Flax linseed oil, a product used as a nutritional supplement and as an ingredient in many wood-finishing products. Flax is also grown as an ornamental plant in gardens. Moreover, flax fibers are used to make linen. The Latin name of the species, "usitatissimum," means "most useful". Flax fibers taken from the stem of the plant are two to three times as strong as cotton fibers. Additionally, flax fibers are naturally smooth and straight. Europe and North America both depended on flax for plant-based cloth until the 19th century, when cotton overtook flax as the most common plant for making rag-based paper.
The Lightning Seeds the forming his own project, Ian Broudie had been a member of the 1970s post-punk band Big in Japan, and later formed the new wave duo Care with vocalist Paul Simpson. In 1989, Ian Broudie began recording alone under the name "Lightning Seeds". The name derives from a misheard lyric from Prince's 1985 hit single "Raspberry Beret" (The rain sounds so cool/When it hits the barn roof/And the horses wonder who you are/Thunder drowns out what the lightning sees). Broudie had previously been a member of the band Care in the mid-1980s, but by 1989 was much better known as