Written by: Haroon Shuaib
Posted on: September 15, 2022 | 
| 中文
Junaid Jamshed
It was in the mid-80s that a rather quiet-looking young man, Junaid Jamshed, son of an air force officer, enrolled at the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, to become an engineer. This wasn’t how he had planned his future, so obviously, he was a bit dejected. He had always imagined being an aviator like his father. Like many young people of that time, he indulged in his favorite hobby as an escape – music. In university, he formed a band with a few fellow students and started performing at college and inter-college gigs. The band was called Nuts n Bolts and J.J., as he was called by his friends, was the vocalist and the face of the band. In Rawalpindi, two other young men, Rohail Hayat and Shahzad Hasan (Shahi) had been making music and were on the lookout for a vocalist. Their paths crossed at a concert in Peshawar and they decided to join hands. They soon began performing in different parts of the country after having secured a place in the underground music industry in Islamabad and Lahore. The band got noticed by Ranna Kanwal, a student of the Pakistan Television National Academy. Raana Kanwal was looking for a music video as her final year assignment. She chose this group’s original track ‘Chehra Mera Tha’, a poetic piece written by the legendary Urdu poetess Parveen Shakir. Her instructor of that time, creative genius Shoaib Mansoor, didn’t care much about the track or the video, but loved the energy that this young group of boys was exuding through their music, mannerism, and contemporary vibes on screen. He contacted them and their first chance to do a song for PTV materialized. Nisar Nasik, an established lyricist of Islamabad, was engaged and ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ was created and a new chapter in the history of music in Pakistan began. The video saw these light-colored young boys having fun on screen in jeans and t-shirts, whizzing across the camera in open top jeeps, motorbikes, holding guitars and singing a national song that overnight became the unofficial popular anthem of Pakistan. This was quite a departure from how music was created conventionally by artists and expected by listeners. Junaid wasn’t trained as a vocalist, but was enjoying his craft and kept getting better with time. Despite his raw talent, he was the new poster boy for the youth of Pakistan and ‘Vital Signs’ started a trend that revolutionized the music landscape in the country and bands such as Janoon, Awaz, Strings, followed the same trend. In a way what had started with the introduction of Western sensibilities in the Pakistani music scene through Robin Ghosh, Sohail Rana, Alamgir, Shehki, and the dynamic sibling duo Nazia and Zohaib, reached a crescendo in the music of ‘Vital Signs’ and the pop star appeal of J.J.
Vital Signs
The band released their first album ‘Vital Signs 1’ in 1987 and ditties such as ‘Tum Mil Gaye’ were an instant rage besides the iconic ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’. The name ‘Vital Signs’ was not chosen till the last minute, before the scheduled release. All involved were listening to a song titled “Vital Signs’ by a Swedish band ‘Rush’ at that time and were greatly impressed. When all else failed to garner consensus, they decided to call themselves ‘Vital Signs’. The name also echoed with their existing claim to fame, ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’. This level of success was unexpected for even J.J., who, in an interview at the time, said that he never imagined his indulgence was something that would turn him into such a successful professional musician. His plans till then were to gain a degree in engineering to work for his first love, the Pakistan Air Force. In 1990, Jamshed graduated with an engineering degree, and worked in the Air Force as a civil contractor for a short time before resigning from the Air Force and dedicating himself to making music full time.
Vital Signs in a magazine cover
In 1991, the band released their second album, Vital Signs 2. This one was not as successful commercially as expected, in the meantime, J.J., with the band, was already making international tours and brand endorsements. In 1993, the band got together with Shoaib Mansoor once again and released their third album, ‘Aitebar’. Around the same time, Jamshed signed his first and only acting contract for PTV's television miniseries, ‘Dhundle Raste’. In early 1995, the band released its fourth and last album, ‘Hum Tum’. With success came, not only fame, money, and success, but also, conflict, discontentment, and differences of opinion. By early 1996, the issues and difficulties between the members of the band began to surface in the media. After the release of their last single, ‘Maula’, the band officially disbanded.
In the second phase of his life, J.J. released his first solo album, ‘Junaid of Vital Signs’ in 1994. The album's name was later changed to ‘Tumhara Aur Mera Naam’ by the record producers. J.J. released his second solo album, ‘Us Rah Par’ in 1999. It became one of the bestselling albums of 1999 and included several singles which became popular and were ultimate sleeper hits. J.J. as a singer had matured and his vocal dexterity was on full display in songs such as, ‘Us Rah Par’, ‘Na Tu Ayegi’, ‘Aankhon Ko Aankhon Ney’ and ‘O Sanama’. In 2000, came his third album, ‘The Best of Junaid Jamshed’, which contained remixes of some of the hit singles of the Vital Signs era. His fourth and last solo album, ‘Dil Ki Baat’, was released in 2001.
Junaid Jamshed while singing
Junaid’s prowess as a vocalist was rooted in simplicity and heartfelt emotions. He had an emphatic feel in his work that resonated naturally with every young heart and made his tunes hummable. From teen-pop to rock, his music gyrated within a range popular with his young listeners. His music, filled with romance, was longing, desire and heartache. From the mellow ‘Yeh Shaam’ and ‘Tumhara Aur Mera Naam’ to ‘Na Tu Aayegi’ and ‘Kassam uss Waqt ki’’, his songs successfully captured the emotions and aspirations of the youth throughout the 1990s and mid-2000s. His tasteful and creative music videos were also widely admired and still continue to gather views on YouTube. Most of them had his mentor and patron, and lyricist for almost all his songs, Shoaib Mansoor, on the director’s seat. In ‘Kassam uss Waqt ki’, a song he produced for Pakistan Air Force, J.J. got Hassan Akbar, another dear friend, to write the lyrics, taking the chorus line from an old film song penned by Josh Malihabadi. This was an ode from J.J. to a profession he dearly loved, but could not pursue, while employing a profession he reluctantly took on, but that earned him a lot of success and adulation.
Young Junaid Jamshed
By now, the ever restless J.J. was looking for a new direction for his life. In any case, life had always taken him into directions different from his own plans. After 2001, Jamshed disappeared from the public eye and avoided media attention for some time. Commercial and financial success was losing its novelty for the most popular star of the country as he matured both as an artist and a pop icon. In 2004, Jamshed officially renounced music after announcing that he had devoted his life to Islam. Also, Jamshed soon opened his own the clothing store which developed into a chain of stores, and is still a leading clothing brand in the country.
Despite abandoning his pop-star avatar, J.J. could not stay away from the limelight. He reappeared on the television screen, this time in a long religious robe, with a beard and a skull cap, as a religious figure, delivering sermons, hosting Ramadan shows, and reciting ‘Nashids’. A nashīd, is a work of vocal music either sung a cappella or with instruments, according to a particular style or tradition within Islam. He released about 10 Nashid albums and once again, garnered a huge faithful following. He did charity events across Pakistan and abroad and gathered funds for various religious and social causes. His followers kept showering him with love, admiration, and wealth in this reincarnated role just as they had always done. The Muslim 500 website labelled him as one of the most powerful Muslims in the world.
Junaid Jamshed
On December 7, 2016, on a fateful flight back from Chitral, where a 52-year-old J.J. had gone to attend a religious mission, he died, along with all 48 onboard, when the airplane crashed in the mountains. His unrequited love for flying ironically stayed with this immensely talented vocalist till his last breath.
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