Ian Broudie and The Lightning Seeds

My love for The Lightning Seeds goes back many years. I've always wondered why The Lightning Seeds never achieved commercial success in the U.S. The Lightning Seeds are pretty big in the UK, but you might get this response if you ask someone here, "The Lightning Seeds who?" However, if you ask someone on the street (in the U.S.) whether they like Blur or Oasis, you might get a different response. This band is largely unknown in the U.S. Perhaps this is because Ian Broudie is believed to have managed The Lightning Seeds as a solo studio project.

In 1989, Ian Broudie, formerly of Big in Japan, Care, and Original Mirrors, formed The Lightning Seeds in Liverpool. In the late 1980s, Broudie became better known as a producer than as a musician, working with new wave and alternative rock artists such as Echo & the Bunnymen, Wall of Voodoo, and The Fall. Under the name "Lightning Seeds", Broudie began recording alone in 1989. The band's name is derived from a misheard line on Prince's 1985 hit "Raspberry Beret," where Prince sings "thunder drowns out what lightning sees." Broudie performed all vocals and instruments on the band's first album, Cloudcuckooland, which he also produced.

His Lightning Seeds recording career resumed in 1991 when he drafted Simon Rogers as his studio partner in production, arrangements, and instrumentation. Throughout the Lightning Seeds' career, Rogers continued to be Broudie's in-studio partner, helping with programming on the first Lightning Seeds album. "The Life of Riley," written by Broudie for his son, reached No. 28 on the UK Singles Chart on the 1992 album Sense.  Former Specials singer Terry Hall collaborated with Broudie on Sense for the first time.

Broudie completed his 1994 album, Jollification, at the end of 1993, with contributions from Terry Hall, Alison Moyet, and Ian McNabb. The promotional tour began in August 1994. "Change," the band's second UK top 20 hit from the album, helped boost the tour's success. It was also featured on the soundtrack for the hit movie Clueless. In addition to Jollification being a critical success, singles such as "Lucky You," "Marvellous," and "Perfect" also made an impact. Jollification's cover art features an enormous strawberry with faces superimposed on its seeds by British graphic designer Mark Farrow.

The Lightning Seeds live in Bremen, Germany, performing on Absolut LIVE in 1995:



If Ian Broudie was his own manager, this may have presented several challenges. Professional managers often have access to marketing teams, publicists, and booking agents that can significantly improve a musician's chances of success. An independent musician might struggle to achieve the same level of visibility without these resources. Not that his work wasn't recognized, just not as much as it could have been had he had management. Although juggling it all was difficult, he did well. Simon Rogers was a wise choice as his studio partner. Some help was needed!

Now his career is managed by his grown up son, Riley. Taken from http://www.theguardian.com:

Riley Broudie, "Like anyone with a parent, you get to a certain age and the roles reverse a little. The child feels more responsible. As someone who manages their dad, I certainly feel like that towards him. He now trusts me to make sure everything is right for his career. We have a good laugh on tour, and thankfully if anyone needs telling off, the tour manager can do that – not me. Dad knows that everything I do is for the best. The best for us, for the band and for his songs, which are so personal."

One of the best and most interesting music articles I've read in a long time. Their dynamic and father-son relationship is wonderful. They seem very close and enjoy working together and being on the road. You can read the entire interview below!

Interview link: Ian and Riley Broudie look back: ‘My dad expresses his feelings best in his lyrics. If he can’t say something, he hides it in a song’