The Lightning Seeds

The Lightning Seeds are an English alternative rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1989 by Ian Broudie (vocals, guitar, producer), formerly of the band Big in Japan.

Originally a studio-based solo project for Broudie, the Lightning Seeds expanded into a touring band following Jollification (1994). The group experienced commercial success throughout the 1990s and are well known for their single "Three Lions", a collaboration with David Baddiel and Frank Skinner which reached No. 1 in the UK in 1996 and 1998.

History

1989–1993: Formation and early years

In 1989, Ian Broudie began recording alone under the name "Lightning Seeds". Broudie had previously been a member of the band Care in the mid-1980s, but by 1989 was much better known as a producer for Liverpool-based chart acts Echo & the Bunnymen and many other independent labels at the time.

Working as a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer, Broudie (in his guise as "The Lightning Seeds") achieved success with the psychedelic hit "Pure" from the album Cloudcuckooland, which reached the UK Top 20. "Pure" had some success in the United States Billboard Top 40 reaching No. 32. Both "Pure" and "All I Want" also reached the Modern Rock Tracks top 10.

The Guardian Project (comics)

The Guardian Project is a fictional superhero squad created by Stan Lee for Guardian Media Entertainment, in conjunction with the National Hockey League. Each NHL Franchise is represented by one of the 30 heroes, titled "Guardians". They are all named in accordance with the name of the team (e.g. The Flame for the Calgary Flames).

Plot

Mike Mason is a 15-year-old hockey fan, who sketched 30 different characters for the NHL teams, designing their powers and personalities, giving them alter-egos and writing about grand adventures they would embark on. Once the evil Devin Dark and his military machines attack Earth, Mason's characters came to life as the Guardians.

Marketing

The Guardian characters were revealed sequentially according to a bracket pairing Guardians and encouraging fans to vote via Facebook on which character they would like to see first. The superheroes were revealed every day from January 1, 2011, until January 30, in time for the 2011 NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh, North Carolina. By June, NBCUniversal had signed a multimillion dollar deal with GME, hoping to exploit the Guardian franchise in various media. But by December 2011, the project had failed to develop momentum and was dropped without further fanfare.