Lighthouse Family were a Britishpop soul^[1] duo that rose to prominence in the mid-1990s and initially remained active until the early 2000s. SingerTunde Baiyewu and songwriter Paul Tucker formed the act in 1993 inNewcastle upon Tyne,England, after meeting while studying atuniversity and both working at the same bar. Their 1995 debut albumOcean Drive sold more than 1.8 million copies in the UK alone and established them as a populareasy listening duo throughout Europe.

Lighthouse Family
Lighthouse Family performing atPryzm, Kingston-upon-Thames, 2019.
Background information
Origin	Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Genres	Pop soul[1] R&B lounge easy listening
Years active	1993–2003, 2010–2011 2019–2022
Labels	MCA Music Wildcard Polydor
Past members	Tunde Baiyewu Paul Tucker
Website	https://www.thelighthousefamily.co.uk/

They are best known for their worldwide hit "High", which peaked at number four on theUK Singles Chart and topped the charts in Australia. Other well-known songs include "Goodbye Heartbreak", "Lifted", "Lost in Space", "Ocean Drive" and "Raincloud". The duo's first studio album in 18 years,Blue Sky in Your Head, was released on 5 July 2019.

Both Baiyewu and Tucker were working in bars when they first met; together, they recordeddemos of a number of songs Tucker had written during the late 1980s.^[2] Among these, a demo of "Ocean Drive" attracted the attention ofPolydor RecordsA&R director Colin Barlow, who, in 1993, signed the band to a six-monthdevelopment deal.^[3]

In the wake of an economicrecession in the United Kingdom, British record labels were, at the time, primarily signing artists with the goal of short-term profit. In contrast, Barlow, inThe 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 totaled £250,000. ProducerMike Peden's hiring was described as a "big spend", and music videos were filmed overseas in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.^[3]

Thelead single, "Lifted", receivedairplay onBBC Radio One as well as a number ofBBC Local Radio stations, andThe Chart Show aired its music video.^[3] Still, this did not translate to considerable single or album sales within 1995; it was not until "Lifted" was re-released in 1996 that it reached the top five on theUK Singles Chart, andOcean Drive, which had beendeleted, rebounded and wascertified six-times platinum by the end of 1997, spending 154 weeks on theUK Albums Chart in the process.^[2] Its follow-upPostcards from Heaven achieved similar sales status in 1997. It featured the hit single "High" (number four in the UK) with the music video filmed in North East England and featuring Newcastle'sTyne Bridge.^[4]

Lighthouse Family scaled down their appearances in early 2003 because of what they called a "heavy promotional schedule" following the release ofWhatever Gets You Through the Day in 2001. This led to both men pursuing individual projects. Baiyewu became a solo artist, while Tucker joined a rock band,The Orange Lights.

In November 2010, the duo announced they were reforming Lighthouse Family and did a full UK and Ireland tour, in February and March 2011. It was the first performance of Lighthouse Family in eight years. During an interview on breakfast TV showBBC Breakfast on 17 January 2011, Lighthouse Family revealed they had still been talking to each other during their time away, and that there was no current defined timescale for the release of a new album. However, Tucker mentioned during the interview that the duo had "pockets... full of songs".^[5]

The duo had planned to release a new album calledBlue Sky in Your Head on 3 May 2019, introduced by the single, "My Salvation", on 21 March; however, the album release was delayed until 5 July 2019.Blue Sky in Your Head is their first album in 18 years. Lighthouse Family announced a multi-date UK tour commencing in November 2019.^{[citation needed]} The album was supported with two sell-out UK tours.

Tucker announced in June 2022 that the duo would no longer be performing together, as Baiyewu wished to focus on his solo career.^[6]

• Ocean Drive (1995)
• Postcards from Heaven (1997)
• Whatever Gets You Through the Day (2001)
• Blue Sky in Your Head (2019)

• Interviews and discography