As a 1990's girl I have to admit I was a bit of a Lighthouse Family fan, well, when i say a bit, what i really mean is, I was a bit obsessed... and knew all the words. But who didn't? Oh, just me then?
The Lighthouse Family
Anyhow, the duo spent the mid-1990's keeping my CD player entertained with their smooth as silk vocals thanks to vocalist Tunde Baiyewu and keyboard player Paul Tucker.
Their 1995 debut album Ocean Drive sold more than 1.6 million copies in the UK alone and established them as a popular easy listening duo throughout Europe, and although none of their singles reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, they did reach number one on the Australian Singles Chart with the song High - my personal favourite!
History...
Both Baiyewu and Tucker were working in bars when they first met, and forming a solid friendship almost instantly, the pair recorded demos of a number of songs that Tucker had written during the late 1980s, and amongst these, a demo of "Ocean Drive" attracted the attention of Polydor Records A&R director Colin Barlow, who, in 1993, signed the band to a six-month development deal.
In the wake of an economic recession in the UK, British record labels were, at the time, primarily signing artists with the goal of short-term profit. In contrast, Barlow, in The Times, expected that the band could last for "ten years or more". At the time of the launch of the first album, Polydor's investments in the band totalled £250,000. Peden's hiring was described as a "big spend", and music videos were filmed overseas in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
The lead single, "Lifted", received airplay on BBC Radio One as well as a number of BBC Local Radio stations, and The Chart Show aired its music video, however, much to Barlow's disappointment, (and probably his bank managers), this did not translate to considerable single or album sales within 1995; and it wasn't until "Lifted" was re-released in 1996 that it reached the top five on the UK Singles Chart, and Ocean Drive, which had been deleted, rebounded and was certified six-times platinum by the end of 1997.
Where are they now?
Their record label insist that there is always the possibility of another Lighthouse Family album "one day", but until then, both men are pursuing individual projects. Baiyewu is now a solo artist, while Tucker joined a rock band, The Orange Lights.
Tunde Baiyewu released a solo album in 2004, Tunde, but after that failed to make any real mark on the charts, he tried his hand on the BBC Television one-off special, Strictly African Dancing; he didn't do very well in that either, coming in last place.
In 12 November 2006, Baiyewu appeared in an ITV documentary called Faith in Music, which charted the life and music of Baiyewu, from his roots in Africa, through Lighthouse Family and into his current solo incarnation, it also showed Baiyewu performing an acoustic set featuring tracks from his latest album.
In January 2007, Baiyewu held his first tour in over four years, before marrying Tope Adeshina, a young Nigerian model in Lagos, Nigeria in March of the same year. Since then we haven't really heard very much from Tunde really. But we're pretty sure he'll be back shortly!
Paul Tucker decided to join four of his other friends and set up a new band, The Orange Lights; a five member Indie rock band.
Their style is often compared to mellow bands such as The Verve, Keane, and Embrace and Paul plays keyboards for the little quintet. However, rather unlike Tuckers, former bandmate, they haven't done remarkable well, and only released one album since their conception; Life is Still Beautiful, as well as two singles, "Let the Love Back In" and "Click Your Heels", all of which were released in 2007.
Watch this space… I’m thinking 2009 could be the year for a comeback!
FemaleFirst - Ruth Harrison