Tunde Obe: 50 years is a big deal to me
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Singing couple, Tunde Obe and Wunmi Tunde-Obe, speak on their plan to celebrate his 50th birthday, 30th anniversary of T. W. O. and the 20th anniversary of their marriage, Yinka Badejoreports
It is a season of multiple celebrations for musical couple, Tunde and Wunmi Tunde-Obe, popularly known as T.W.O. While Tunde has attained the golden age of 50, the band that has become a point of positive reference and a source of inspiration to many people is also 30. To triple the treat, Tunde and Wunmi’s marriage is 20-year-old. The duo are therefore in high spirits and are poised to mark the landmarks in a beautiful way.
At a briefing held on Wednesday at Protea Hotel in Lagos, to kick off the 30th anniversary, Tunde noted that turning 50 was a remarkable achievement to him as he surged through life’s hurdles.
“At a time where people are not really living long in Nigeria, turning 50 is a big deal to me. My father died when he was 46 while Wunmi’s father died at 49. So, I’ve outlived both our parents and, for me, that’s a major thing,” Tunde added.
On how they have managed their family and music career, he said, “Family comes first and I’ll gladly drop music if I had to choose. However, I’ve been able to combine everything and its working well.
“I’m glad I’m still here and, as for the 30 years of T.W.O, in every relationship, there will be ups and downs, but I want to assure you that Wunmi and I have never put separation or divorce on the table. It is not something we’ll ever discuss.
He noted that the successful union of he and his wife had proved those who would not give celebrity marriages any chance wrong. Besides, he explained that the problems that many marriages experienced were not limited to the world of celebrities.
Tunde said, “I do not think it’s only in the entertainment world. There’s something in the country that is making everyone to be so much in a hurry and nobody wants to grow with another person anymore. The expectations are too high and people are living fake lives on social media, posting things that are not real, thereby raising people’s expectations when they come across such things.
“For a relationship to work, people have to be straightforward and set their expectations in a realistic manner. Not everything has to be in place before you marry someone; everyone is working to achieve a goal. When we started, it was a struggle, but we had our eye on the prize and achieved the goals together. I’m not sure if I were already a self-made man, things would have worked out well between us.”
On her part, Wunmi said, “If you are doing the same thing as your partner it’s easier. He understands when I’m not doing certain things and when I have to do certain things. In the beginning, when the children were very young, it was a little bit challenging because, sometimes, I would have to take a child I was breastfeeding to the studio.”
According to the Chairman, Planning Committee, Mr Gbenga Adebija, the briefing is the first of the three events coming up. The next will be the premiere of Without your Love remix, while the grand finale will be the Tunde Obe at 50 dinner, which will have the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, celebrities, ambassadors and others present.
He also called for sponsorship from private and public sectors to engage with T.W.O on this programme and subsequent ones.
The Manager of T.W.O, Don T Anifite, said the programmes of the anniversaries were designed and organised in accordance with the premium quality standard of stakeholders that had come to associate with T.W.O.
“The brand has a special valid proposition for all sponsors, because it offers two viable brands for the price of one. The couple met 30 years ago and the relationship blossomed from professionalism to partnership, then marriage, which was certified 20 years ago. Between 30 years and now, a couple of albums have been released; many hits have been created thus far and the new phase we are entering would give us the opportunity to experience greater music,” he added.
On how the remix of Without your Love came about, Wunmi said, “It didn’t take too long, considering it was a remix. We just wanted to bring it to the music of today. If you noticed, it was an opportunity for me to rap. We modified the rap and fine-tuned the beat from the original song in order to modernise it to meet up with what was trending today.”
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