"Pure" is a song by British music group

the Lightning Seeds The Lightning Seeds (also known as Lightning Seeds) are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1989 by Ian Broudie (vocals, guitar, producer), formerly of the bands Big in Japan, Care, and Original Mirrors. Originally a studio-based so ...

from their debut album, ''

Cloudcuckooland Cloud cuckoo land is a state of absurdly, over-optimistic fantasy or an unrealistically idealistic state of mind where everything appears to be perfect. Someone who is said to "live in cloud cuckoo land" is a person who thinks that things that ...

''. Released in June 1989, the song peaked at 16 in the UK. The track is the band's sole entry on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100's top 40, peaking at No. 31, and was the first hit for the band on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart, peaking at No. 8 in May 1990.

Background

The first

Lightning Seeds The Lightning Seeds (also known as Lightning Seeds) are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1989 by Ian Broudie (vocals, guitar, producer), formerly of the bands Big in Japan, Care, and Original Mirrors. Originally a studio-based so ...

single release, "Pure" is significant in that it was the first song

Ian Broudie Ian Zachary Broudie (born 4 August 1958) is an English musician and singer-songwriter from Liverpool. After emerging from the post-punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to produce albums (somet ...

had "completely written and sung, ever".Like You Do - The Greatest Hits Interview with Ian Broudie and Martyn Campbell
/ref> It was when producing a track for

The Pale Fountains The Pale Fountains were an English band formed in Liverpool in 1980, and composed of Mick Head (vocalist/guitarist), Chris McCaffery (bassist), Thomas Whelan (drummer), trumpet player Andy Diagram (horns) and Ken Moss (Guitar/Bass). Diagram w ...

that Broudie was offered a chance to release some of his own material. He was originally apprehensive: Nonetheless, Broudie proceeded to record "Pure" at a studio in

Kirkby Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 was 41,495 making it the largest ...

. 200 copies of the single were originally pressed, but after some radio play and attention at

The Haçienda The Haçienda was a nightclub and music venue in Manchester, North West England, which became famous during the Manchester years of the 1980s and early 1990s. It was run by the record label Factory Records. The club opened in 1982, eventually ...

, the song soon sprang to mainstream consciousness.

Charts

References

1989 debut singles 1989 songs The Lightning Seeds songs Song recordings produced by Ian Broudie Songs written by Ian Broudie {{1980s-single-stub