Junoon (Urdu: جنون, literal English translation: "obsession/passion") is a sufi rock band from Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, formed in 1990.[1] The band is directed by founder, guitarist and songwriter Salman Ahmad, who was soon joined by keyboardist Nusrat Hussain and vocalist Ali Azmat.[2] Junoon is Pakistan's most successful band; the Q magazine regarded them as "One of the biggest bands in the world" where as The New York Times called Junoon "the U2 of Pakistan".[3] Since their inception, the group has released a collective total of seventeen albums: seven studio albums; one soundtrack; two live albums; four video albums; and three compilations. Junoon is also South Asia's most successful band of all time with more than 30 million albums sold worldwide.[4]
Pioneers of the sufi rock[5][6], with such an original sound they achieved success during the early 1990s. Its members were signed to major record label EMI Records and afterwards released their self-titled debut album Junoon in 1991.[2] After two years, the band recorded their second album Talaash (1993) with their new bassist Brian O'Connell after Nusrat Hussain left the band. The release of their second album began to create a cult following for the band. In 1996, Junoon released their third album Inquilaab, and it was only then that Junoon developed a nationwide fan following, with blending rock guitars and bluesy vocals with eastern elements like the use of tablas, raga-inspired melodies, traditional Pakistani folk music, and Eastern inspired poetry.[2] The following year, the band recorded the critically acclaimed Azadi (1997), being the band's first international record deal, and making it Junoon's debut album in India. The band went on to record and release Parvaaz in 1999. The band found renewed success and popularity starting with 2001's Andaz and through 2003's Dewaar and their supporting tours.
After the release of their seventh studio album, vocalist Ali Azmat and lead guitarist Salman Ahmad went on to pursue a career as a solo singer and bassist Brian O' Connell returned back to his native land to United States.[7] Although Junoon's two other members, Ali Azmat and Brain O'Connell, left the band in 2005, Salman Ahmad continues to perform as a solo artist under the "Junoon" label and has moved to New York. In 2010, Junoon released the soundtrack album Rock & Roll Jihad based on Salman Ahmad and Junoon's musical journey throughout the years.
Early years (1980–1989)
Junoon's roots stretch back to Tappan, New York, in the 1970s. Salman Ahmad left Lahore, Pakistan, for New York with his family when he was eleven, and received his baptism in rock music when a friend offered him a ticket to a Led Zeppelin concert. Salman Ahmad was so enthralled by the show that he saved $235 to buy his own electric guitar. He also befriended Brian O'Connell in Tappan, another young aspiring musician. Before the two friends could take their aspirations out of the basement and onto the stage, Salman Ahmad's parents sent him back to Pakistan in 1980 to study medicine at King Edward's Medical College.[8][9]
In 1987, Nusrat Hussain, by then the lead guitarist of the band Vital Signs, after composing the song "Dil Dil Pakistan" parted ways with Vital Signs and suggested Rohail Hyatt, founder and keyboardist of Vital Signs, to bring Salman Ahmad as his replacement in the band. Vital Signs then went on to record their debut album at the EMI Studios in Karachi, but almost all the songs were written and composed at Salman Ahmad's residence where the band had been lodged. In March 1989, the band released their debut album, Vital Signs 1, which was a success throughout the country. The following year, Salman Ahmad parted ways the most successful pop band of Pakistan as he wanted a change in the band's music for their second album and therefore after leaving the band he went on to form his own band.[10] First, he recruited singer Ali Azmat from the Jupiters and then the former Vital Signs lead guitarist, Nusrat Hussain, on keyboards.
Formation (1990–1993)
Junoon, during it's early days, rehearsing before a concert. Visible from left to right are; Ustad Ashiq Ali and Salman Ahmad.
Junoon formed in 1990 when Salman Ahmad, founder, songwriter and lead guitarist, had a dream where one of his teachers shook him and said "Tumhey mousiqui ka Junoon hai!" (You have an obsession for music!).[2][1] Junoon were not an over night success, the band members struggled for the first few years. Their self-titled debut album, Junoon, recorded at the EMI Studios in Karachi barely made a dent in the Pakistani music industry when released in January 1991.[2] After the release of their debut album, Nusrat Hussain parted ways with the band to pursue his own career as a solo singer and went on to release his debut solo album Amrit in 1992.[11]
After the departure of Nusrat Hussain, Salman Ahmad contacted Brian O'Connell and invited him to play bass on the band's second album. Brian O'Connell quit his job as a social worker and traveled 10,000 miles to Karachi, Pakistan, where he reunited with his old friend. It was after ten years the friends reunited.[8] In 1992, the band started working on their second studio album. The album was recorded and mixed at Tahir Gul Hasan's Sound On Sound recording studios in Karachi. While working on their second album at one side, on the other hand the band also featured in a television series, Talaash, directed by Atiqa Odho and written by Anwar Maqsood, based on the true story of the band in which the band members acted themselves and due to its novel storyline it became an extremely popular television series in Pakistan.[12] The television series were aired on PTV.
On September 23, 1993, Junoon released their second album Talaash which began to create a cult of a following for the band. Singles from the album, such as "Talaash", were politically influenced and became subject to censorship, which led to the eventual ban from all state run television and radio during the rule of by then the Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif.
Rise to fame (1994–1997)
In 1994, Junoon started working on their third studio album. In 1995, the band released their first compilation album, Kashmakash, which is believed to be the very first compilation album by a band in Pakistan. Junoon were courted for the controversial video release of the single "Ehtesaab", from Kashmakash, which included footage of a polo pony eating in a posh restaurant. Many thought that the image was an indictment of the corrupt Pakistani political elite, and especially of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.[13] The government quickly responded to it and banned the song and video from the state television.[8] In 1996, the band released their third studio album, Inquilaab, which was a blend of western music with classical eastern sufi music. It was the release of their third album when Junoon started to gain success and began to reach a wider audience when one of their singles, "Jazba-e-Junoon", became the signature song of the Cricket World Cup.[8]
Following the success of their third album release, the following year Junoon went on their first full-scale tour of the United States, performing from Birmingham, Alabama, to Los Angeles where they appeared at the House of Blues[8] and from there to New York's Roosevelt Hotel, which featured in Newsweek Magazine. They also went on tour to Canada and the UAE through which Junoon's fame grew rapidly. In September 1997, Junoon released their fourth studio album, Azadi, which was the band's first international record deal after the band manager, Shehryar Ahmad, secured a deal with EMI/Virgin Records and making it their debut album in India. Within three months of the release of Azadi, the album had sold over half a million copies and hit platinum sales status in a record of four weeks.[14][8] The music video of the first single, "Sayonee", was shot by Aism Reza which became an instant hit in South Asia and the Middle East, shooting to the top of all the Asian charts, and staying at #1 on both Channel V and MTV Asia for over two months.
Later that year, Junoon went on their first Indian tour. The band's first concert was held in New Delhi, India. After traveling throughout the country, Junoon saw crowds of as many as of 50,000 fans at different venues. The band was courted for a controversy during their tour to India by the Pakistani government. The Indian government was testing nuclear devices at that time, and Salman Ahmad suggested that the Indian and Pakistani leaders should spend more on education and health and less on weapons.[8] This led to a prolonged ban on Junoon's music by the Pakistani government. PTV, the Pakistan state television, refused to show the audience even clips from Junoon releases. The Ministry of Culture charged Junoon with making comments in India amounting to sedition and treason. The band members denied these charges, reminding people of the fact that they had been victimised since the release of "Ehtesaab" because they chose to speak out against political corruption.[15]
Success (1998–2000)
In March 1998, Zee TV invited Junoon to perform at the star-studded Zee Cine Awards in Mumbai, where the group received accolades from the crème de la crème of India's entertainment industry.[16] On August 9, 1998, Junoon performed at the Central Park in New York, this concert was one of most famous concerts done by the band.[17] Later that year, Junoon won the "Best International Group" title at the Channel V Music Awards, where they performed along with world-wide icons Sting, The Prodigy and Def Leppard.[18] Azadi was nominated for "Best International Album", having achieved the prestigious honour of being the highest selling album in Pakistan, Bangladesh and India that year. Junoon then went on to perform at the BBC Mega Mela, which is the largest South Asian festival outside of South Asia, held in London, England. Junoon performed at all three days of the Mela and performed at the BBC Asian Awards where they were also awarded for their "Contribution to Asian Culture".[19]
In March 1999, the Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in a spirit of cross-border friendship, invited the band to perform at the anniversary of his government in Delhi. Travelling in the same gilded bus that Vajpayee had travelled cross-border to shake hands with Pakistan and sign the Lahore declaration, Junoon crossed the Wagah border from Lahore into India. In a very emotional performance before the Prime Minister, they performed the Jupiters hit, "Dosti" onstage with Indian group, Silk Route. Later the same year, Junoon released their fifth studio album, Parvaaz, which was recorded and mixed at Abbey Road Studios in London and was hailed by many critics as the finest work by Junoon to date and was released by EMI internationally and by Lips Records in Pakistan. Bulleya
Bulleya, Junoon's single from their fifth studio album Parvaaz. The single is a poetry by famous sufi poet Bulleh Shah. Problems listening to this file? See media help.
The album was mostly based on the poetry of Bulleh Shah and singles from the album such as "Bulleya", "Sajna", "Ghoom" and "Mitti" were a success and did well at the music charts. The album was produced by John Alec who came from New York to work on the band's fifth studio album. Also in 1999, UNESCO invited Junoon to perform at their Millennium Peace concert held in Paris, France. Junoon were presented with an award "Outstanding Achievements in Music and Peace" by UNESCO. The event was attended by many well known artists from around the world like Yesudas [20], Lionel Richie, Montserrat Caballe and Zubin Mehta. Famous actors like Gregory Peck, Sidney Poitier, and Peter Ustinov were also present at the concert. By the end of the year, Junoon toured to Bangladesh, where 45,000 ecstatic fans attended the concert at the Bangladesh Army Stadium in Dhaka.
In 2000, Junoon released a compilation of their albums and videos, Millennium 1990-2000, through Lips Music Records. The compilation album consisted of singles like "Azadi", "Muk Gaye Nay" and live tracks like "Allah Hu". Later the same year, Junoon performed in Japan. On June 30, 2000, the band then went on to perform at the European Rock Festival, Roskilde Festival, near Copenhagen, in Denmark.[21] Junoon became the first Asian band to perform at the festival and performed along with many well known bands and musicians like Pearl Jam, Iron Maiden, The Cure, Queensrÿche and many other well known artists from around the world.[22] At the end of the year, Junoon performed at a concert in Dubai, UAE, with Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam, with nearly 20,000 in attendance, which was organised by Oberoi Middle East Events
Continued success (2001–2004)
In March 2001, Junoon released its sixth studio album, Andaz (titled as Ishq in Pakistan). The album topped the music charts in Pakistan as well as in the Gulf and South Asia. The first single entitled "Zamanae Ke Andaz (Saqi-Nama) made it to #1 in the Gulf and to #5 on the Asian charts. In April, Junoon performed to a sold out concert at the Wembley Arena in London and went on to perform at the "United for Gujrat" concert, the first Soth Asian rock concert, held in New Delhi along with bands from India and Bangladesh, singing together to raise funds for the Gujrat Earthquake victims. In June, Salman Ahmad attended the UN General Assembly in New York where he was appointed as the 'Goodwill Ambassador' of Pakistan by United Nations.[23][2] On June 30, Junoon performed at the Celebrate Brooklyn festival at Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn, New York. On July 7, the band performed at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, Illinois. In September, Junoon performed in Norway with Morten Harket of a-ha[24] as they performed a duet, "Piya (Ocean of Love)".[25][26][27] Later the same year, the band went on to perform at China as well.
Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Junoon, in the aftermath of the attacks, traveled to the United States for a series of shows at universities and high schools. By the end of 2001 Junoon had once again been embraced by the Pakistani government, and were even joined on stage by then the President, General Pervez Musharraf, as he invited them to perform at the mausoleum of Pakistan's founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, on Jinnah's birthday.[8] In October of that year the band played a peace concert at the United Nations (UN). On November 29, 2001, the music television channel, VH1, aired a special doucmentary, Islamabad: Rock City, about the group hosted by Susan Sarandon.[28][29][8]
Although Junoon continues to promote peace and harmony, the band also speaks out on contentious issues that most popular groups avoid. The band served as goodwill ambassadors for HIV/AIDS awareness for the UN and raised several issues. In 2002, Junoon opened a new chapter by releasing the antiterrorism song "No More" in English, yet another attempt by the group to spread their message to a wider audience.[8]
Junoon performing live at Webster Hall, New York City, on June 6, 2004. Visible from left to right are; Ali Azmat and Salman Ahmad.
However, before the release of this single Junoon had released English songs on their first two albums, such as "Our Land", "Lady Magic", "Downtown Princes" and "Game Of Chance". The song "No More" is the first English song for which Junoon made a video.[30][31] CNN aired a 30 minute interview of Junoon on the program Talk Asia. They received rave reviews in The New York Times, Billboard Magazine, The New York Post, Newsweek, and others.[32][33] On March 29, 2002, Junoon released their second live album and the overall twelfth album, Daur-e-Junoon.[34]
On June 18, 2003, Junoon performed live at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England. On July, 17, 2003, the documentary The Rock Star and the Mullahs by Wide Angel was aired on BBC based upon Junoon and music in Islam.[35][36] In December 2003, Junoon released their seventh studio album, Dewaar.[37] The single "Garaj Baras" was selected as the soundtrack of the Bollywood movie Paap directed by Pooja Bhatt[38], the song topped the charts in the country again in 2004. Another single off the album "Pappu Yaar" shot to the #1 spot on the music charts in Pakistan. This was the album which last featured the trio together. After the release of the band's seventh studio album bassist, Brian O'Connell went back to United States and vocalist, Ali Azmat went on to pursue his career as a solo singer. In April 2004, Junoon released their third compilation album, Dewaar: The Best of Junoon. In August, Junoon released Ghoom Taana video and a special documentary entitled "Building Bridges" which was screened at a launch ceremony in Karachi in time for the Independence Day celebrations of Pakistan and India.
Dewaar was the album which last featured the trio together. After the release of the album Brian O'Connell went back to United States.[39] Since his departure, Pakistani musician Mekaal Hasan and the band's producer John Alec have been playing bass guitar for live shows in place. On March 3, 2005, Salman Ahmad appeared on the documentary It's My Country Too: Muslim Americans aired on BBC television documentary strand This World.[40] The last Junoon concert to feature Ali Azmat took place in Dubai, UAE in March 2005 after which Ali Azmat went on to pursue his career as a solo singer. Later the same year, he released his debut solo album, Social Circus.[41][42] Shehryar Ahmad, the band manager also departed from the band. Salman Ahmad also released his debut solo album, Infiniti in July 2005.[43]
In September 2007, Junoon re-released three albums, Parvaaz, Azadi and Infiniti with Magnatune. On December 11, 2007, Junoon performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway together with a variety of artists, which was broadcast live to over 100 countries.[44] On May 25, 2008, Junoon performed in Srinagar for the first time and turned thousands of music lovers hysterical.[45][46][47]
On June 8, 2008, Ali Azmat performed a duet of "Garaj Baras" with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan along with singles from his solo albums at the Coke Studio season one first session.[48] On August 15, 2008, Ali Azmat released his second album, Klashinfolk[49], which was recorded at Mekaal Hasan Studios in Lahore.[50] The album received significant critical acclaim across Pakistan, although, like the previous album, it was not a huge commercial success.
Rock & Roll Jihad (2009–present)
Salman continues to take the band to new heights. From performing at the Nobel Peace Prize, featuring at the Clinton Global Initiative to performing at the Atlantic City House of Blues with Multi Academy/Grammy winning artist Melissa Etheridge after collaborating with her on one of her albums.[51] Salman also featured in the series of Mystical Sufi Tours throughout the US and Canada. He has performed at various famous educational institutions throughout the world, including places like Oxford, Harvard, Yale, Stanford etc various times and continues to actively tour and engage college audiences. He also happens to be actively involved as a professor of Islamic Arts at Queens College NY.
On September 12, 2009, Junoon performed at "The Concert for Pakistan" along with other musicians from around the world which included, Outlandish, Sting held at the UN General Assembly Hall.[52] On November 30, 2009, Salman Ahmad, as Junoon, announced that the first single from the upcoming album will be "Love Can You Take Me Back".[53] On January 12, 2010, Salman Ahmad published a book, Rock & Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star’s Revolution for Peace, regarding his time with Junoon and all the struggle he faced to become a rockstar.[54] On November 30, 2009, Junoon announced that the first single off the album would be the song "Love Can You Take Me Back".[55] On March 14, 2010, Junoon released the video of their first single. On March 25, 2010, Salman Ahmad was invited at the television programme Good Day L.A. where he talked about his soundtrack album and about the book.[56]
On July 23, 2010, Salman Ahmad was present at the opening ceremony of Masala Mehndi Masti 2010 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. On July 24, Salman Ahmad with his band performed at the Masala Mehndi Masti 2010.[57] On July 26, Salman Ahmad appeared on the BBC television programme, HARDtalk, where he talked about religion and music in Islam.[58] In August, Salman Ahmad was interviewed by American music magazine The Rolling Stone, he talked about his novel and the soundtrack album based on the novel. In the interview, Salman informed that in India the book will be published by Jaico Publishing House and will be accompanied by a free cd which includes two singles, "Love Can You Take Me Back" and "Bulleya/Lonely Heart" and also including two other tracks, "Sayonee" and "Meri Awaz Suno". Salman also confirmed that he's currently working on a new Junoon album release, which will release in next year.[59] On August 16, in an interview with BBC World Service, Salman Ahmad confirmed that he's writing a song named "Khwab" for the Pakistan flood victims in order to raise funds for them. He also confirmed that the song will be internationally released within a few week's time and hopes to record it with Pakistani and Western artists.[60] After a few days, it was confirmed that Salman Ahmad will collaborate with Peter Gabriel on the song "Khwab", in an attempt to raise funds for the Pakistan flood victims.[61] On August 25, Salman Ahmad talked to Dutch TV about organizing a charity concert with various artists to collect money for the flood victims in Pakistan.[62] In September, Salman Ahmad confirmed that he has collaborated with Alison Sudol on the song "Pakistan Humara" for the Pakistan flood victims.[63] Salman further added that Peter Gabriel will be bringing his genius to the song on September 6th. “Will try and send a picture from the studio”, says Salman.
In an interview with ABC News, it was confirmed that both the U.S. & British governments have enlisted Salman Ahmad to speak against extremism.[64] On October 29, 2010, Salman Ahmad released the song "Open Your Eyes" with Peter Gabriel and Alison Sudol for the Pakistan flood relief. The song was launched on November 2, to be downloaded from digital music sites globally. Each dollar for download will go to Pakistan flood relief through their charity organisation, Salman and Samina Global Wellness initiative (SSGWI)
Language
On their debut album Junoon and their second album Talaash, songs were written in both the English and Urdu languages, but since then the band has only written songs in Urdu, with the only exceptions being "No More" from the live album Junoon for Peace and the single "Piya (Ocean of Love)", which is a duet with Morten Harket of a-ha. The soundtrack album Rock & Roll Jihad released in 2010 contain five tracks written in English by Salman Ahmad.
Influence
Salman Ahmad, writer of most of the band's lyrics and music scores, says that he gets most of his inspiration for Junoon's songs from Led Zeppelin and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan music.[2] Songs like "Lal Meri Pat" (from Azadi), "Dharti" (from Andaz) and "Mera Mahi" (from Inquilaab) are some examples of this influence. Other songs, such as "Garaj Baras" and "Taara Jala" (from Dewaar) have elements of hard rock,[66] and some others, like "Yaar Bina" (from Azadi), "Zamane Ke Andaz (from Andaz) and the album Parvaaz have elements of classical music. Bands stated as influence include Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Van Halen, U2, Bee Gees, a-ha and Queen.[2]
Poetry by famous poets like Maulana Rumi, Allama Iqbal and Bulleh Shah are also a big influence on Junoon's music.[67][68] The album Parvaaz is a tribute album to Bulleh Shah and is mostly based on Bulleh Shah's poetry. The song "Zamane Ke Andaz", from the album Andaz, is a poem by Allama Iqbal.
On the other hand, Junoon has also been noted as a source of inspiration for other bands. Atif Aslam, former lead vocalist of rock band Jal, has done many covers of Junoon's music, most notably "Dosti" of which a video was also released.[69] Atif Aslam also acknowledged that Junoon had greatly inspired him. Goher Mumtaz, lead guitarist of Jal, has also shown fondness for Junoon and acknowledged that some early work of the band has inspired him.[70] Pakistani rock band Call performed a live session cover of Junoon's hit song "Bulleya" on Indus Music.[71] American rock band Black Leaf Clover used Junoon's instrumental song "Aap aur Hum" (from Talaash) for the song "Breathe" from their self-titled debut album.[
Musical style Jazba-e-Junoon
Jazba-e-Junoon, Junoon's single from their third studio album Inquilaab. Garaj Baras
Garaj Baras, Junoon's single from their seventh studio album Dewaar. The single also featured as a soundtrack of the Bollywood movie Paap directed by Pooja Bhatt. Problems listening to these files? See media help.
Junoon performs a blend of western music and classical eastern poetry. Junoon aimed to combine loud guitar riffs with the tranquility of sufi poetry by the likes of Maulana Rumi, Shah Hussain, Bulleh Shah and Allama Iqbal.[2] Their music has been based on worldly issues and to have peace in the world. Their music has been one major force which has truly kept the national spirits high amidst the prevailing social woes which have surely worsened in the last three decades. Songs like "Jazba-e-Junoon", "Talaash", "Main Kaun Hoon" and "Sayonee" are examples. Their music has been captivating to the Pakistani youth for over ten years and have been the only saving grace of Pakistani music internationally after the departure of groups like Vital Signs and Nazia and Zoheb.[73] Junoon's music has also been compared by some critics with the likes of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Lata Mangeshkar.
While the music of Junoon is centered around a male lead singer, the band has also featured some female vocals on their albums ever since their self-titled debut release Junoon. Since the release of their third studio album Inquilaab the band's music has been based on classical eastern poetry blending with western music. Their seventh studio album Dewaar featured elements of hard rock music with songs like "Garaj Baras" and "Dewaar".[74]
Live performances
As the band started to gain success after the release of their third studio album Inquilaab, Junoon went on their first full scale tour of the United States, performing from Birmingham, Alabama, to Los Angeles where the appeared at the House of Blues[8] and from there to New York's Roosevelt Hotel, which featured in Newsweek Magazine.
Junoon performing live at the Channel V Music Awards in 1999.
During the tour to India in 1997, Junoon saw crowds of as many as of 50,000 fans at different venues. The band was courted for a controversy during their tour to India by the Pakistani government. The Indian government was testing nuclear devices at that time, and Salman Ahmad suggested that the Indian and Pakistani leaders should spend more on education and health and less on weapons. This lead to a prolonged ban on Junoon's music by the Pakistani government. PTV, the Pakistan state television, refused to show the audience even clips from Junoon releases.
Junoon also became the first band ever to perform at an UN conference when they performed their Millennium Peace concert held in Paris, France. For their performances they were presented with an award, "Outstanding Achievements in Music and Peace", by UNESCO.
One of the most popular concerts that Junoon performed was their tour to Denmark and Europe in 2000-2001. This tour played a pivotal role in increasing Junoon's international popularity and standing and in spreading awareness about Pakistani music. During their tour to Denmark they became the first Asian band to perform at the Roskilde Festival along with many well known bands and musicians like Pearl Jam, Iron Maiden, The Cure, Queensrÿche and many other well known artists from around the world. On September 5, 2001, Junoon performed in Norway with Morten Harket of a-ha as they performed a duet, "Piya (Ocean of Love)", at the Oslo Spektrum which attracted a crowd of about 3000 people.
