Happy birthday to Ian Broudie.
The Lightning Seeds frontman is one of those stalwarts who keep turning up in the history of Liverpool music. He’s always kept busy musically and has worn lots of different hats.
Looking at my old cuttings, I first mentioned him by name in June 1979 in my review of the Yachts gig on the Royal Iris. He was playing in Clive Langer’s band.
A few weeks later he was on stage at Eric’s with the Original Mirrors, Steve Allen’s new group.
And I mentioned Ian’s Big in Japan tune Match of the Day in my review of the Street to Street album the following month.
By 1981 he was part of Bette Bright and the Illuminations, perhaps trying to prove that he could eventually play with ALL the ex-members of Deaf School.
Then there was the work he did with Paul Simpson of the Wild Swans under the name Care (I still have their single Flaming Sword). And all his behind-the-scenes activity as a producer for other people. You don’t need me to tell you all that. You’ve got Wikipedia.
Then one day in 1989 I get a call from a PR person telling me that Ian now has his own band, the Lightning Seeds.
Well, not exactly. My first question was “who’s in the group?”…
Lightning Seeds, 1989
Liverpool Echo, July 22, 1989
THERE WASN'T much information with the record and tape I was sent by new group the Lightning Seeds, except that Liverpool musician Ian Broudie was the man behind it.
So who else is in the group, I asked him.
"No-one," was the reply, "It's just me."
That's not so unusual these days, especially when the one man band Is, like Ian, a producer.
Ian's name has been on the small print on albums from people like Shack, the Icicle Works, the Fall and the Bunnymen over the last few years. But it was as a musician that he began his career, playing in bands like Big In Japan, the Original Mirrors and Care.
Ian’s a reluctant pop star and found the interview-photo-tour routine difficult.
"It seemed to be more and more that than sitting in the studio thinking 'that sounds great' which is why I began producing in the first place," he says.
It's several years now since he took up producing and more since he stopped performing.
But he doesn't see why he can't do both at once.
"With dance acts, the same people make records and produce records. They split their time well."
The Lightning Seeds stuff is different - the single, Pure, is very pop and very Liverpool - but the principle still applies.
Pure is a sweet, sharp, summery record that sounds more like a hit every time you hear it. And if it continues the good reaction it's getting at the moment, success might make the Lightning Seeds a proper group after all.
The original intention was just to put out a song and see what happened. And rather than deliberately recruiting , Ian prefers to let the music attract the right people.
"I'd rather people drifted in and it was a natural thing."
In fact, Ian McNabb from the Icicle Works and Henry Priestman from the Christians have contributed to the recording already.
The next step is the release of the LP which will probably be out in September.
The songs I've heard on tape are as attractive as Pure but all different. "There's no point in doing an LP," says Ian, "if you just get the same song.”
These days Ian is writing prolifically.
"I can't stop," he says and adds, "I never used to write as much as I am at the moment, and I didn't have to write lyrics before which I really like."
But he still remains modest about his talents.
Funnily enough, he says: "For years I didn't see myself as a producer, and now I don't see myself as a performer. It’s just me doing what I'm doing."
Five years later, there was actually a band and they were playing live. Here’s my review.
THE LIGHTNING SEEDS, 1994
The Lomax Club
Liverpool Echo, Friday, December 16, 1994
FIVE years and three albums since the group began, The Lightning Seeds finally played a hometown show last night.
Founder/front man Ian Broudie reckons his last live Liverpool appearance was about 1982.
Since then he has had a successful career as a producer, venturing out occasionally to release hits like Pure, Sense and The Life Of Riley.
Finally, he has put a real band together to take the songs on the road.
The first date, earlier this year, was London — Liverpool was considered far too daunting to begin with. There was no need to worry. Last night's show sold out and proved a hit.
Despite only a handful of live appearances, the band work well together.
What was gentle pop on record has become rockier on stage and can make an audience dance. But when the basics are right — thoughtful, melodic songs — there is scope for as much change as you choose.
Beautifully crafted pop, performed in the studio by Broudie and a few friends, has been translated into a robust vehicle for a live five-piece band.
The songs from this year's Jollification album take on a new life in this setting. The once-quiet Perfect is transformed from melancholy to anguish with a shouted vocal hook and hard-edged music.
Change, the next single, is introduced as "our punk song" and rocks as much as you could wish.
Early Lightning Seeds songs are included (with the hits prominent) but there are even older ones in the set. Flaming Sword, an 80s song from Broudie's post-punk duo Care, is a welcome surprise.
Without a doubt, well worth waiting for. And proof that one of Liverpool's biggest musical talents deserves more limelight than he usually allows himself.
Back in the 21st century
Last year, Ian released the first Lightning Seeds album in 13 years and went on tour to promote it. This year, of course, he’s done Glastonbury.
There was a nice interview with him on the Louder Than War website.
It’s got a great quote about Julian Cope: “we were on opposite poles; he was trying to be as weird as he could be and I was trying to not show people how weird I was.”
But my favourite bit is where he says: "in Liverpool, everyone was into different things and it intermingled". That was what was so good about the Eric's bands: they weren't just punk and they went in lots of directions. We were post-punk before it was invented.
And way back in the 70s…
A reminder of where it all started.
I kinda knew Ian in the early 80's when he lived on Princess Avenue then Hope St.
He played me a song he had done it might have been 'Pure' it was a long time ago I said I liked it he tried to get me down to The Pyramid to jam a few times but I was stupid and rejected his offer.
A great guy who would give anyone a chance.