Since emerging from the post-punk scene Ian Broudie has enjoyed a successful career as pop star, producer and songwriter. His next new experience will be the unique vibe at Chagstock Festival where he is headlining. Ian admits to Anita Merritt he has no idea what to expect and reveals he isn't going to let the England team's defeat get in the way of a good sing-along
Despite the England team football team's shocking early exit at the World Cup, Ian Broudie is going to give fans something to sing about.
The Lightning Seeds singer is headlining this year's Chagstock Festival on the Friday night and says regardless of England's poor performance, he won't be dropping football anthem Three Lions from his set.
"People will have recovered from it by the time of the festival," says an optimistic Ian. "I'll be singing it but I feel a bit deflated at the moment. It's always so disappointing watching England play because just when you think it will be okay they are rubbish."
Three Lions was the official anthem of the England football team in 1996, and a greatest hits festival set wouldn't be complete without it.
Chagstock is one of only a few live dates Ian is performing as the Lightning Seeds this summer. The two-day festival is being held in Whiddon Down on Friday, July 18, and Saturday, July 19, and Ian admits he had never heard of it until being booked to perform there.
"I don't know much about Chagstock but I'm looking forward to it," says the 55-year-old. "I like that part of the world so it should be really good.
"As it's a festival, I want to do a lot of songs people know so I'm playing a hits set."
There's plenty to choose from because Lightning Seeds had 12 top 20 hits including The Life of Riley and Lucky You.
The 'band' formed in 1989, but the only member was Ian. Debut single Pure was an instant hit and success carried on throughout the 90s.
"It was just me and I played everything on the record," recalls Ian. "It was always like that, but live I toured with a band which changed from time to time. It's pretty much the same thing now.
"At Chagstock I'll have lots of friends playing in the band with me."
But that's as much as Ian is prepared to give away, even after three unsuccessful attempts to prise the information out of him.
"It's the Lightning Seeds," he repeats. "The line-up always changes. It's always been me and the other people varies."
After the last failed interrogation, he repeats, "There's no secret. It's the Lightning Seeds."
It would be impossible to speculate who it could be, because Ian has worked with many musicians over the years, both as Lightning Seeds and a producer, including The Zutons, The Coral, The Subways and Miles Kane.
"I don't do much producing these days," reveals Ian. "I've produced and collaborated but I've never really liked it. It was a fun thing because it was all about intuition and instinct. As a producer I wasn't very technical, but my intuitive ways of doing things and dialogue with musicians was good.
"Then tape recorders got replaced with computers and I became good at being a computer operator. I decided I didn't want to be a computer operator; it used to be about the whisky, the magic, and things you couldn't put your finger on. It got boring when it got more scientific.
"I do the odd thing now but I prefer writing. The last album I did was five years ago (Lightning Seeds' Four Winds) and the songs were personal. I didn't feel very comfortable with it."
Now Ian has got his mojo back and is loving being back in the recording studio again.
He says: "I'm in a good frame of mind and have been writing again, not because I had to, I just started. I'm back in the zone and I'm comfortable writing personal stuff, but it's a lot more uplifting and not too personal.
"As an artist, once you start writing a lot of songs, the most natural thing is to record them."
So is it hard after all these years to find the inspiration for new songs?
"I've got too many ideas," laughs Ian. "They're grid-locked a bit, and I need turn them into something better. Usually I have a very firm idea in mind what album I want to write but it ends up nothing like it.
"I'd like to get the album recorded in the next couple of months and, if possible, maybe tour with the record and have it out around Christmas."
Whether it will be a Lightning Seeds release or Ian's second only second ever solo album remains uncertain.
"It will depend on how it sounds," he admits. "I'll decide once I hear it.
"My music hasn't changed; it's evolved. I do what I do and obviously it evolves and moves on. I don't think it's drastically changed style. I've always done the same thing more or less, just at different times.
"It's a funny thing doing a solo album because Lightning Seeds is me. They are both kind of me solo, but I did one solo album under my own name as I felt it was a little bit different. It had a different flavour to it and I loved doing it, but I've never done another once.
"It was more folky and kind of a less produced sound. Ten years later that sound is what you hear on a lot of records now."
When asked if he thinks he was ahead of time, Ian immediately dismisses the suggestion. Instead he admits to being obsessed by music rather than the music business itself.
"I'm incredibly blessed and incredibly lucky," concedes Ian, who splits his time between living in London and Liverpool. "Maybe my success has been down to perseverance because when I look back at school, I was not the best at playing guitar or the best singer; I just knew I wanted to do it. As other people fell away I was very single-minded. I'll never know if it was just drive, talent or luck. It was probably a bit of everything."
Tickets for Chagstock Festival are still available. The line-up also includes The Waterboys, The Selecter, The Moulettes and The Stanfields. Weekend tickets cost £75 adults, £50 under-18s, under-12s free (ticket still required), £210 families. Day tickets available. Visit www.chagstock.info
