Pioneering boy bands such as Vital Signs, and Awaz broke onto the music scene in the 90s, played to packed houses and even conquered the charts. But outside forces and inside bickering had many of them hanging up their guitars even before a greatest hits album could be composed.
The waters turned murkier when the remaining talent, including Adnan Sami Khan, and pop band Strings, answered to Bollywood's call with a better pay package and a wider fanbase. With the talent crossing border into India, Pakistan's pop culture was drawing its last breath, or so people thought until five years ago when a virtually unknown band called Jal broke onto the scene with Aadat and became overnight sensations.
The band, which performs in Dubai tonight at Elegante, Royal Ascot Hotel, featured composer Goher Mumtaz and lead singer Atif Aslam in the original line-up. Aslam soon departed for Bollywood, but Mumtaz is carrying the band forward with the help of guitarist Shazi Aamir and vocalist Farhan Saeed Butt.
Mumtaz tells Emirates Business: "Jal means water, which covers most of the regions of the world. We want to do it as well through our music, our calm melodies..."
These so-called calm melodies had Aadat's recordbreaking success catch the attention of Bollywood producers Mukesh and Mahesh Bhatt, who signed on the album's title track and Lamhay for their films. Yet, unlike Aslam, Mumtaz wanted to play an active role in Pakistan's music industry. He says: "Bollywood is not top priority. Our second album Boondh bagged the best album and best song awards in 2008 at the most prestigious awards ceremony in Pakistan, while India's MTV Asia called us the top band of the year. At the end of the day a quality product really matters."
Currently, the band is busy touring and Mumtaz reveals more concerts in the UAE are on the agenda. He explains: "The downturn has blocked things in Dubai and closed the window for the Asian music market. Still, the community wants to see artists performing and as things are getting better, we are lining up a couple of mega concerts in the coming months."
And what's the equation with Aslam, considering the parting was not amicable? "We are not enemies; we even played cricket together last month. We respect each other's talent and believe rather than pondering over our personal fights, we should be united as a nation and deliver the best for Pakistan's music industry. "
Fuzon
YEARS ACTIVE: 2001 to present
ORIGINAL LINE-UP: Shafqat Amanat Ali (lead vocals), Shallum Asher Xavier (guitar) and Imran Momina (keyboards and composer)
CLAIM TO FAME: Ankhon Ke Sagar
THE STORY: Back in 2001, Xavier and Momina wanted to launch a pop/rock/classical fusion band but lacked the skills as lead vocalist.
A chance meeting with Amanat Ali changed all that and Fuzon was formed.
The band released Sagar soon after, in both Pakistan and India. Amanat Ali was soon picked up by Bollywood, so left high and dry, Rameez Mukhtar signed on in 2007 as the vocalist.
Awaz
YEARS ACTIVE: 1992 to 2000
ORIGINAL LINE-UP: Haroon (lead vocals), Faakhir Mehmood (keyboards) and Assad Ahmed (guitar)
CLAIM TO FAME: Jadoo Ka Chiragh
THE STORY: The band emerged onto the Pakistan pop music arena in '93 with their self-titled album. But it was two years later that they really hit the big league with Jadoo Ka Chiragh. Many attribute their success to timing – Vital Signs had just disbanded and the country's music industry was looking for fresh faces.
However, in 2000 they split due to conflicts; Haroon and Faakhir launched their solo careers, while Ahmed launched his own rock band Karavan.
Strings
YEARS ACTIVE: 1989 to present
ORIGINAL LINE-UP: Bilal Maqsood (guitars), Faisal Kapadia (composer/lead vocals), Rafiq Wazir Ali (keyboard) and Kareem Bashir Bhoy (drums)
CLAIM TO FAME: Sarkiye Ae Pahar
THE STORY: Four friends jammed together in 1988 but walked away from fame. Kapadia and Maqsood reunited in 2000 and released Duur the same year – an album that shook-up the music industries in Pakistan and India. String has paved the way for other Pakistani acts to strike it big in Bollywood. Yet, Kapadia tells Emirates Business: "We are no pioneers. That credit goes to Vital Signs or Junoon."
Vital Signs
YEARS ACTIVE: 1987 to 1995
ORIGINAL LINE-UP: Junaid Jamshed (lead vocals), Rohail Hyatt (keyboard), Shehzad Hassan (bass) and Nusrat Hussain (guitar)
CLAIM TO FAME: Dil Dil Pakistan
THE STORY: The original boy band of Pakistan shot to fame in 1987 with Dil Dil Pakistan, voted the third most popular song of all time by BBC World. After changes in the line-up, Hussain parted ways with the band to make way for guitarist Salman Ahmad. But in 1990, Ahmad left Vital Signs to form Sufi-rock band, Junoon. The band parted ways and reunited many times, until in '95, Jamshed went solo. But he soon abandoned his music career and moved on to religious teachings.
SaFire Nights, featuring Jal. Tonight at Elegante, Royal Ascot Hotel. Ladies enter free before midnight. Dh150 (couples). Call 050 140 5526
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