- Ticket price:
- From: £42.90
Emmanuel Babatunde Baiyewu, better known as Tunde, is a British singer/songwriter of Nigerian descent, and the former lead singer and songwriter from the 15-million selling album band Lighthouse Family. In 2004, he embarked on a solo career, releasing the album ‘Tunde’ with a second solo album 'Diamond In A Rock’ in 2013 before a one-off reunion album/tour with Lighthouse Family in 2019 prior to the COVID lockdowns.
Tunde Baiyewu was born in London to a family of Nigerian descent. After spending some of his early life back in Lagos, Tunde returned to the UK attending the University of Northumbria in Newcastle Upon Tyne and obtaining 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.
After being initially signed by A&R executive Colin Barlow on a six-month development deal to Polydor Records in 1993, Lighthouse Family released their debut album, ‘Ocean Drive’, in 1995 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 third album ‘Whatever Gets You Through The Day’ in 2001 also achieved Platinum status. Lighthouse Family sold over fifteen million albums globally, with the support of Europe and Australia/New Zealand, and established a catalogue of enduring popular songs such as “Goodbye Heartbreak”, “High”, “Lifted”, “Ocean Drive”, “Loving Every Minute”, “Question Of Faith” and “Raincloud”.
In 2019, Lighthouse Family reunited and released a new album, ‘Blue Sky In Your Head’. The group’s first record in eighteen years, it was supported by two sell-out UK tours either side of the COVID lockdown period before the duo split again in July 2022.
Since 2020, Tunde has been working on a new collection of recordings, inspired by the artists and the singer/songwriter era of the 70s. Reunited with Lighthouse Family producer Mike Peden, he recorded a selection of Troubadour-influenced songs, including compositions by Elton John, Crosby Stills & Nash, James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Van Morrison, David Gates and Bill Withers. Some of these songs are included in his live set.
Through March / April 2025 Tunde was out on the road with Gabrielle for a 14-date national tour including London’s O2 Arena, Manchester’s AO Arena and Dublin’s 3Arena. More live shows and festival dates are mapped out through the rest of 2025 including a series of headline shows through October / November to mark Tunde’s 30th anniversary as a recording artist.
Three new original songs are being released through 2025 and into 2026. The first of these, ‘Rain To A Rainbow’, was released on Friday 11th July, a timeless classic co-written by Tunde with Jonathan Quarmby. ‘Rain To A Rainbow’ has been on heavy rotation at BBC Radio 2 and regional BBC stations as well as Bauer Media commercial stations. It has also been highly placed on Shazam UK charts as it is being searched and discovered by new audiences. Support at radio has continued for over a month and streaming volumes are on the increase with editorial teams at Spotify and Apple Music coming on board as they see the song’s impact being amplified across all platforms.
With his unique sound and timeless songs, Tunde is a prominent figure in British music and now poised to open a new chapter in his music career celebrating both the 30th anniversary of the debut Lighthouse Family album and exciting new music from his own songbook for his fanbase.