King of Bhangra Pop- Channi Singh (OBE)

 

Remember the song ‘Mundya to Bach Ke Rahin’ from the film Boom? Channi’s music also became a reason for cultural fusion across the length and breadth of India as Punjabi hip-hop music became disco fare, giving rise to another new culture called Punjab’s DJ (Disc Jockey) mania. In the eighties and early nineties at a time when Punjab was experiencing violent days and remained isolated from the rest of India, it was the new genre Punjabi music that kept Punjab’s culture alive to the world. Punjabi songs blared, transmitted by Desi Punjab on the FM channel, as we drove past Southall towards new Southall where Channi lived. ‘Welcome to my gareeb khana (poor man’s house),’ said Channi as we reached St Josephs Drive. The house, though no gareeb khana, is a small house located in a cluttered locality of Southall. It’s definitely not one of those houses you expect music stars would live in, especially given the Mercedes Benz and the Porsche Boxter that adorn the parking. ‘We are just three of us, my wife Dhanwant Kaur—Dhano—a banker, daughter Mona, an upcoming music star and I. We are very comfortable staying in this house, though it’s against the norm. Usually you move out of Southall when success kisses you,’ said Channi. What comment could I offer, as I had met the man just half an hour ago? But it did cross my mind to ask if he was successful enough. Three trophies commemorating his platinum hits (Golden Hits, Teri Chuni de Sitare and With Love from Alaap) hanging in his living room, however, told me that it was the correct address. In fact the home, I was to discover over a period of time, emitted the radiance of one that accepted success with all humility as Waheguru’s benevolence.

‘What about lunch?’ he asked me. We set off again, this time to a Punjabi cuisine restaurant. ‘I was born in Salar village in Malerkotla and came to the UK in 1976 after marrying Dhanwant Kaur in 1975.’ Dhanwant Kaur comes from a family of Sikhs having deep roots in Africa but had settled in the UK since the Sixties. ‘She was kind enough to marry me,’ he said laughingly. ‘My father, the late Harbaksh Singh retired as a Superintendent of Police in Punjab and my brother still stays in Punjab’s industrial city, Ludhiana. I had an interest in music since childhood and used to sing the song “Mera Man Dole, Mera Tan Dole” from the Hindi film Nagin, in exchange for a paisa, when requested by my teacher.’ Other than that, Channi fancied wrestling, a combination that his teachers at the Government College Malerkotla and DAV College Jalandhar couldn’t fathom. Imagine being ordered, ‘Oye, pehelwan (wrestler)—sing a song.’ Success did not come easy. ‘I was to face my first humiliation at the hands of Jalandhar Radio Station. They rejected my voice at an audition test,’ he said. A second one followed soon after, when HMV, when they were auditioning in Ludhiana, refused his voice point blank. ‘Try somewhere else,’ he was told. The director of HMV is a very dear friend and I always pull his leg,’ laughed Channi. We reached Roxy restaurant at Southall and were welcomed by Sharmaji, the proprietor, who immediately dispatched a bearer. Customers who recognised Channi kept waving at him and Channi acknowledged each one by raising his hand in a greeting. ‘The people waving are my fans,’ he claimed. ‘With God’s grace I have been able to meet their aspirations. When I migrated to England, South Asians, particularly the Punjabis, including communities from Pakistan, were devoid of music and a culture of their own. It was disturbing to see them extremely dependent on western music and feel embarrassed listening to Punjabi folk songs. Teenagers were uncomfortable to the extent that they would roll up their car windows in an attempt to muff sounds, if their parents played regular Punjabi music in the car. I saw it as an opportunity and it was by sheer chance we formed Alaap’—which translates as a starting note of a raga. Alaap today has ten members and as opposed to a miming band, is a live band that performs at concerts, weddings, festivals and charity shows.

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5