Tunde Baiyewu (born Emmanuel Babatunde Baiyewu, 25 November 1965) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

singer and songwriter of Nigerian descent, best known as the vocalist of

Lighthouse Family Lighthouse Family were a British musical duo that rose to prominence in the mid-1990s and initially remained active until the early 2000s. Singer Tunde Baiyewu and songwriter Paul Tucker formed the act in 1993 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, a ...

. In 2004, he embarked on a solo career, releasing the album ''Tunde''. In 2013, he published his second album, ''Diamond in a Rock''.

Early life and career

Tunde Baiyewu was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to a middle-class family of Nigerian descent. His father worked as an engineer but died of cancer when Baiyewu was five, after which the boy moved to Nigeria with his mother and younger sister in order for the family to be closer to relatives. Baiyewu learned to speak

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

after moving to Nigeria and attended a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

near the capital,

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

. Ten years later, he returned to Britain, attending the

University of Northumbria , mottoeng = A lifetime of learning , established = 1877 - Rutherford College of Technology1969 - Newcastle Polytechnic1992 - gained university status , type = Public , budget = � ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

and obtained a degree in accounting. He subsequently met Paul Tucker, who was also at university in Newcastle and working in the bar scene. Their partnership began, and they formed

. Lighthouse Family released their debut album, '' Ocean Drive'', with the lead single, " Lifted", reaching the top five on the UK Singles Chart. ''Ocean Drive'' was certified six-times Platinum by the end of 1997, selling more than 1.8 million copies in the UK alone and spending 154 weeks on the UK Albums Chart. Lighthouse Family’s follow-up album, '' Postcards from Heaven'', achieved similar sales status in 1997, reaching six-times Platinum status, and '' Whatever Gets You Through the Day'' also received Platinum status. The duo has sold over fifteen million albums throughout their career. In 2004, Baiyewu released his debut solo album, ''Tunde''. In 2005, he appeared on the

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

one-off special ''Strictly African Dancing''. He came last but learned the

Bata dance Bata, Baťa, Baţa, Batá or BATA may refer to: Organizations * Bata Corporation, a multinational corporation * Bata Shoe Museum, a museum of the history of footwear in Toronto * Bay Area Toll Authority, the bridge toll administrator of the Sa ...

in the process. On 12 November 2006, Baiyewu appeared in an

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

documentary called ''Faith in Music''. This documentary charted his life and music, from his roots in Africa, through Lighthouse Family and into his solo incarnation. It also showed him performing an acoustic set featuring tracks from his latest album. In 2013, Baiyewu announced plans for a second solo album, titled ''Diamond in a Rock'', which was released, together with the single "Move", on 4 March 2013. In October 2013, Baiyewu joined

M People M People (stylised as ''M''People) is an English dance music band that formed in 1990 and achieved success throughout most of the 1990s. The name M People is taken from the first letter of the first name of band member Mike Pickering, who form ...

as a support act during their "20th Anniversary Greatest Hits Tour". In 2019, Lighthouse Family released a new album, ''Blue Sky in Your Head''. It was the group's first album in eighteen years and was supported with two sell-out UK tours. Since 2020, Baiyewu has been working on a new collection of recordings, inspired by the artists and the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s. Reunited with Lighthouse Family producer

Mike Peden Michael Peden is a British record producer, remixer and composer, best known for his work with the British musical duo Lighthouse Family. With his former band the Chimes, Peden had a hit single with their version of "I Still Haven't Found What I ...

, he has recorded a selection of

Troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

-influenced songs, including compositing by

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member ...

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and ...

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Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

David Gates David Ashworth Gates (December 11, 1940 – January 5, 2023) was a American singer-songwriter, guitarist, musician and producer, frontman and co-lead singer (with Jimmy Griffin) of the group Bread, which reached the top of the musical charts i ...

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (1972) ...

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...

, and

Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...

Personal life

After Baiyewu's father's death, his mother went on to marry former Nigerian president

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...

. She died in 2000. In March 2007, Baiyewu married Tope Adeshina, a Nigerian model, in

, Nigeria. They live in the UK.

Discography

with Lighthouse Family

Solo

References

External links

*
Spotlight on Tunde Bayiewu, by Bisola Atinmo

Interview by Will Hodgkinson, ''The Guardian'', 8 October 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Baiyewu, Tunde 1965 births Living people 20th-century Black British male singers 21st-century Black British male singers English people of Nigerian descent English people of Yoruba descent Yoruba musicians Obasanjo family Alumni of Northumbria University Musicians from London