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Ian Zachary Broudie (born 4 August 1958) is an English musician and singer-songwriter from Liverpool. After emerging from the post-punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to produce albums (sometimes under the name Kingbird) for artists including Echo & the Bunnymen, the Fall, the Coral, the Zutons and the Subways.
Around 1989, he began writing and recording under the name Lightning Seeds, releasing the album Cloudcuckooland through Rough Trade on the independent label Ghetto Records, eventually putting together a live touring band in 1994. The Lightning Seeds achieved great commercial success during much of the 1990s. In 2004, Broudie released an album titled Tales Told under his own name. The Lightning Seeds reformed in 2006 and released their sixth studio album Four Winds in 2009. A seventh album, See You in the Stars, was released in 2022.
The Lightning Seeds produced a selection of well-received singles and albums in the 1990s. The albums Cloudcuckooland (1990) and Sense (1992) followed. The latter's song "The Life of Riley" became the backing music for Match of the Day's Goal of the Month competition. In 1994 Broudie created a touring band so the songs could be played live. Their 1994 album Jollification is considered by many as the moment the Lightning Seeds arrived as a mainstream band. During the same period, Broudie produced albums for other acts, including Northside, The Primitives, Terry Hall and Dodgy.
The Lightning Seeds twice took football anthem "Three Lions" (with comedians Frank Skinner and David Baddiel) to number one, with different lyrics for the Euro 96 and France '98 tournaments (Broudie himself is a supporter of Liverpool; Lightning Seeds album covers and inlays often contain references such as Justice for the 96 and Support the Liverpool Dockers). In the years since France '98, the song has been released multiple times for football tournaments, and now has the unique distinction of being the only song in existence to have become UK No. 1 four separate times with the same artists: two one-week stints in 1996, three straight weeks in 1998 for the remake, and again in 2018 for the original during the World Cup held in Russia.
On 13 December 1996 and 14 March 1997, Broudie was the guest host of Top of the Pops. Later that year, the Lightning Seeds headlined the Hillsborough Justice Concert, which was held at Liverpool's Anfield stadium to raise fund for the families in their struggle for justice.
Broudie returned with a new line-up in 2009, releasing the album Four Winds, and has extensively toured since with a line-up including Angie Pollack (piano), Martyn Campbell (guitar), and Ian's son Riley Broudie (guitar).
In 2021, Broudie said he was working on a new Lighting Seeds album.
Broudie subsequently concentrated on production for other bands, working with the Coral, the Subways, the Zutons, French rock band Noir Desir for their first long album Veuillez rendre l'âme, the Rifles, on an early single by Sleeper and on a handful of I Am Kloot songs.
| 1997 | "Perfect Day" (with various artists) | 1 |
| 2010 | "Three Lions 2010" (with The Squad) | 21 |
Broudie published his memoir, Tomorrow's Here Today, in 2023.
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