Omar Christopher Lyefook MBE, born 14 October 1968 in London, is known professionally as Omar. He is a British singer, songwriter, and musician. Omar was born in Canterbury, Kent. Omar learned his craft classically by playing the piano, trumpet and percussion. He spent two years at Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester, and the Guildhall School of Music, London. His debut single, “There’s nothing like this”, is his most famous song. On re-release, it reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart in 1991. AllMusic stated that Omar is often referred to as the father of British Neo Soul. Omar’s debut album, There’s No Such Thing as This, was released in 1990. It followed his singles “Mr Postman” (1985), and “You and Me” (1988). Omar also featured backing vocals by Caron Wheeler. It was initially released by his father’s record company Kongo Records. It reached the top of the UK Albums Chart at #54. His debut album was reissued by Talkin’ Loud after he signed to his first major label, Talkin’ Loud. It climbed to number 19 in the UK Albums Chart. His second album, Music was released in 1992. It was less successful than his debut, but it reached #37. Omar signed a new contract with RCA Records, and began collaborations with other musicians like Lamont Dozier, David Frank, The System, Derrick Bramble (The Heatwave bassist), Leon Ware, Stevie Wonder, and Leon Ware. Omar contributed “Water to Drink”, a song he wrote for the Red Hot Organization’s 1996 AIDS benefit album Red Hot Rio. After Omar’s song “There’s nothing like This” was played in the intro round of Never Mind the Buzzcocks in 2003, Mark Lamarr asked Omar about his supposed instant recognizability and suggested that Omar would need a Blockbuster card to verify Omar’s identity. Omar’s agent emailed the show, and Omar was present in the show’s “identity parade” round. He had his Blockbuster card in hand. Lamarr had to admit that Omar was instantly recognisable and was a much more important artist than he thought. Omar was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award and Best Neo Soul Act by the Urban Music Awards in 2006. Omar’s acting debut was made in Che Walker’s musical Been So Long, after he had completed his studies at the Identity Drama School. Omar was made Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2012 Birthday Honours. This award recognizes his services to music. Omar was a member of the BBC Two comedy series The Javone Prince Show’s house band during July and August 2015. Omar is sometimes called Omar Hammer. His stepfather’s name is Hammer, and his birth father’s is Lye-Fook. His siblings, two brothers, and a sister are all musicians. Samia LyeFook, Omar’s younger sister and youngest brother, is a BRIT School alumna who has provided background vocals on some of Omar’s recordings. Before he became a musician, he worked as a computer programmer for Microsoft. In 2008, Omar was the father of twin girls, Gabrielle (wikipedia)
