The Lightning Seeds

Conveniently reforming to coincide with a certain sporting tournament, The Lightning Seeds were welcomed by a near sell-out crowd to the Stoke Sugarmill. Not quite the same crowd size as Ian Broudie would have seen ten years ago at the peak of the band.

Worth a mention tonight is the support. The scheduled band pulled out only a few hours before, and so it was left to one man and an acoustic guitar to entertain the assembled masses. The reception from the crowd was the best for a support act since the then unknown Kaiser Chiefs opened for The Ordinary Boys.

The Lightning Seeds may have changed in the last ten years, but Broudie still carries the same confidence and pride that he always has. They were one of the biggest Brit-pop bands of their time, fronted by one of the best song writers and entertainers.

It’s obvious that the crowd have been fans for years, as all the classic hits from Jollification are wheeled out much to the delight of the audience. It’s a scary thought that hits like ‘The life of Riley’ have been around since 1992, and therefore a great testament to Broudie that he can still fill a venue over fourteen years later.

It’s ‘The life of Riley’ and ‘Sugar coated iceberg’ which receive the best reception through the set. The crowd were a little slow to get going, but mid way through and the 1990s are back alive and well. ‘Oh lucky you,’ and ‘Marvellous’ take us back to an era gone, a time when a lot of the usual Sugarmill crowd wouldn’t have been walking, of Euro ’96, the rise of the mobile phone, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the Brit-Pop revolution.

Last track of the night, and it’s ‘that’ song, which is, let’s face it, the greatest and most successful football song ever written. The only song to make it to number one twice, with two sets of lyrics, and the only song to capture the sporting heart of a nation. As the intro begins the crowd go ballistic. For these five minutes at the Sugarmill national pride has never been higher, the beautiful game is there for everyone to enjoy. Football for these five minutes is all about what it should be; Hurst’s goal in ’66, that save from Banks, that Penalty from Pearce. Everyone knows the words and is singing along with Broudie at the top of their voice, the band are smiling, and in this moment it feels like England are already Champions.

As the crowd disperse its good to see that Broudie still has what it takes to fill and entertain a venue. The classic hits of yesteryear went down a treat, and topped off by Three Lions made for a fantastic set. Football’s coming home? Right now it feels like it already has.

FUTURE GIGS