W L INTERVIEW
THE LIGHTNING SEEDS by Marie Fitzsimmons
The Lightning Seeds are a rock band formed in Liverpool in 1989 by Ian Broudie . Originally a studio-based solo project for Broudie , the Lightning Seeds expanded into a touring band following Jollification ( 1994 ). The group experienced huge commercial success throughout the 1990s and are well known ( amongst several other hits ) for their single " Three Lions ", a collaboration with David Baddiel and Frank Skinner which reached No . 1 in the UK in 1996 and 2018 , with a re-worked version also reaching the top spot in 1998 . We caught up with them ahead of their performance in Liverpool this month .
Since announcing the Lightning seeds new major UK tour , how often do you rehearse and how do you select the set list ? We tend to rehearse for about a week before we go on tour but we do some preparation for a few days before that .
You ’ ve recently released your new album ‘ See You in The Stars ’, your first album since 2009 . How did this record come to life ? Well ok , that ’ s a very leading question ! This record finally came to life when I finished a couple of tunes that I felt where Lightning Seeds songs so I recorded them , and I was quite pleased with them . It inspired me to turn it into a new album .
How long did it take you to write and record the album and did you have any help with the song writing ? I am always writing and putting ideas into my phone and humming little melodies , giving myself clues about what a good song might be with those chords , and I was continually doing that . I tend to have a lot of songs around , but I just don ’ t finish them very often . Once I felt like I had committed to the idea of having an album I picked the ones I felt I should finish that would fit the bill .
In your 33 years as a recording artist , you have sold and produced a lot of records . You ’ ve had artists such as Ian McNabb , Alison Moyet and Terry Hall who all contributed on the 1994 album ‘ Jollification ’. Do you handpick artists to work with ? Well , I guess I just tend to work with friends generally or in those days , I might happen to be producing someone and we might be working together so it would feel quite natural to me to write a tune together and other people who are friends , who I have worked with over the years .
Which artists / icons / heroes would you have loved to work with , who are no longer with us ? A difficult question . One that makes me think immediately of John Lennon , Buddy Holly , Elvis Presley or maybe Prince , Michael Jackson , you know what I mean ? Obviously , it would have been nice to work with one of them , because they were amazing artists . Frank Sinatra , Nat King Cole , there ’ s a lot of them really . If you ’ re picking from the whole past , it ' s hard to nail it down . I don ’ t know who I would work with , I would have just loved to spend an afternoon playing with any of those people .
The line-up of your first band ‘ Big in Japan ’ now reads like a supergroup with the likes of Holly Johnson from ‘ Frankie Goes to Hollywood ’ and Bill Drummond from the ‘ KLF , do you ever catch up with them ? I have been running behind them and never caught up with them in all those years ! The only person who I am still friendly with in the band and who I am still in touch with is Holly Johnson . We ’ re still in touch , have a coffee every now and again or text each other . That is the only person who I was kind of mates with .
You were quite instrumental with local Liverpool bands back then – The Zutons and The Coral early on in their careers . Have you ever turned down working with any artists ? Ha-ha , yes ! This is a yes or no answer , I guess ? I turned down quite a few , I wouldn ’ t say massive artists , but I ’ ve always thought hindsight is a wonderful thing and what ’ s for you won ’ t go past you .
You were part of a generation who put Liverpool music back on the map . It seems the Beatles were massive in the 60s , and then nothing happened until 1979 . What was that era like for you ? Erm well in the 60 ' s I was little , it was nice , but I wasn ’ t really thinking of anything like that . And then I guess I started playing music when I left school when I was about 16 / 17 years old in 1976- 1977 and punk rock was happening . It was kind of a good time for me seeing all the bands in a little club in Liverpool called Eric ’ s . I was very lucky because in that little club I saw The Ramones , Blondie , The Sex Pistols , The Stranglers and loads of other amazing bands . It made me feel that maybe I could be in a band because I wasn ’ t seeing someone a million miles away in a massive arena or anything . For me it was quite an inspiring time and Liverpool in 1978 with Echo & The Bunnymen , Teardrop Explodes and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark , it felt for me that it was a very happening kind of musical place .
You co-wrote and recorded the Euro ’ 96 football anthem ‘ Three Lions ’ with comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner . How do you feel when you hear this anthem now ? I always like it when I hear the song , I ’ m very pleased with how it turned out . It ’ s amazes me that 30 years on I hear it quite a lot when there ’ s competitions on and it still seems to be having a life of its own and I kind of get a thrill when I hear the intro . I loved it when they did all the memes to it , it kind of made it new every time when I was watching them . I ’ ve been in and out of love with that song . I would say lately I ' m quite in love with it . wirrallife . com 25