Omar. British soul icon. A 40-year global career that is nowhere near slowing down. Many weddings have played his classic and timeless hit “There’s Nothing Like This”, as the soundtrack to the couple’s first dance.
Omar Lye-Fook MBE has collaborated with a starry slew of music greats; Stevie Wonder [who penned a song for him], Erykah Badu, Angie Stone, Leon Ware, Robert Glasper, Paul Weller and India.Arie among them. He has assembled a classy lineup of guests on the current album, “my magnum opus”: “Brighter The Days”, which was released in June 2025 and is his ninth studio album.
In May and June this year Omar hits the road for a 15-date tour to promote the new LP, opening in Manchester on 15th May and closing in London on 26th June. With a full band and a rare chance to catch the legendary artist performing in intimate grassroots venues nationwide, reconnecting with the spaces that continue to sustain live music communities and artist development across the UK.
Music Venue Trust (MVT), the UK charity representing and supporting Grassroots Music Venues (GMVs), has recently announced the tour, supported by MVT’s Liveline Fund.
Omar is one of the most influential and enduring figures in British soul music and has spent four decades carving out a sound that blends soul, jazz, funk, R&B and Caribbean influences into a genre entirely his own. In 2012, he was awarded an MBE for services to music.
His latest album, “Brighter The Days”, released via Impressive Collective and BBE Music, has been widely praised as his most assured and expansive work to date – reaffirming Omar’s place as a singular voice in British music, whose influence continues to resonate across generations.
Liveline, a vital funding initiative developed by Music Venue Trust in partnership with live music advocates Save Our Scene (SOS), delivers direct financial backing to grassroots venues, touring artists and promoters, funded through contributions from arena and stadium ticket sales.
Major artists including Sam Fender, Katy Perry and Enter Shikari have adopted the Grassroots Levy to support the scheme, alongside Coldplay, who pledged 10% of profits from their recent UK stadium tour to Liveline.
Touring exclusively through grassroots venues, the “Brighter The Days “run brings Omar back to the heart of local communities. A performer of effortless class and deep musicality, Omar’s live shows are a masterclass in groove, soul, and sincerity.
Speaking to Music Republic Magazine, 57-year-old Omar promises fans: “A good night out. Everyone comes away elated. This set is mostly about the new album, but of course I have 40 years of music to choose from. Though this is the ‘Brighter The Days Tour’, so you’ll have a big slice of the new stuff, as well as the old. We’ve got bass, keys, drums, guitar and two horns”.
He was pleased to see Manchester on the list: “I do like the Band On The Wall in Manchester. I used to go to school in Manchester not too far from there, and every time I go there it brings back memories.”
He reveals plans for the rest of this year and beyond…”There are more singles coming off of the new album, with Eric Roberson and Raheem DeVaughn, Ledisi, and India.Irie. There are shows in the US, and there is a theatre production I’ve been working on and hoping to have some good news about that in the next month or so.
“Also I am doing a white collar Muay Thai boxing match on 21st March; I have been training for a little while. It is for charity: Prostate Cancer UK and the ACLT (Afro Caribbean Leukaemia Trust)”. Omar had prostate cancer two years ago and after treatment he is all-clear now.
More plans: “I have a TV show I have been working on for 10 years, an ongoing thing, and a project in the States, but I don’t want to talk about them too much until things are a bit more firm. With the TV show I have been through three different production companies to get this thing made and I’m still working on it to get it done. It will get done; I have every faith and belief it will happen. I like to manifest things and so far I have manifested everything I have worked to achieve,”.
After a bunch of major collaborations across his career, who else – alive and deceased – would be on his wish list? ” I would love to work with Pharrell [Williams], because I love his productions; Neptunes, N.E.R.D. which are very organic; bass, drums, keys, guitar, and he’s written all those classics. I wish I could have worked with Bobby Womack or Bill Withers. I worked with Stevie Wonder, Leon Ware and Lamont Dozier, so those two would have fitted very nicely in that lineup.”
Omar’s “Track Record”
1. First song you can recall hearing as a child?
“Say A Little Prayer” by Aretha Franklin. I remember my mum playing it.
2. First single you owned?
“Golden Brown” by The Stranglers.
3. First LP/album you owned?
The Police: “Regatta de Blanc”
4. First CD you owned?
The Christians CD. “Harvest For The World” was on it. [On their self-titled 1988 debut album].
5. Last music you bought and in what format (CD/vinyl/digital download
A download of a compilation of The Mizell Brothers productions.
6. Which album would you be happy to receive as a gift?
I’ve lost my copy of “Songs In The Key Of Life” by Stevie Wonder.
7. Favourite album? (Choose more than one if need be…)
Billions of them, how do I choose one? There’s 40 at least! One of them would be “The Secret Life Of Plants” by Stevie Wonder.
8. One of the best [or the best] records ever made (can be single/album/EP – and choose more than one if need be)?
My album, “Brighter The Days”.
9. Anything unusual or perhaps unexpected in your music collection?
Not really. I was classically trained, so I have a lot of classical influences; but “The Planets” by Holst” is a big favourite of mine.
10. What does music mean to you and how does it make you feel?
Music is my form of expression and it’s a good release when I use it.
11. Which song or album is a guaranteed mood booster?
“Madamoiselle” by Foxy [an ultra-rare groove cut from the1978 LP “Get Off”].
12. Which song or album would be the soundtrack to a film about your life?
That’d be my album “The Man” [June 2013 release].
13. Your favourite driving track – or music to exercise to?
Anything by James Brown.
14. Best song or album for a romantic moment?
Al Green and the album with “Simply Beautiful” on it: “I’m Still In Love With You” [1972]
15. Which song was played for the “First Dance” at your wedding (if you are married) or which song would you choose if you did get married?
“There’s Much Love In The World” the title track of the 2025 Omar album.
16. Your choice of song to sing at karaoke [or which song would you choose if you have yet to do karaoke?]
“You Will Never Find” by Lou Rawls.
17. Which song takes you back to your childhood – and to which specific memory/memories?
The Stranglers, “Golden Brown” takes me back to when I bought my first single.
18. Favourite band (or bands)?
Level 42. I learned to play the bass listening to Mark King; A lovely dude. Mike Lindup [Level 42 co-founder] and I went to the same school and college: Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester and Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London.
19. Favourite singer (or singers)?
Stevie Wonder.
20. Which song would you like played at your funeral?
“If It’s Magic” by Stevie Wonder.
Interview by Simon Redley
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