Lighthouse Family
Encyclopedia
Lighthouse Family are a British
musical duo that rose to prominence in the mid-1990s and remained active until the early 2000s. Vocalist Tunde Baiyewu
and keyboardist Paul Tucker
formed the act in 1993 in Newcastle upon Tyne
, UK
after meeting while studying at university
. Their 1995 debut album Ocean Drive
sold more than 1.8 million copies in the UK alone and established them as a popular easy listening
duo throughout Europe
.
They are well known for their songs: "Lifted", "Ocean Drive
", "Raincloud
" and "High
", which also reached number one on the Australian Singles Chart
.
of a number of songs Tucker had written during the late 1980s. Among 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 totaled ₤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. Still, this did not translate to considerable single or album sales within 1995; 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, spending 154 weeks on the UK Album Chart in the process. Its follow-up Postcards from Heaven achieved similar sales status in 1998.
Lighthouse Family scaled down their appearances in early 2003 because of what they called a "heavy promotional schedule" following the release of Whatever 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 the Lighthouse Family and will do a full UK & Ireland tour in February and March 2011. It will be the first performance of Lighthouse Family for 8 years. During an interview on breakfast TV show BBC 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".
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
musical duo that rose to prominence in the mid-1990s and remained active until the early 2000s. Vocalist Tunde Baiyewu
Tunde Baiyewu
Tunde Baiyewu is a British singer of Nigerian descent and is a member of the easy listening duo, Lighthouse Family. In 2004 he embarked on a solo career, releasing the album, Tunde.-Career:...
and keyboardist Paul Tucker
Paul Tucker (musician)
Paul Tucker is a record producer and songwriter. He is best known as one half of the British duo, Lighthouse Family. He attended Newcastle University, from which he graduated with a double first class Honours degree in French and German.Currently, Tucker is playing piano with his new band, The...
formed the act in 1993 in Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
after meeting while studying at university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
. Their 1995 debut album Ocean Drive
Ocean Drive (Lighthouse Family album)
Ocean Drive is the debut album released by UK duo Lighthouse Family in 1995 on Wildcard / Polydor Records. The album produced one Top 10 hit and three Top 20 hits .-Track listing:...
sold more than 1.8 million copies in the UK alone and established them as a popular easy listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
duo throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
They are well known for their songs: "Lifted", "Ocean Drive
Ocean Drive (Lighthouse Family song)
"Ocean Drive" is a pop song written by British duo Lighthouse Family, for their debut album Ocean Drive . The song was produced by Mike Peden. It was released as the second single in October 1995 and reached the top 40 in the United Kingdom....
", "Raincloud
Raincloud (song)
"Raincloud" is a song by the Lighthouse Family, released as the duo's first pop single for their second album Postcards from Heaven . The song was produced by Mike Peden. It was released as the second in September 1997 and reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom.With "Raincloud", another song...
" and "High
High (Lighthouse Family song)
"High" is the second pop single written by British duo Lighthouse Family for their second album Postcards from Heaven . The song was produced by Mike Peden. It was released in January 1998 and reached No...
", which also reached number one on the Australian Singles Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
.
History
Both Baiyewu and Tucker were working in bars when they first met; together, they recorded demosDemo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
of a number of songs Tucker had written during the late 1980s. Among these, a demo of "Ocean Drive" attracted the attention of Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
director Colin Barlow, who, in 1993, signed the band to a six-month development deal
Artist development deal
An artist development deal is often the first of a recording artist's contracts with a major record label. In lieu of high royalties or other desirable rights, the label will promise to develop the skills and public profile of the artist...
.
In the wake of an economic recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
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
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, 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. Peden's hiring was described as a "big spend", and music videos were filmed overseas in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
.
The lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
, "Lifted", received airplay on BBC Radio One as well as a number of BBC Local Radio
BBC Local Radio
BBC Local Radio is the BBC's regional radio service for England and the Channel Islands, consisting of 40 stations. They cover a variety of areas with some serving a city and surrounding areas, for example BBC Radio Manchester; a county, for example BBC Radio Norfolk; an administrative region for...
stations, and The Chart Show
The Chart Show
The Chart Show is a music video programme which ran in the UK on Channel 4 between 1986 and 1988, then on ITV between 1989 and 1998. The production company was Video Visuals, and was credited as "A Yorkshire Television Presentation" from 1993 and 1998...
aired its music video. Still, this did not translate to considerable single or album sales within 1995; it wasn't until "Lifted" was re-released in 1996 that it reached the top five on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, and Ocean Drive, which had been deleted
Deletion (music industry)
Deletion is a music industry term referring to the removal of a record or records from a label's official catalog, so that it is out of print, but usually at a record artist's request....
, rebounded and was certified
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
six-times platinum by the end of 1997, spending 154 weeks on the UK Album Chart in the process. Its follow-up Postcards from Heaven achieved similar sales status in 1998.
Lighthouse Family scaled down their appearances in early 2003 because of what they called a "heavy promotional schedule" following the release of Whatever 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 the Lighthouse Family and will do a full UK & Ireland tour in February and March 2011. It will be the first performance of Lighthouse Family for 8 years. During an interview on breakfast TV show BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast is the morning television news programme simulcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. It is presented live from BBC Television Centre in White City, West London, and contains a mixture of news, sport, weather, business and feature items...
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".
Discography
- Ocean DriveOcean Drive (Lighthouse Family album)Ocean Drive is the debut album released by UK duo Lighthouse Family in 1995 on Wildcard / Polydor Records. The album produced one Top 10 hit and three Top 20 hits .-Track listing:...
(1995) - Postcards from HeavenPostcards from HeavenPostcards from Heaven is the second album released by UK duo Lighthouse Family in 1997 on Wildcard / Polydor Records. The album produced three Top 10 hits and two Top 30 hits...
(1997) - Whatever Gets You Through the DayWhatever Gets You Through the DayWhatever Gets You Through the Day is the third album released by UK duo Lighthouse Family in 2001 on Wildcard / Polydor. The album produced one Top 10 hit " Free / One", one Top 30 hit "Run" and one Top 60 single "Happy". It reached Platinum status.-Track listing:-Charts:...
(2001) - Greatest HitsGreatest Hits (Lighthouse Family album)Greatest Hits is a greatest hits compilation album released by UK duo Lighthouse Family in 18 November 2002 on Wildcard / Polydor. There are two different versions of this album, one with the two bonus tracks, "Lifted" and "End of the Sky", and one without them...
(2002) - The Very Best of Lighthouse Family (2003)
- Relaxed & RemixedRelaxed & RemixedRelaxed & Remixed is a remix album released by UK duo Lighthouse Family on 24 November 2004 on Wildcard / Polydor.It contains remixes and acoustic versions of previously released singles, as well as the non-album B-side "From a Desert to a Beach"....
(2004)
External links
(Site defunct before 1 January 2009) (Site defunct before 1 January 2009) (Site defunct before 1 January 2009)- Lighthouse Family Unofficial Website (Website last updated in 1998)
- Interviews and discography