THE LIGHTNING SEEDS AT THE OLD FRUITMARKET, GLASOW 06/11/22
With support from BADLY DRAWN BOY
WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY – STUART STOTT
Whilst not a 90’s music fan by any stretch of the imagination a band that stands out is The Lightning Seeds. Also having never been to a gig in Glasgow’s Old Fruitmarket, so it was great to take on the assignment to review tonight’s proceedings
Support at tonight’s gig came from Badly Drawn Boy (Damon Gough) who, like Ian Broudie and his band the Lightning Seeds, first rose to prominence in the 90s
PHOTO GALLERY – PHOTO CREDIT: STUART STOTT
Gough, with the ever-present beanie, seemed really honoured to be playing this gig and throughout his short set gave mention to the fantastic reception awarded to him by the crowd. He ran through some of his best-known tunes, including Something to Talk About and the beautiful, piano-led Silent Sigh, both of which came from the soundtrack to the film About a Boy.
Gough has the ability to blend his own life experiences with his songs which are a plethora of old and new played via piano, guitars, and harmonica, switching from one instrument to the next without missing a beat.
The music is melancholic and introverted but the affable Gough injects a lot of humour with his recollections and musings of the past which goes a long way when you’re a solo act with a crowd to warm up for the main event he did the job and did it well.
Ian Broudie originally emerged from the post-punk Liverpool music scene of the late seventies playing in the band “Big in Japan” alongside fellow band members Bill Drummond (KLF) Holly Johnson (Frankie Goes To Hollywood) Budgie (The Slits/ Siouxie And The Banshees) and Jayne Casey (Pink Military). Before the band ended in 1979 they created the independent record label Zoo Records which would later feature the band’s Teardrop Explodes and Echo & The Bunnymen.
Tunes from Jollification, arguably the band’s most enduringly popular album to date, made up the bulk of tonight’s show with two highlights early on being “Lucky You “and Perfect”. Both sounded excellent. Ian weaved in a great guitar solo into “Lucky You“, reminding everyone that he’s more than just a gifted master of melody.
Broudie was on top form through the gig, with both his vocals and guitar playing sounding smooth and well polished, whilst not the chattiest guy in their world he did have us laugh at times but it was his absolute professionalism and that of his band that struck me as I just wasn’t expecting it.
Standing on Broudie’s right is his son Riley, about whom “The Life Of Riley” was written and he seems to enjoy the gig just as much as his dad, mouthing the words while providing subtle guitar flecks to the chorus lines.
Bass (Martyn Campbell) and drums (Jim Sharrock) generate more funk than expected, in conjunction with Adele Emmas on keyboards. More classics continued with “Sugar Coated Iceberg” and the wonderful “PURE”. “Great to Be Alive” was another new song – with a positive message – that went down quite well while Losing You and Emily Smiles – the latter co-written with Terry Hall of The Specials – off the new record were played one after the other.
I guess most people had come to hear the classics and they weren’t disappointed as the Brit-pop era was back in full swing as the rock pop anthems were belted out to the appreciative punters in the sizeable audience, Broudie showed that he’s still got it with his vocals carrying a perfect tune. You can tell they’re a band for the stage. The easy, natural flow they followed made it all seem effortless as great pop singles were blasted out.
PHOTO GALLERY – PHOTO CREDIT: STUART STOTT
The Lightning Seeds, who have always been an understated band who may not have generated the headlines of some of the ‘mad for it’ Madchester bands did but last night’s set was full of instantly recognisable tunes that played very well to the delight of the audience who left very happy indeed.
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