| Ian Broudie | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Kingbird |
| Born | August 4, 1958 |
| Origin | Liverpool, England |
| Genres | Alternative rock, pop, acoustic, folk rock |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, record producer |
| Instruments | Guitar, bass, keyboard, drums |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Labels | Deltasonic |
| Associated acts | Big in Japan, Original Mirrors, Care, The Lightning Seeds |
Ian Broudie (born August 4, 1958) is a British singer-songwriter, musician and record producer from Liverpool, England. After emerging from the post punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to form the short-lived groups Original Mirrors and Care in the early 1980s as well as producing albums for artists including Echo & the Bunnymen, The Fall, The Icicle Works and Shack throughout the decade.
In 1989 he formed The Lightning Seeds and achieved great commercial success throughout the 1990s. After The Lightning Seeds dissolved in 2000, Broudie produced albums by artists such as The Coral and The Zutons before releasing his own solo album Tales Told in 2004. The Lightning Seeds reformed in 2006 and released their sixth studio album Four Winds in 2009.
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Ian Broudie played in Liverpool's fledgling punk scene in the 1970s (he was a member of the band Big in Japan, which also featured Holly Johnson and Bill Drummond) but made his name in the industry as a producer. He was also a founder member of John Peel favourites the Original Mirrors in the early '80s.
Broudie worked with bands like Echo & the Bunnymen, The Colourfield, The Pale Fountains, Shack, The Icicle Works, Ellery Bop and The Fall under the name 'Kingbird' before putting together the Lightning Seeds at the end of the 1980s, scoring a debut hit with the song "Pure". To begin with, for all the identity of The Lightning Seeds was created, the 'group' had just one member - Ian himself. This was an experiment of his "to see if I could cut it as a muso".
The Lightning Seeds produced a selection of well-received singles and albums in the 1990s. The albums Cloudcuckooland (1989) and Sense (1992) followed, the latter's song "The Life of Riley" achieving notoriety as the backing music for Match of the Day's Goal of the Month competition. Before long, however, Broudie took the step of creating an actual band to flesh out the Seeds, deciding it needed to be an actual group if it was to continue. 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 and Frazier Chorus.
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. (For his own part, Broudie 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.)
On 14 October 1999 Ian appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks.
Ian returned with a new lineup in 2009 releasing the album Four Winds and has extensively toured since with a line up including old Seeds favourites Angie Pollack (piano), Martyn Campbell (guitar), and Ian's son Riley Broudie (guitar).
Broudie subsequently concentrated on production for other bands working with the likes of The Coral, The Subways, The Zutons, French rock band Noir Desir for their first long album Veuillez rendre l'âme (à qui elle appartient), The Rifles and on a handful of I Am Kloot songs, before announcing a solo album under his own name at the end of 2004.
On 11 October 2004, Broudie released his debut solo effort, Tales Told, which was embraced by critics and fans alike — despite that fact that Tales Told saw Broudie move into folk rock territory and away from the chirpy pop tunes of The Lightning Seeds. However, the album performed very poorly in terms of sales and Broudie's hope that "word of mouth" would help to shift copies of the work never quite transpired. The first song on the album, "Song for No One", featured in the opening episode of the 3rd season of the U.S. TV series The O.C..
| Year | Title | Peak chart position |
|---|---|---|
| UK | ||
| 1997 | "Perfect Day" (with various artists) | 1 |
| 2010 | "Three Lions 2010" (with The Squad) | 21 |
He is divorced and has a son called Riley, the subject of the song "The Life of Riley". He lives in London.
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