It has been confirmed that Lighthouse Family have decided to part ways, the English duo announced their split weeks ahead of their appearance at the Mouth of the Tyne Festival. The musical duo consisting of singer Tunde Baiyewu and keyboardist Paul Tucker first formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1993, since their formation the band became prominent within the soft rock genre of the decade. After a storied career which spanned over three decades, the news of their disbanding was shared via the band’s official Instagram account.
The Instagram post includes a statement which officially confirms their split, the post also cites the reason for their disbanding and confirms that frontman Baiyewu aims to focus on his solo career. The post also apologies for their withdrawal from the event, Tucker states that they are sorry to miss the hometown show. The Lighthouse Family were billed to perform on Saturday 9th July 2022, the festival organisers have confirmed that they are looking to fill the missing slot and details concerning their replacement will be made in due course.
The show must go on, despite the Lighthouse Family being unable to perform on the Sat Night at the Mouth of the Tyne Festival.
Anyone with tickets will be contacted by the site they bought them from
We hope to announce a replacement soon
More info https://t.co/cuxVn0sG0F pic.twitter.com/r49fFlC3Nm
— North Tyneside Council (@NTCouncilTeam) June 7, 2022
North Tyneside Deputy Mayor Carl Johnson has given the following statement concerning the band’s cancelled set, “We were extremely disappointed to hear that the Lighthouse Family are no longer performing together and will be unable to play their headline slot at the Mouth of the Tyne Festival. A sell-out audience have held on to their tickets throughout the pandemic, and like us, they were looking forward to the performance. However, the decision to pull out of the show has been made by the band leaving us all bitterly disappointed.”
Baiyewu and Tucker formed Lighthouse Family after meeting at university, since their formation the duo have become one of the UK’s most beloved acts. The pair first rose to fame after the release of their debut album, Ocean Drive was released in 1995 and sold over 1.8 million copies within the UK. The group continued their success with a collection of top selling tracks such as “Lifted”, “Lost In Space” and the global record “High”.
After establishing themselves as a top selling act the duo first decided to call it quits in 2003, they reformed in 2010 and embarked on a UK and Ireland tour in 2011. The group released their fourth studio album eighteen years after their last full release, Blue Sky In Your Head was made available on 5th July 2019. The album reached number three on the UK album charts and is now regarded as the artist’s last studio album as the Lighthouse Family.
The Mouth of Tyne Festival is organised by the North Tyneside Council and has been a staple of any music fan’s summer since its formation in 2005. Due to Covid and its subsequent restrictions the event was last held in a traditional live format in 2019, the sold-out festival included performances from Sam Fender, Rick Astley and the Proclaimers. This year sees the festival make a triumphant return after its two-year hiatus, the three-day festival will take place on 8th-10th July 2022 at Tynemouth priory and castle.
Set to headline on Friday are British indie rockers Keane, the Brit award winning band will also be joined by special guests and Eliza Shaddad. The event has confirmed that Sophie Ellis-Bextor will headline on Sunday, the “Murder On The Dancefloor” singer will be joined by Newton Faulkner plus many more acts yet to be announced. The festival will also hold a single day event on Monday 18th July 2022, welsh musician John Cale will perform live at the Playhouse Whitley Bay. Along with the confirmation of the band’s exit from the festival, the event organisers have confirmed that refunds are available upon request
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