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Showing posts from March, 2021

The Lightning Seeds

The Lightning Seeds are an English rock band that formed in Liverpool in 1989, with Ian Broudie (vocals, guitar, producer), formerly of the bands Big in Japan and Original Mirrors. Originally a studio-based solo project for Broudie, the Lightning Seeds expanded into a touring band following their successful album " Jollification ", released in 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, three times in the UK in 1996, 1998 and 2018. In 1989, Broudie began recording alone under the name Lightning Seeds. The name derives from a misheard lyric from Prince's 1985 hit single " Raspberry Beret ", in which Prince sings the line "thunder drowns out what the lightning sees". Broudie performed all vocals and instruments on the band's first album, 1989's " Cloudcuckooland ", which he also...

The Teardrop Explodes

In 1978, Liverpudlian Juian Cope formed The Teardrop Explodes with drummer Gary Dwyer, organist Paul Simpson and guitarist Mick Finkler, with himself as singer, bass player and principal songwriter.  Drawing on a post-punk version of West Coast pop music, the band became part of a wave of such Liverpool bands. Cope and Dwyer (and later their manager-turned-keyboard player David Balfe) were the only band constants, although seven other members passed in and out of the line-up during the band's fractious four-year existence.  Several well-received early singles (including " Treason ") culminated in the band's biggest hit, " Reward ", which hit number 6 in the UK singles chart and took their " Kilimanjaro " album to number 24 in the album charts. Cope's photogenic charm and wild, garrulous interview style helped keep the band in the media eye, and made him a short-lived teen idol during the band's peak. " Reward " , I remember having...

King

Paul King was born in Ireland but moved to Coventry, England, with his parents at a young age. After graduating from Coventry Drama School he joined rock-ska band the Reluctant Stereotypes. King's line up of the band – which also contained record producer Paul Sampson – released an album and three singles before the band disintegrated. After the demise of the Reluctant Stereotypes, King formed the Raw Screens who in 1983 were relaunched as the self-named band King. As lead singer, King was famed for his BIG haircut and spray painted Doc Marten's Boots – whilst Richard James Burgess produced and drummed on most of the band's songs. The band lasted just a couple of years, though both of their albums, "Steps in Time" and "Bitter Sweet" , went Gold, and they had two Top 10 singles with "Love & Pride"  and  "Alone Without You" . 

The Alarm

The Alarm are a Welsh rock band that formed in Rhyl, Wales, in 1981. Initially formed as a punk band, The Toilets, in 1977, under lead vocalist Mike Peters, the band soon migrated to a more standard rock format and included marked influences from Welsh language and culture. By opening for acts such as U2 and Bob Dylan, they became a popular new wave pop band of the 1980s. The Alarm's highest charting single in Britain was 1983's "Sixty Eight Guns" , and is what they are most remembered for. Their 1984 album, Declaration, which contained "Sixty Eight Guns", peaked at number six in the UK Chart.