10: Fuzon.
Genre: Pop/Pop-Rock. Formed: 2000

It is a big deal when a pop band which has, so far, just a single album to its credit, makes it to this list of Pakistan’s most influential pop acts.

Formed some five years ago, it didn’t take much time for the awkwardly spelled Fuzon to become a firm favorite of fans and critics alike. And even though before them many acts had already dabbled in the ambitious concept of fusing pop and rock with Eastern classical and filmi music, it was Fuzon which eventually came up trumps with the most convincing (and easy to swallow) outcome.

Their debut album almost single-handedly (along-with maybe String’s Duur), saved the local pop scene from the lethargy and complacency it found itself in at the start of the new millennium.

However, the magnum success of the album also meant a long bout of cold feet and nerves. A problem that for five years kept Fuzon from recording and releasing a follow-up album.

One can argue that it was intelligent of them to spend some time absorbing the sudden success, but perhaps too much time was wasted in getting videos made and/or more so, hob-knobbing with fashion designers?

But none of this (and the fact that they let themselves eat sour pie by agreeing to do a horrendous TV commercial for a candy company), can take away the aesthetic and commercial importance of their first album.

9: Hadiqa Kiani (Vocalist)
Genre: Pop/Filmi-Pop/Folk-Pop

Immensely talent and perhaps the second most popular Pakistani female pop star after the late Nazia Hassan, one can also say that had Hadiqa done full justice to her talents, she could actually have become even bigger than Nazia (no overstatement, this).

But this was not to be, as she slowly made her way up with the harmless, fluffy folksy-pop of Raaz, and then reaching a stunning peak with the versatile and highly entertaining Roshni, only to come tumbling down with the lethargic and dull, Rung. But recently, after surviving the personal emotional turmoil that led to the dismal credentials of Rung and her sudden fondness for maintaining a lavish designer wardrobe rather than concentrating on revitalizing her music, she is threatening to make an impressive comeback through an album she recorded with cult guitar hero, Aamir Zaki.

Her stay in the scene as a leading female vocalist is vital, now almost as important as was Nazia’s. Because such genuine talent can continue inspiring the more serious minded women to have a go at pop and (thus) portray it as something that ( to female artists), offers a lot more than either being mindless objects of “glamour” in male videos or blinding bodies mouthing off god-awful mehndi, shaadi or bhangra songs!

8: Aamir Zaki (Guitarist/Bassist/Vocalist/Songwriter)
Genre: Rock/FM-Pop/Jazz-Fusion/Progressive-Rock)

In spite of the fact that he has been around ever since the mid-80s when he arrived as a moody teenage guitar prodigy, Zaki’s career (and life) has been anything but smooth. His frequent hard falls in the realm of self-pitying cynicism and neurotic pessimism have continued to haunt him, enough to leave him as a seriously unfulfilled talent lacking the focus to go beyond recording a single solo album or doing a number of meaningless mercenary gigs with both established and obscure pop/rock acts. His talents had carved a terrific platform for him when the sudden post-Vital-Signs boom in the local scene embraced him as a solid, cult favorite with big expectations.

Unfortunately, most of this time was spend brooding and whining about the “fakeness” of the established acts and how misunderstood he was. He only barely managed to stay in the picture by continuing to do maverick gigs and sessions for a number of artists, showing the concrete side of his explosive talents only in spurts. His second chance came when he was approached by Vital Signs’ leader, Rohail Hayatt, to replace former Signs six-stringer, Rizwan in 1994. He joined them but soon ended up squabbling with Rohail and getting unceremoniously fired by the band. However, the tension did prompt him to finally record that long-awaited solo album. It did fairly okay commercially, but in no way did it capture the true spirit, steam and power of Zaki’s talents. He failed to focus in on this talent, instead venturing towards a new fetish of his: Jazz-fusion (ala Pat Matini).The only problem was, his new venture was mostly made up of half-baked ideas and pretentious/exhibitionist prowess as Signature came out sounding emotionally sterile.

Then started Zaki’s leanest period, as he gathered even more pessimism and emotional moss, until only recently showing some purpose when he finally anchored his withering self with a high profile project featuring Hadiqa (Rough Cut).

I believe here lies Zaki’s salvation.

7: Strings.
Genre: Pop/Soft-Rock. Formed: 1989. Disbanded: 1993. Re-formed: 1999

It’s been a strange ride indeed for Strings, as first they shone bright as a tight and melodic boy-band which, though successful, showed little or no interest in prolonging and bolstering this success with the help of a multinational sponsor.

Whereas their debut album sounded juvenile, it was their second album that first highlighted the band’s talents to generate something that was weightier than polite teeny-bopper-pop. In fact it was a pretty versatile album, as the band ran across convincing renditions of melodic pop and tight power-pop.

These achievements should have been encouraging enough for the band to continue ticking in the ‘90s, but they suddenly and all too abruptly called it a day. Some suggest that this was due to Pepsi approaching Awaz instead of Strings that made the band exit the scene.

The Strings’ comeback album, Duur (2002), was enough to make one wonder why on earth did they ever disband back in 1993? They are one of the last late-80s/early-‘90s bands to survive, (nay, revive), and what a revival it has been.

True that the lads’ compulsive-obsessive penchant for a rather permissive fetish for corporate sponsorships (Pepsi, Walls, Mobilink), can be an aesthetic and ethical deterrent, but their music has remained being a rapidly evolving phenomenon.

6: Abrar-ul-Haq (Vocalist)
Genre: Bhangra-Pop/Pop

Starting out looking no more than a one-hit wonder, Abrar has steadily progressed to become one of subcontinent’s biggest bhangra-pop stars. His debut album turned out to be a massive hit, mainly due to its jumpy title tune while rest of the album is just a tedious exercise in disposable bhangra. However, Abrar’s next two albums proved he was no freak fluke, as he enthusiastically stretched out to make bhangra-pop a lot more creditable compared to its usual throw-away, dime-a-dozen status. However even though in the next five years Abrar remained prolific, his romance with the bhangra-pop genre started to wear thin. He now seems to be running out of ideas. But this should not drain any prestige from the fact that Abrar has already become not only the biggest but also the most influential bhangra act in Pakistan. What’s more his frequent run-in’s with petty-bourgeoisie Punjabi conservatism has given a kind of a powerful social relevance to his music and stardom. Even though I’m sure this was never his (or his many sponsors’) prime intention.

5: Alamgir (Vocalist)
Genre: Filmi-Pop/Pop

First introduced by legendary composer, Sohail Rana in 1974, Alamgir arrived as a hip sounding archetypical ‘70s bohemian up against some major film playback talents in the shape of Madhi Hassan, Akhlaq Ahmed and Ahmed Rushdi. By the time he finished composing, recording and releasing the sound-track for an otherwise forgettable Lollywood flick, Bobby & Julie in 1976, he had become one of the land’s leading filmi-pop crooners. His song, the funky Daikha Na Tha from the said album turned out to be a huge hit, but the success did not overshadow his next three ventures, as he marched on with his melodic filmi-pop anthems and in the process introducing prototypes of genres such as Sufi-pop (Jugni), “patriotic-pop” (Khiyaal Rakhna) and localized pop-rock (Khay Dey Na).

And even though his downward slide had started in the late-‘80s, (especially during the time’s Vital Signs-led new pop outbreak), he had already influenced a whole new generation of local pop vocalists ranging from Junaid Jamshed to Aamir Saleem to Saleem Javed and Ali Haider. And his decline was in no way as sad and painfully bloated as was his main contemporary, Mohammad Ali Shaki’s.

4: Sajjad Ali (Vocalist)
Genre: Pop/Filmi-Pop/Pop-Rock

Hugely talented, Sajjad Ali, even after more than a decade of being in the business of making music, remains to be a potent force from whom one can still expect as much quality, class and excitement as can be found on his first four albums.

From classy post-Alamgir filmi-pop and across tight pop-rock and even some hip-hop, Sajjad seems to master any genre that takes his fancy. Almost all of his albums are highly enjoyable and dynamic packages of versatility and impressive displays of vocal prowess.
Though recently his famous consistency to continue producing quality stuff album after album seems to have diminished a bit, his influence and importance remains intact. What’s more, he is now the only modern Pakistani pop artist who in spite of being a powerful commercial draw and success, has never bothered to either run after a corporate sponsorship or agree to an unconditional yes at the command of interested multinationals. Kudos.

3: Nazia & Zoheb
Genre: Pop/Disco/Filmi-Pop. Formed: 1979. Disbanded: 1992

The charismatic brother and sister duo arrived riding a shimmering wave of one-dimensional disco that invaded the subcontinent and stayed there even long after it had died an unceremonious death in the West. This greatly helped N&Z as they gave veteran disco producer Biddu free reign to weave a spell of thumping disco beeps and bleeps around modern filmi melodies and Nazia and Zoheb’s distinct vocals. Millions of young Pakistanis who entered their teens during the Zia-ul-Haq regime, looked admiringly at the dynamic duo whose music helped them cope with the frustrating moral and reactionary idiosyncrasies of the dictatorship.

And how this music has dated well. Ironically, it is the music of the duo’s first three albums that can still sound fresh and inspiring compared to their later albums. That’s why it was no problem for Biddu to release a whole album of re-mixes in 2002, but without using any imagination. Much of the duo’s music still sounds ‘with it’ all on its own and doesn’t necessarily require a sophisticated jhankaar make-over.

2: Junoon
Genre: Sufi-Rock/Rock/Pop-Rock Formed: 1991. Disbanded: 2005

After quitting/being asked to leave the Vital Signs in late 1990, Salman Ahmed’s idealistic nature bordered on being clumsy and naïve. But it was his passionate focus and ambition to become a big time rock star that first made him launch Junoon with former Jupiters’ vocalist Ali Azmat. But to be a popular rock star, he was bold enough not to become yet another Signs clone. His idea for long-term relevance lay in the introduction of socially conscious rock music to the mainstream Pakistani scene. And which Junoon did quite convincingly.

As a driven individual who wanted to make “meaningful music,” he now seems to be poles apart from the cynical, desperate Salman Ahmed of today, wanting nothing more than to continue milking the wrinkled, meaningless cash-cow that Junoon became after 1999.

No one could have predicted after hearing the first shots of Junoon’s debut album that this band will graduate into becoming not only a major commercial success, but also a massive influence. But all this took time.

Junoon were making guitar-oriented music with opinionated political overtones and allusions long before this kind of a sound or attitude became accepted in the local pop scene. They stumbled their way across their juvenile debut which did show promise, even though it bombed miserably in the market. On the fiery Talaash they peaked with their early angry-young-band image, in the process starting to influence a number of acts who saw that it was not impossible to play riff-friendly rock over Urdu/Punjabi vocals. But it wasn’t until the brilliantly versatile and intense Inquilaab that Junoon managed to break out from the confines of cult rock and into the mainstream. By now preaching a “spiritual revolution” than a social one, Junoon then launched into the patchy Azaadi which gave another, more indulgent twist to the Sufi-Rock they picked upon on Inquilaab.

Then came their last great Sufi-Rock masterpiece, the nomadic, driven and inspired Parvaaz. Only to be followed by Ishq on which it was obvious that the Sufi-Rock formula was wearing thin and reaching dangerous levels of narrow self-indulgence. The album was a major disappointment, and by now Junoon had let go of its reputation of being fiercely independent by latching onto to an overbearing sponsorship deal with Coca-cola.

To many early Junoon enthusiasts Parvaaz was the band’s last hurrah, but in spite of rising criticism and accusations of being burned-out, the band actually went on to release two more albums, out of which only the live Dur-e-Junoon held some passing interest.

1: Vital Signs.
Genre: Pop/Filmi-Pop/FM-Rock. Formed: 1987. Disbanded: 1996

Maybe apart from Nazia Hassan, the only other Pakistani pop act that has retained such intense interest and popularity after its demise has been the Vital Signs.

Formed in 1987, the Signs released their debut album in early 1989 (VS:1). The sound and words of the album were certainly influenced by the rapidly turning socio-political events of the time. It was a euphoric time, of great hope and anticipation. An eleven-year-long hawkish dictatorship had been replaced by a liberal government.
VS:1 was a massive success, selling in millions. It was a happy album. It reflected well the mood of the time. It was all about hope and the safeguarding of the ideology of national pride coupled by the new generation’s liking for individuality, independence and free will.

However, the album’s last two songs were rather enigmatic. The melancholic “Musafir” and the autumn-brown “Yeh Shaam.” These opted for a more reflective outlook, pleading moments of introversion to come to terms with the other side of the euphoria.
The debut album’s success saw the Signs rapidly rising towards stardom. But soon cracks started to appear in the Signs shiny armor.

The Signs was made up of four very different personalities. Rohail was introverted and his quiet disposition helped him cultivate a good balance between artistic aspirations and sound business sense. However he did carry a hefty ego and a pretty potent penchant for sly Machiavellian intrigue.

Salman on the other hand was an outright extrovert. He too carried a hefty ego. Things started to fall apart between the two. Junaid Jamshed was a volatile character, as emotionally impressionable and contradictory as he is today as a tableeghi. He went about as a man tormented by a sense of burdensome guilt; guilt about something no-one, not even himself was able to define.

He was close to both Rohail and Salman, but could not defuse the tension between the two. In the end when the Signs were approached by Pepsi (in late 1990), Junaid decided to side with Roahil as he managed to completely isolate the capricious guitarist.
Pressured by Pepsi to come out with a brand new album, the Signs called in Rizwan-ul-Haq as Salman’s replacement.

On the second album (VS:II), the Signs mentor and lyricist, Sohaib Mansoor’s lyrics remained to be reflective musings about lost chances and of urban existential crisis being tackled by a highly romanticized version of the concept of nostalgia. Junaid was a huge admirer of these lyrics, and sang them with great commitment and meaning. It was as if he was tackling his own awkward emotional crisis of the self with these songs (Rahi, Ajnabi, Yaad Rakhna).

The resulting sound was heavily melancholic and introverted.

This is also perhaps the Signs’ most political album, alluding to the loss of innocence, hope and euphoria that bloomed in 1988 (Aisa Na Ho). By 1991 these lay crushed under the weight of a new round of ethnic and sectarian violence and political corruption.
In 1993 the band entered the studios to record their third album, Aitebaar. Pepsi had raised the stakes, enough for it to meddle in the ways the new Signs album should sound. They had not enjoyed VS:2’s “depressing tone” and pressurized the band to make the new album sound a lot like the first one.

Aitebaar remains to be the Signs’ weakest album. Highly predictable, it did have its moments, though. But these were too far and in-between.

Interestingly (but not surprisingly), it went on to sell a lot more copies than both VS:1 and VS:2. This was expected in a scene that was still in grip of made-to-order filmi-pop.
And just when it seemed things had settled down, Rohail pulled another blackened ace. He decided that the time had come for VS “to go international.” This he used as the excuse to give the band’s second guitarist, Rizwan-ul-Haq, the boot. Many years later however, a majority (including Rohail), agreed that Rizwan’s subtle but highly melodic style was near-perfect for the Signs’ sound.

In came his replacement, the volatile and moody guitar prodigy, Aamir Zaki. But he didn’t last long, ending up supporting the wrong side in the Rohail-Junaid tug of war. Rohail conveniently booted him out as well.

Former Awaz guitarist, Asad Ahmed was hired to complete Hum Tum. It was a refreshing return to the deep blue sound and mood first investigated on VS:2. And if you minus the first two tracks of the album, it is way up there with VS:2, but perhaps a lot more influential. Lost opportunities and melancholic angst (Main Chup Raha, Dair Hogai, Hum Tum), too returned as main themes and so did sonic allusions to the prog-rock of Floyd and Genesis.

Unfortunately, Hum Tum became the Signs swan song. And (surprisingly), not even did Pepsi’s reckoning was able to bring the band together. And anyways, by now Rohail and Shahzad had drifted away from Junaid. Nothing seemed common between the three. And many years later, dozens of attempts and rumors of a reunion have come to a naught.