, Ian Broudie teamed up with producer Simon Rogers to record Sense (no. 53), from which "The Life of Riley" (no. 28) and "Sense" (no. 31) were taken. The duo then signed with Epic for the platinum-selling Jollification (1994, no. 12), featuring four chart-topping singles: "Lucky You" (no. 43), "Change" (no. 13), "Marvellous " (no. 24) and "Perfect" (no. 18). Reissued shortly afterwards, the first of these reaches no. 15. Recorded on Pete Townsend's floating studio barge, its successor Dizzy Heights (no. 11) features the hits "Sugar Coated Iceberg" (no. 20) and "You Showed Me" (no. 8). Commissioned to compose the English anthem for Euro '96, The Lightning Seeds frontman invited comedians Frank Skinner and David Baddiel on what was to become his most famous track, "Three Lions", which went straight to No. 1 that year and has charted every four years (No. 1 again in 2018), in addition to the World Cup version "Three Lions '98" (No. 1). Released between the compilations Like You Do... Best of The Lightning Seeds (No. 5 in 1997) and The Very Best of The Lightning Seeds (No. 33 in 2006), the following album Tilt (1999) saw The Lightning Seeds turn to electro-dance. Then a decade passed before the 2009 release of Four Winds (No. 67), followed in 2014 by a concert celebration in Liverpool, of his repertoire performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and artists such as Ian McCulloch, Miles Kane or Terry Hall and members of the bands The Coral and The Zutons. Now in sole command of the project, surrounded by loyal collaborators Simon Rogers and Martyn Campbell, Ian Broudie produced the album See You in the Stars in 2022, which reached No. 16 on its release.

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