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The Lightning Seeds’ Ian Broudie talks about his 40 years in music, and why he loves playing in Wales
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‘Liverpool’s still a musical city and there are always new bands coming up. There’s a lot of diversity’
an Broudie, a legend of the local music scene, will bring his own vibrant Mersey sound to make waves at Wales’s newest major sport and music festival this summer. Broudie is best known as the man behind Three Lions, the football anthem that so nearly swept England to European Championship glory 21 years ago. But his career in music has been so much more than that, and he will be showcasing that back catalogue in August at the Snowdonia Outdoor Festival at Bala, against a twilight backdrop of the shimmering waters of Llyn Tegid and the majestic Berwyn Mountains. The music will be one of the main draws and the 58-year-old Broudie is looking forward to it: ‘It will be great to be in Wales,’ he says: ‘I used to spend summer holidays in Abersoch with my mum and dad and later I did a lot of work at a music studio in Wrexham. ‘There are a lot of reasons it’s special. There are plenty of connections between Liverpool and Wales and it will be good to get on the stage right down by the water and play. It looks great there and should be a fabulous festival. ‘It’s in the open air and I love these events. Everyone’s up for having a good time so they’re brilliant.’ Broudie sprang to fame at the tail of the 1970s with the band Big In Japan which included Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Holly Johnson on bass and he has produced albums for a galaxy of Merseysound big names from Echo and the Bunnymen to The Coral and The Zutons. He began to write as The Lightning Seeds in the late 1980s and by 1994 had to create a band to tour the increasing repertoire he had created in the studio. After a break in the early 2000s he has bounced back again and has stepped up his touring since 2009 with a new band which features his son Riley on guitar. ‘I’m working on a new album at the moment and it should be released next year but I’ll mainly
stick to the old material at the festival which is what I think people want to hear,’ he explains. ‘It’s a long time since I started out in bands but Liverpool is still a musical city and there are always bands coming up. ‘Many cities have lost a bit of their character and uniqueness because they’ve all got the same shops and bars but Liverpool will always have its own identity. ‘I listen to a lot of music and with downloading you’ve got access to everything all the time – it’s a great time to be into music. ‘OK it was fun going to record shops years ago but now you can get everything at the touch of a button and listen to so much whether it’s a radio station in Los Angeles or music from around the world. That has a big impact on how young bands sound and from what I’ve seen around Liverpool in particular, there’s a lot of diversity and a lot happening.’ Broudie is regularly back in Liverpool – he’s an Anfield season ticket-holder and a passionate Red and loves what another passionate man, Jurgen Klopp, has brought to the club. ‘He’s been great. When you look at our net spend over the last two years it’s something like £7 million and where we are is marvellous. We’re really punching above our weight. ‘Klopp’s doing an amazing job and next year we should be a real force. The ground has changed with the new stand and when it’s rocking there it really enhances the atmosphere.’
July/August 2017 | SHIRE MAGAZINE 59
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