The Lightning Seeds biography
The Lightning Seeds are an English alternative rock and pop band from Liverpool, England formed in 1989 by Ian Broudie (vocals, guitar, producer), formerly of the Big in Japan band.
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.
History
1989-1993: Formation and early years
In 1989, Ian Broudie began recording alone under the name "Lightning Seeds". Broudie had previously been a member of the band Care in the mid-80s, but by '89 was much better known as a producer for Liverpool-based chart acts Echo & The Bunnymen and The Icicle Works.
Working as a singer/songwriter/multi-instumentalist/producer, Broudie (in his guise as "The Lightning Seeds") 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 United States Billboard Top 40 reaching #32. Both "Pure" and "All I Want" also reached the Modern Rock Tracks top 10.
Broudie resumed his production career after the success of the first Lightning Seeds album, but returned to song-writing 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 terms of 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 (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 United States 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 20 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.
Biography from 
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