Lifted in Halifax with Lighthouse Family

Victoria Theatre, Halifax on November 17

Messages of hope and uplift. Songs of love and connection. Tunes to sing, loudly, from the heart. It can only be the music of the Lighthouse Family, one of the most successful bands of the late 90s and early 00s, back with a new studio album after a gap of 18 years.

‘Blue Sky In Your Head’ will be released on May 3 on Polydor and will include ‘Essentials’, all the band’s classic songs remastered for the first time to celebrate their 25 year recording history. And the band will be taking the album on tour later this year, stopping off at the Victoria Theatre, Halifax, on Sunday, November 17. The lead single is ‘My Salvation’, a lushly melodic track from the band that produced timeless hits such as ‘Lifted’, ‘High’, and ‘Ocean Drive’.

Lighthouse Family were formed in the early 1990s by Newcastle University students Tunde Baiyewu and Paul Tucker. Their debut album ‘Ocean Drive’ was a slow-burning success, staying in the charts for almost three years, and the pop-soul classic ‘Lifted’ became one of the defining songs of the era. But by their third album in 2001, the band was at breaking point, their friendship burnt out after years on the road. Said Paul: “We only ever had one argument - but it lasted 20 years!”

After working on their own projects, the pair reunited in 2010 with a view to making a fourth album but couldn’t make it succeed. But the itch wouldn’t go away and then, at the end of 2016, Paul and Tunde quickly found their groove, with a series of elegant and beautiful songs for uncertain times.

Said Paul: “The new album is quintessential Lighthouse Family, we’re trying to create something anthemic and uplifting but real.”

Tunde added: “I like hymns, always have. I was in the choir as a kid. I think all the songs on the record have that feel. They’re urban hymns.”

Tel: 01422 351158.