Lighthouse Family

Formed in Newcastle, the pop-soul duo Lighthouse Family brought together vocalist Tunde Baiyewu and programmer/keyboard player Paul Tucker. Both men had entered the world in London, yet Baiyewu spent a decade in Nigeria before returning to pursue college studies in the north, where the two first crossed paths. Once they began laying down tracks, Baiyewu still harbored doubts about the strength of his voice, but the pair committed the singles “Ocean Drive” and “Lifted” to tape for Wild Card Records across 1994 and 1995. Their self-titled debut album Ocean Drive reached stores in the closing months of 1995. Nearly two years afterward, “Lifted” climbed to the summit of the British singles chart and topped lists in multiple additional European territories. The follow-up full-length Postcards from Heaven surfaced in the latter half of 1997, with the third collection Whatever Gets You Through the Day arriving in 2001. The partnership dissolved in 2003, only to reconvene seven years later for concerts across the U.K. and Ireland. A fourth studio album finally appeared in 2019, fully eighteen years after the preceding release. Titled Blue Sky in Your Head and previewed by the buoyant, dance-oriented single “My Salvation,” the record retained every signature Lighthouse Family hallmark while receiving a polished, modern refresh.