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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 produced. The Lightning Seeds achieved success with their debut single, the psychedelic hit "Pure"


Broudie resumed his production career after the success of the first Lightning Seeds album, but returned to songwriting in 1991 and moved labels from Rough Trade to Virgin. 

He then resumed his Lightning Seeds recording career, drafting Simon Rogers as his studio partner in production, arrangements, and instrumentation. Rogers, who had also helped with programming on the first Lightning Seeds album, would continue as Broudie's in-studio partner throughout the rest of the Lightning Seeds' career. The album "Sense"  in 1992 featured the song "The Life of Riley", written by Broudie for his son, 


Other tracks form the band that  particularly liked was "Sugar coated Iceberg"



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