LAHORE, Dec 27: Mohammad Shahid Nazir, who recently underwent a dream transformation from a fishmonger in London to a singer, arrived here on Thursday to a celebrity’s welcome, and was immediately heard crooning a Punjabi version of his ‘One Pound Fish’. The song has had four million YouTube hits.
The song, created to attract buyers, brought Nazir instant fame, pulling him out of the obscurity of Upton Park in East London where he worked as a fishmonger. Soon afterwards, it reportedly also caught the eye of the British law which wanted him deported for lack of valid papers. According to media reports, he was told he needed to sort out his documents before he could return to England to pursue a career as a performer. Nazir was quoted as denying the deportation news.
He said his return to Pakistan was necessitated by his desire to get a visa for France where he intended to release his song next month.
Shahid Nazir worked as a fishmonger in Upton Park market for eight years and that’s where he became popular for his ‘One Pound Fish’ song.
Reports said visitors would hear him and request him to sing the catchy tune. Nazir decided to release the song with the help of a giant music label Warner Music.
He hails from Pattoki, about an hour’s drive from Lahore, and his wife and close relatives have got quite a lot of media attention in recent days. Garlands in hand, many of them were at the Allama Iqbal Airport on to accord him a hero’s reception.
“Now I will create a Punjabi version of the ‘One Pound Fish’,” a smiling and pleasant Nazir told reporters upon his arrival, apparently having a whale of a time and signalling that his days as a salesman were now behind him.
He sang out a line in Punjabi, retaining the same catchy tune that had marked his sudden departure from a fish market -- in local parlance a machli mandi known for its noise and chaos rather than its musical talent -- for the world of fame and fortune.
Nazir said he had spent no time writing the song -- it came to him in a flash after his boss urged him to do something to entice customers.
“This song is a gift of God to me, I just sang it on the spot,” the father of four said.
Television networks interrupted coverage of the fifth anniversary of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination to live his return live.
AFP adds: The ‘One Pound Fish Man’ vowed to take his signature tune in honour of cut-price produce to France and the United States.
“I will go to France in two weeks to release this song and then will go back to London,” he said, adding that he also planned to release the track in the United States.
Hundreds, including local politicians, showed up at the airport to honour Shahid Nazir who had scaled the British music charts with his song.
The song became a YouTube hit after someone filmed Nazir singing it in the market and Warner Music signed him up for a record deal in the hope of getting the coveted Christmas number one spot in the charts.
“The owner of my fish stall asked me to sing to attract customers and I started singing. On the first day I started slowly and on the second day more loudly.”
The original video has been viewed more than 6.5 million times on YouTube and the “o-fish-al” Warner video featuring Nazir shimmying and strutting ‘Bollywood-style’ in a natty suit has recorded more than eight million hits.
The Christmas number one was not to be, but “One Pound Fish” managed a respectable 29 in the chart.
Nazir said he was confident of a bright future in the music industry.