Ian Broudie’s The Lightning Seeds finished their UK tour at the Leadmill, bringing their new album See You in the Stars, classic hits and World Cup fever. In a sold out Leadmill filled all the way to the doors, Liverpool britpop outfit The Lightning Seeds got off the mark with their latest album’s lead single ‘Sunshine’ with Broudie’s words “Every little thing feels fine” reflecting the feelgood energy of Sheffield’s landmark venue. More of the same followed with 1994’s ‘Change’ as the crowd burst into song and the synth danced round the room with the rest of us. The classics kept coming as Jollification’s ‘Lucky You’ with Broudie and the people of Sheffield now in fifth gear, and certainly far from ‘Feeling Lazy’ as the Kink like song came next.
Time for a change of pace as Broudie swaps his electric guitar for an acoustic and leads the crowd in a perfect sing along, as The Leadmill feels like a campfire choir. The Lightning Seeds’ ability here to turn being part of a packed out almost 1000 person crowd feels like you’re in their front room, with songs you’ve known for years giving that nostalgic feeling like you’ve known Broudie himself the entire time.
The set moves away from nostalgia, and reflects Broudie’s new desire to capture the moment, ushering in new hits, ‘See You in the Stars’ and ‘Great to Be Alive’. Broudie told Forge that “when we play live, it’s about the moment” and it certainly felt that way despite the cold and wet Yorkshire Saturday night all crammed into the Leadmill it certainly did feel ‘Great to Be Alive’.
The old friends ‘Sense’, and ‘What if’ followed, paired with more new blood ‘Emily Smiles’ and ‘Losing You’ going together like bread and butter, unmistakably different tunes yet undeniably Lightning Seeds. The songs from new record ‘See You in the Stars’ brought more ideas to the table, more stripped back than their earlier more heavily produced counterparts without losing the energy nor feelgood factor we know and love.
The tailend of the set saw The Lightning Seeds reach fifth gear and had no plans of slowing down as they moved into the fast lane, as The Leadmill erupted to the brilliant brassy riff of debut single and biggest hit ‘pure’. Broudie and co brought the bulk of their set before that inevitable encore to a close with a relatively newfound classic to the casual fan, ‘Life of Riley’. This song has certainly found its moment, and we all in the crowd seized that, now by this point a collective as one as the crowd as The Lightning Seeds’ message and mantra of living in the moment and appreciating the good in life seeped into every one of us in The Leadmill.
After returning to the stage, their version of The Ronettes ‘Be My Baby’ had the crowd in full voice, warming up for the inevitable moment we’d all waited for. World Cup fever has gripped the nation this winter, and The Leadmill this Saturday night was no different as there was an eruption as those famous ‘Three Lions’ synths began. ‘It’s Coming Home’ echoed around the room with every voice at its loudest, and whilst football might not have home this year, at The Leadmill, with Broudie and The Lightning Seeds and a thousand strangers filled with nostalgia, I certainly felt at home.
