The Lightning Seeds

Taking its name from a misheard passage in a Prince song, the Lightning Seeds scored a flurry of hits in the first half of the 1990s, including the enduring smashes "Pure" and "Life of Riley." Led by the delicate, melodious voice of Ian Broudie, the Liverpool band's unbridled brand of well-adorned pop and sadly optimistic tales of love and longing presaged the twee invasion of the latter half of the decade. The band continued to record and tour into the new millennium and remained popular in their native U.K.

• pop