Today marks the 24th death anniversary of Nazia Hassan, who lost her battle with lung cancer.
Discover 5 intriguing little-known facts about Nazia Hassan & Zoheb Hassan that many at home might not be aware of! Keep reading to find out:
A BBC Sounds podcast embarked on a narrative journey delving into the tale of a brother-sister duo from Pakistan in the 1980s. Topping charts worldwide with their sensational hit, “Disco Deewane,” the podcast, featuring archival interviews with the late Nazia Hassan and recent conversations with her brother, intriguingly revealed numerous previously unknown facts.
Nazia Hassan and Zoheb Hassan were a Pakistani pop duo from Pakistan. Nazia was the singer and Zoheb was the composer and producer. They are widely regarded as pioneers of the Pakistani pop scene, and one of the most successful Asian pop duos of all time, selling more than 105 million albums worldwide. The duo gained prominence in 1980 with their music single “Aap Jaisa Koi”, which was featured in the Indian film Qurbani. The song was a massive hit in both Pakistan and India, and launched Nazia and Zoheb’s careers.
Over the next decade, Nazia and Zoheb released a string of hit albums, including Disco Deewane (1981), Boom Boom (1982), and Young Tarang (1983). Their music was a unique blend of Western pop, disco, and traditional Pakistani sounds. Their lyrics were often romantic and upbeat, and their catchy melodies and energetic performances made them popular with audiences of all ages.
The brother and sister duo were the disco superstars in the 80’s everyone jammed to. Just two teenagers who got world famous but kept their heads down and studied hard for their exams. But here’s what we even as Pakistani’s might not have known about them:
1. Nazia Hassan Was A True Star From Day One
The brother and sister duo, Nazia Hassan & Zoheb Hassan moved to england when they were 7 and 5 respectively. Zoheb remembered:
“I was a chubby little child, didn’t like to sing that much, surprisingly I was more into playing tennis. My sister was a star from day one, she loved the glamour and the limelight and all that, and I was a real introvert”
2. The Journey That Changed Their Path
Their mother sent them both who were still quite young, alone on a plane ride to manchester. “My mother sent us both, alone on a plane ride. We come from a
from Karachi, a small city in Pakistan and we landed at Manchester airport it was a complete culture shock. The sight and the sounds that caught our eye, we were totally in awe.”
Why was that journey so important? Because it was that same journey from the airport where Zoheb and Nazia fell in love with pop music. “My uncle played the radio and asked have you heard pop music? And my sister said no I would love to hear it!” Right then is when their destiny entwined with pop music.
Growing up in england in the 1970’s was hard but their grandmother taught them to stand up to the racists.”She said look wherever you go in the world, whether it be the UK or Pakistan you have to make a space for yourself kids. Nobody is going to do it for you. You have to create your own little space! That comes through achievement and keeping your chin high!” Those words that stuck with them as they tried to make it in the tough world of music.
3. Their Big Break Which They Didn’t Truly Realise The Impact Of
Their big break came, when Nazia’s voice reached the ears of legendary music producer Biddu, who asked her to sing the song “app jaisa koi“, in the 1988 bollywood film Qurbani. Nazia Hassan spoke to BBC radio about not thinking it was a big deal in 1982: “In india there are about 300 films a year and there about 6 songs in each, so my singing one song for one film didn’t really mean very much to anybody but strangely enough that particular song became number 1 on the charts they had, and it stayed on top for 13 months!”
Just 17 days after their first record album was released, it went platinum, altogether a million copies were sold in India, Pakistan and South America.
4. Pioneers Of Disco Pop
It’s true disco music wasn’t either the subcontinent’s forte nor was it an interest but in India they were the first teenagers ever to make a hit record, as Nazia told the BBC in 1982: “Most of the teengaers who wanted something different would buy western records, people like the Beatles, Abba, they are very big in india. We introduced a new kind of music because in india the music wasn’t really danceable it was kind of more romantic and sentimental. We introduced what is now termed as disco music.”
5. The State Of Affairs In India VS At Home
The brother and sister lived a rather simple life, not realizing the adulation the public had for them but it was not until they actually travelled to India that Zoheb and Nazia realized just how big they had become. “When we went to calcutta, there were 70,000 people, we were told would come out and block the main road in front of the Sheraton Oberoi where we were staying. They came to see both of us, and get a glimpse of us, and the hotel people said we are sorry we ll have to get a helicopter to get you out because the entire road of calcutta, is just blocked” revealed Zoheb Hassan.
But in their homeland of pakistan, it was a different story, a rather disappointingly sad one: “the Mullahs they got together, tried to ban us two kids dressed up in a kind of semi western attire, doing western moves on tv, singing pop numbers”
He further revealed, the situation had escalated so much so that: “General zia, the military dictator at that time he called us up and he said kids I think you should leave the country because there was a complete uproar, it was very scary. So our parents said kids just leave so we came back to the UK with our aunt and uncle and we stayed here for a while but you must understand, the general public – loved it, the kinds went crazy.”
They continued to make music from the UK, until the 1990’s when Nazia Hassan became too ill to work. She died in 2000 from lung cancer at the age of 35.
Some Thoughts To Part With
Why do we have a repeated history of never appreciating our legends? The pioneers and icons of our nation? Somehow the world around us does our part while we only succeed at shunning them away. The pop duo whose songs featured in the top most popular bollywood hits, heard and danced to across clubs and gatherings around the world and our nation forced them to leave? Has the extremism and religious clamp down done more harm than good?
Nevertheless, we’re pleased that contemporary musicians enjoy greater artistic freedom, allowing them to share their work with fans and the public. We believe it’s not too late to rejuvenate Pakistan’s musical talents and express gratitude for transcending past eras that upheld dictatorship.
