The beacon of pop dazzles anew

You can’t help but be dazzled by the light.

Face to face with one of the biggest pop acts from the past five years or so, you can’t help but fidget nervously in your seat. If this were just another boyband, it would have been easier to feel smart-alecky. But no, this time, we were snatched out of the "dark ages of musical mediocrity" and thrust into the light – the dazzling, resplendent light from the towering beacon of pop, the Lighthouse Family.

It’s unlikely that you haven’t heard any of their songs. While their first album, Ocean Drive, merely emitted faint flickers in the pop and R&B realm during the mid-’90s, it was their follow-up effort, Postcards from Heaven, that garnered extensive airplay during the late ’90s, making the band a household name and a strong contender in the pop charts.

Back then, their monster hit Lost in Space was the anthem of the season – a staple in many a local lounge band’s "must-play" hit list. It was after all, a new and refreshing sound that remotely resembled a whiter shade of R&B – a throwback to the "shaggadelic" grooves of Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra with a tinge of Boz Scaggs or Seal.

Now finishing their Asian promo tour for their third album, Whatever Gets You Through The Day (under the MCA Universal label), the Lighthouse Family (minus Paul Tucker) made a quick stopover in Manila two weeks ago. Even without Paul, the Lighthouse beckoned. Not so much because of sheer "star value," but because even without the fanfare and expected bravado, Tunde Baiyewu, the other half of the Lighthouse firmament, dazzled us with his uncharacteristic display of humility and candor.

Born in Nigeria and raised in Newcastle, England, the young Tunde didn’t indulge in any "rock star dreams." All he wanted was to fulfill his parents’ wish for him to be "somebody." "They wanted me to become an accountant or something," he recalls sheepishly. "Imagine that!"

Tunde met Paul when they were both still finishing their college degrees. "I was working in a bar for about a year, figuring out what I really wanted to do. It so happened that Paul had written a song years before he finished school. He wanted to record it, just to get it done," he recalls.

"Paul put up notices, ‘want ads’ for people who could sing. But see, I was working in a bar so I didn’t see them," Tunde continues. "But see, I had DJ friends who would invite me to their houses, and I’d just be singing over some of the records."

"I remember, there was this one Gap Band record, Outstanding, which I sang and one of them gladly recorded. They were all surprised I could sing, see?" shrugs the shy giant. "So, when they saw the notices, they recommended me."

"But see, I didn’t even think of it as an ‘audition,’" Tunde asserts. "When I met Paul, I didn’t even say a word. He was the one who actually sang the song (Ocean Drive), and I just sat there. He recorded it, handed me the tape, and said, ‘Here, study it. Take your time.’ After a few weeks, we recorded it."

And the rest is now history. After sending out demos to the underground radio stations, publishers and record companies in Newcastle, the calls came in. It turned out that one of those "demo" tapes that Tunde did for his DJ friend caught the ear of one of Polydor Records’ bigwigs. "And so, when he heard Ocean Drive, he said, ‘Hey, I’ve heard that voice before!,’" he rambles on.

Even during the actual meeting with the Polydor bigshots, Tunde wasn’t the least bit interested. "I really didn’t want to, Paul had to drag me. He said, ‘I’ll pay you. I’ll get you tickets!,’" he chuckles. "Back then, I felt like I was wasting my time, because I couldn’t imagine myself telling my mom that I’ve gotten a job as a singer!"

And so, Lighthouse Family was born. "We’ve always liked beaches and oceans," explains Tunde. "Newcastle is a coastal city. Where we live, there are a couple of lighthouses by the beach. ‘Family’ is just a spirit, just like this family spirit. That’s how we do things. Maybe there’s something in there about the ocean as well. It’s got that soul thing."

Lighthouse Family fans who have wondered what happened since their last effort in ’97 will be delighted to hear their third album, Whatever Gets You Through The Day. Part rest, part catharsis – this album captures the creative sparks that have welled since they finished their grueling concert tour for the second album. "It gets to a point where we just wanted to slow down a bit and just… live. Touring can be a drag. It’s like living in this bubble. Sometimes, you should just burst that bubble," he ponders. "Sometimes, life does that for you anyway."