Lighthouse Family have shocked fans by revealing that they have gone their separate ways and cancelled their Mouth of the Tyne performance, with band member Paul Tucker 'heartbroken' by the outcome.
Paul met the band's lead singer, Tunde Baiyewu met when they were both studying at university in Newcastle in the early 90s and working in the same bar. They recorded demos of songs Paul had written years earlier, including what was going to be one of their biggest hits, Ocean Drive.
The duo got their big chart break in 1996 when another of their calling cards, Lifted, was re-released and stormed into the top 5. The song helped debut album Ocean Drive to go six times platinum by the end of 1997, with the title track and Goodbye Heartbreak also big chart hits.
READ MORE: Mouth of Tyne offer Lighthouse Family refund advice as band split
Second album Postcards from Heaven was also a massive selling album, spawning singles like the anthemic High and Raincloud.
The love for the Lighthouse Family across the UK and especially in the city where the group was born, meant that there was great excitement when they were confirmed to be a headliner at the return of Mouth of the Tyne, which is back for the first time in three years this summer.
So it will come as a great disappointment to those fans looking forward to seeing them at their sell out show in Tynemouth that they will no longer perform and have now gone their separate ways. It was Paul who broke the news in a lengthy Instagram statement which read: "I’m so sad to let you know that after almost thirty years we have reached the end of our Lighthouse Family journey. Having set off from our little basement studio in Newcastle in 1993 it’s been an incredible adventure beyond our wildest dreams. Thank you all for all your love and support through the years, we could not have done it without you."
Detailing what that means for Mouth of the Tyne, who have now offered refund advice to fans, and the reason behind the slit, Paul continued: "I’m so sorry that this means that our headline show at Mouth Of The Tyne Festival on 9th July is now cancelled. I have tried everything with our agents and promoters over the last few weeks to make this work but we just couldn’t get it over the line. Tunde now wants to focus on his solo career and I wish him all the best.
"I would like to say sorry to the promoters and to all of you who have tickets for this show and have waited through the last two years."
He ended: " I was really looking forward to this hometown show and playing our songs in this amazing place close to the lighthouses that gave us our name. I am as disappointed as you are. It breaks my heart to let you down."
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