Tunde Baiyewu

Tunde Baiyewu was born in London to a middle class family of Nigerian descent. His father worked as an engineer, but died of cancer when Baiyewu was five, after which he moved to Nigeria with his mother and younger sister in order for the family to be closer to relatives. Baiyewu is a British citizen owing to his birth in the United Kingdom and grew up speaking English before learning Yoruba after moving to Nigeria and attended a boarding school near the capital Lagos.[3] Ten years later he returned to Britain, attending the University of Northumbria in Newcastle upon Tyne, and obtained a degree in accounting. He subsequently met Paul Tucker who was also studying at Northumbria University and was working at the same bar as Tunde – their partnership began and they formed Lighthouse Family.

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 Album Chart. Lighthouse Family’s follow-up albums, Postcards from Heaven achieved similar sales status in 1997, reaching 6 times Platinum status, and Whatever Gets You Through the Day also receiving Platinum status also. They subsequently sold over 15 million albums throughout their career.

In 2005, he appeared on the BBC Television one-off special, Strictly African Dancing.[4] He came last, but he learned the Bata dance in the process.

On 12 November 2006, Baiyewu appeared in an ITV documentary called Faith in Music. This documentary charted his life and music, from his roots in Africa, through Lighthouse Family and into his current solo incarnation. It also showed him performing an acoustic set featuring tracks from his latest album.

In January 2007, Baiyewu held his first tour in over four years (the last time being with Lighthouse Family). He did four concerts from 13 to 16 January 2007 in Edinburgh, Manchester, Wolverhampton and London respectively. He combined his solo material with Lighthouse Family hits.

In 2019, Lighthouse Family released a new album Blue Sky in Your Head. It was the group’s first album in 18 years and was supported with two sell-out UK tours.

Since 2020, Tunde has been working on a new collection of recordings, inspired by the artists and the singer-songwriter era of the 1970’s. Reunited with Lighthouse Family producer Mike Peden, they have recorded a selection of Troubadour influenced songs. Songs recorded are gems written by Elton John, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, James Taylor, Leon Russell, Cat Stevens, Van Morrison, David Gates, Bill Withers, Todd Rundgren and Barry White.

Baiyewu is an alumnus of Northumbria University and completed an accountancy degree in 1994.[8]

In March 2007, Baiyewu married Tope Adeshina, a Nigerian model, in Lagos, Nigeria. They live in the UK.[9]

His mother went on to marry former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo who, as both she and Baiyewu are, is of the Yoruba ethnic group.[10] His mother died in 2000.[3]

• Tunde Baiyewu at IMDb
• Spotlight on Tunde Bayiewu by Bisola Atinmo
• "From the lighthouse - Tunde". Interview by Will Hodgkinson, The Guardian, 8 October 2004.