Islamabad , December 7 (NIA): When Junaid Jamshed died in the plane crash at Chitral on Wednesday, Pakistan lost a singing sensation who dominated the Urdu pop scene in the 1990s with his band Vital Signs .Turning to religion and Islamic evangelism in the next decade, he abandoned pop and light music and took to religious music and made a mark in that too.
Born on September 3, 1965 and educated at the the University of Engineering and Technology (Lahore), Junaid enjoyed a 17-year stint in the Pakistani pop music industry.
He shot to fame as Vital Signs’ vocalist, which emerged in 1987 as the project of reclusive TV producer Shoaib Mansoor. He wanted them to to record a patriotic song and video. The song went on to become the timeless track ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’, Dawn says.
The hit propelled the band into becoming one of the country’s biggest modern pop acts that would go on to record four best-selling albums and head dozens of concerts between 1989 and 1996. It also bagged the group a lucrative contract from Pepsi Co. Pakistan.
Coupled with his singing talent, Junaid’s good looks earned him a huge female fan following.
He went solo in 1994, releasing his debut solo album, Junaid of Vital Signs.
He followed up that up with two more solo albums, Us Rah Par in 1999 and Dil Ki Baat in 2002.
But he was soon to wind up his musical career.
In 2004, Jamshed left the music industry after a spiritual awakening, choosing to devote his life to religious activities.
He released his debut religious album, Jalwa-e-Janan in 2005. He followed that up with Mehboob-e-Yazdaan in 2006, Badr-ud-Duja in 2008, and Badee-uz-Zaman in 2009.
Junaid Jamshed made a brief return from his musical hiatus with the release of ‘Chand Sitara’ in August last year, a collaboration with Vital Signs and Junoon, one of Pakistan’s other most iconic pop/rock bands.
At the launch, Junaid Jamshed went on stage to perform ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’.
