Bhujhangy Group

Last updated

Bhujhangy Group are the world's longest-running bhangra band. [1] The group was founded in Smethwick, near Birmingham, England, in 1967 by brothers Dalbir Singh Khanpur and Balbir Singh Khanpur, who had come to the United Kingdom to in the mid 1950s and been joined by their families in 1964, initially working as labourers in the West Midlands' factories. [2] They were named Bhujhangy – meaning "kids" – as they were still teenagers, and their first recording was "Teri Chithi Noon Parthan", a 7" EP recorded in 1967 and distributed manually in pub juke boxes before being officially recorded and distributed in late 1969-70. [2]

Bhujhangy appeared on television in 1969 as part of the celebrations of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj 500th birthday - and the same year approached Oriental Star Agencies with a view to making further recordings. [3] The group had always been interested in western music as well as traditional Punjabi music, learning to play the guitar, banjo and accordion as well as the dhol, tumbi and dholak. [2] Their music gradually incorporated wider influences including modern western rhythms and sounds from Hindi-speaking Bollywood culture. [3] Their early 1970 single "Bhabiye Akh Larr Gayee" was the first recording to combine traditional Asian sounds with modern western musical instruments and influences, [4] a momentous step in the development of bhangra. [5]

Bhujhangy received an award from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom for Punjabi cultural and Bhangra music in 2009[ citation needed ] and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Brit Asia TV Music Awards in 2011. [6]

Balbir Bhujhangy Appears in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the pioneer of Bhangra music in the UK since 1967 and continues to perform in 2021 and has released over 50 albums to date.[ citation needed ]

Balbir was in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2019 and 2022 for the continuously singing for over 55 years.[ citation needed ]

He started the band with his brother and a few friends that stayed together for 12 years until splitting in 1979. Over 350 musicians joined and left but Balbir Singh over the 55 years where some created their own Bhangra or dhol groups. Balbir continued his work for further 45 years as Bhujhangy and still owns the name 'Bhujhangy' and 'Bhujhangy Group' under copyright laws 2023. He still continues to perform on stage and release religious and Bhangra songs. The recent single is ‘Daddy Bina’ without Dad, which was a very emotional and touching songs, the video is available on YouTube.

Balbir Singh has recently released his autobiography book which is available via Amazon and other online retailers, it discusses his life journey from India to the UK and how he continued his passion during his difficult times in his life.

Related Research Articles

Bhangra is a type of non-traditional music of Punjab originating in Britain, specifically Southall and Birmingham. It is a type of upbeat popular music associated with the Punjabi diaspora in Britain. The style has its origins in the folk music of Punjab as well as western pop music of the 1970s and 1980s. Prior to this musical fusion, Bhangra existed only as a dance form in the native Punjab. This Punjabi music was unique in that it was not traditional nor did it seek any authenticity. While the traditional folk music of Punjab has a set of melodies that are used by various singers, Bhangra was a form of strict "band culture" in that new melodies were composed for each song. Therefore, the musicians were as important as the singers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panjabi MC</span> British-Indian rapper and producer

Rajinder Singh Rai, better known by his stage name Panjabi MC, is a British-Indian recording artist, rapper, producer and DJ. He is best known for the worldwide 2002 bhangra hit "Mundian To Bach Ke", which sold 10 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. Among other songs, he gained acclaim with the 2003 release "Jogi". AllMusic has called him "one of the most prominent names in bhangra".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apache Indian</span> British singer-songwriter and reggae DJ

Steven Kapur, known by the stage name Apache Indian, is a British singer-songwriter and reggae DJ. He had a series of hits during the 1990s. He is best known in the UK for the song "Boom Shack-A-Lak", which reached the top ten during August 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Punjab</span> Overview of music traditions in Punjab

Music of Punjab reflects the traditions of the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, associated with Punjabi language. Punjab is currently divided into two parts: East Punjab, in India, and West Punjab, the most populous province of Pakistan. The Punjab has diverse styles of music, ranging from folk and Sufi to classical, notably the Patiala gharana. Contemporary Punjabi music has tended to include more modern hip-hop and R&B sounds. While this style of music is obviously most popular in Punjab, it has seen popularity across the subcontinent and areas with large Punjabi diaspora populations, such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Malkit Singh, MBE is an England-based Punjabi bhangra singer. Born in Hussainpur and raised in Nakodar, he moved to Birmingham in 1984. Singh was the first Punjabi singer to be honoured with an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. He is most famous for the songs "Gur Nalo Ishq Mitha", "Tootak Tootak Tootiyan", "Kurri Garam Jayee", "Dekh li vilyait", "Chal Hun", and "Jind Mahi", the latter two from the soundtrack to the popular film Bend It Like Beckham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sukshinder Shinda</span> Musical artist

Sukshinder Shinda is a British Punjabi playback singer-songwriter and bhangra record producer from Handsworth in Birmingham, England. He hails from Village Dhamai, District Hoshiarpur, Punjab in India.

Harcharanjit Singh Rupal, known professionally as Channi Singh, is a British-Indian bhangra musician, known as the "godfather" of bhangra in the West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RDB (band)</span>

RDB is a band initially formed in 1997 by three British Indian brothers, Kuldeep, Surjeet and Manjeet Singh Ral. The band's style blends western genres with traditional Punjabi beats and vocals. After the death of the eldest brother Kuldeep in 2012 and the departure of Manjeet to start a solo career, RDB has continued with the brother Surjeet.

Bikram Singh is an American bhangra music artist. A graduate of Touro Law School, he also works as an attorney in New York City.

DCS are a British Asian live Bhangra band formed in 1983. They are seen as one of the first bands of the UK Bhangra scene along with other bands such as Alaap, Apna Sangeet, Heera, Shava Shava led by Nirmal Kumar Nirmal and many more. As well as Bhangra, DCS also perform in Hindi and English.

Paramjit Singh Sidhu, professionally known as Pami Bai, is an Indian singer, songwriter and Bhangra dancer from Patiala.

Oriental Star Agencies was a British record label, that was based in Balsall Heath, Birmingham. Some of the artists introduced by the label include Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Malkit Singh, Alam Lohar, Amjad Sabri, and Bally Sagoo.

Heera Group UK is a bhangra music band that originated in the early 1980s. Also known as the pioneers of British Bhangra, and one of the most successful British Bhangra bands in history. The lead singers are Palvinder Dhami and Jasvinder Kumar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaz Dhami</span>

Jaswinder Singh Dhami, better known as Jaz Dhami, is a British-Indian playback singer, music composer, music producer, and performer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anita Lerche</span> Musical artist

Anita Lerche is a Danish-American singer-songwriter, composer and actress originating from Denmark. With the release of her album Heer from Denmark in November 2006, she became the first non-Asian woman from the west to create a solo album in Punjabi. In addition to singing in Punjabi, she has sung in a total of 16 different languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bhangra (dance)</span> Several types of dance originating from the Punjab

Bhangra is a type of traditional folk dance of Punjab area of the Indian subcontinent. It is done in the season of harvesting. According to Manuel (2001), bhangra is especially associated with the vernal Vaisakhi festival.

Baljit Singh Padam, better known by his stage name Dr. Zeus, is a Punjabi music composer, singer and music producer. He rose to fame in 2003 with his song "Kangna", which was voted the best song on BBC Asian Network in the same year. His other hits are "Don't Be Shy" and "Jugni Ji", which won the best single award in 2012. He has worked with singer Kanika Kapoor for the song "Jugni Ji" and with musician Jaz Dhami for the song "Zulfa". His song "Aag Ka Dariya" features on the Four Lions film soundtrack. A music video was also produced featuring Czech model Yana Gupta and singers Ravindra & DJ Shortie.

Bups Saggu is a British Bhangra DJ, music producer and singer based in Wolverhampton, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brit Asia TV Music Awards</span> Music awards show in the United Kingdom

The Brit Asia TV Music Awards, also known as Brit Asia TV World Music Awards or the abbreviation BAMA, is an awards show that has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 2010, usually in October. The awards show is produced by Brit Asia TV. Award winners are decided by public voting on a website from a list of nominees presented by the event organizers at a nomination party. Website desiblitz called it "UK's largest celebration of South Asian music" and "the biggest awards in the British Asian Music calendar".

Tru Skool is a Derby Midlands, UK based Punjabi bhangra, hip hop, record producer. He was awarded multiple Brit Asia TV Music Awards. His produced albums "Back to Basics" by Diljit Dosanjh and "Bacthafucup" by Karan Aujla were charted on Billboard Top Canadian Albums.

References

  1. ↑ Folkard, Claire, ed. (2004), Guinness World Records 2005, Enfield: Guinness World Records, p. 199, ISBN   0851121926
  2. 1 2 3 Still Going Strong with Bhujhangy..., Bhangra Squad, archived from the original on 6 February 2015, retrieved 16 June 2013
  3. 1 2 Farooq, Aisha (21 April 2013), "Muhammad Ayub ~ Founder of Oriental Star Agencies", DESIblitz, retrieved 16 June 2013
  4. ↑ Zahir, Samina (11 September 2002), "Oriental Star Agencies", in Donnell, Alison (ed.), Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture, London: Routledge (published 2013), p. 239, ISBN   1134700245 , retrieved 15 June 2013
  5. ↑ Osa History, Oriental Star Agencies, archived from the original on 23 March 2014, retrieved 16 September 2013
  6. ↑ "Brit Asia TV Music Awards 2011 "AND THE WINNERS ARE..."". Punjab2000.com. 3 October 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2020.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.