CPI Archive 2009: Band member, producer, solo artist — Ian Broudie has done it all. Andrew Hamilton chats to the brains behind The Lightning Seeds about the different strands to his musical bow and the conflicts that live in his musical machine.
Over 10 months, spanning 1978 and 1979, Liverpool punk band, Big in Japan, produced one EP and wrote just seven songs. As news of their breakup filtered out across Merseyside, there were no tears. In fact, few in the music fraternity batted an eyelid. Yet, it was the most important event in Liverpool’s music history since the formation of The Beatles. Big in Japan were the typical band that launched 1,000 bands: a super-group in reverse, as John Peel might have said, and from their numbers, decades of music would be forged. There was Budgie, later of The Slits and Siouxsie & the Banshees; Bill Drummond who went on to form The KLF; Holly Johnson of Frankie Goes To Hollywood; and Ambrose Reynolds of Nightmares In Wax. And then, of course, there was Ian Broudie. Along with his solo records and work under the name The Lightning Seeds, Broudie continues to launch band after band through his work as one of Britain‘s most sought after producers. In recent years, people like The Coral, The Subways and The Zutons have all received a point in the right direction from Broudie. “Producing is always a collaborative process and it’s different every time. I know that sounds vague but that’s what makes it so great - that’s why it’s an art form. That’s why I love it, I suppose. I’m a music junkie, me, I’m always listening for that new song that you just can’t stop playing and I always wish I was in that band. That’s always been the inspiration for me, both as a producer and as a record-maker myself,” he says.
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