::How Junoon Came to be::

The seeds of junoon were laid when Salman Ahmed was a teenager.His enhancements with eastern musical styles, fused with his passions for the sound of electric guitar,led him to a dream of a new unique sound which begged to be heard.That dream began to be realized in 1990 when salman joined Ali Azmat.A young raw vocalist who had some degree of success with the jupiters. The two of them formed junoon on the premise that they would expand the horizons of the fledging music scenes.They later asked Nusrat Hussain,a pilot, to join them as a part time member.The story of the way JUNOON found its name is a interesting one.... It happened in a DREAM! Salman dreamt one night, that an old man came to him and declared.."Tumhay mauseeqi ka junoon hai!"(u have obsession for music).It was then that Salman suggested JUNOON as a possible name for the group, Ali and Nusrat agreed immediately. From then on Ali Azmat's powerful and versatile singing and Salman Ahmed's flashy guitar riffs, Pakistan was introduced to its first taste of home grown music,hence junoon was born!

[www.geocities.com/ishq_e_junoon/]

::Their Background::

Junoon, meaning 'passion', is South Asia's biggest rock band. They sing mostly in the language of Urdu, in a style blending Western hard rock with Sindhi & Punjabi folk and Qawwali. Junoon, in effect, had to create an audience for rock music in Pakistan. "The band's appeal reaches beyond the Westernised elite", says Newsweek International. Junoon was no overnight success. The band struggled financially for the first few years. Group members remember months of eating 'daal' and rice, the modest Pakistani’s staple. It all paid off in the spring of 1996, when Junoon scored its first big hit with the song "Jazba-e-Junoon": Hai Jazba-e-Junoon, tho Himmat Na haar! “If you have the Spirit of Passion, never give up!” Justuju joh kurreh voh chueh Aasmaan! “The one who perseveres reaches the Stars.”

[©1996 Nameless Music LLC]

::Achievements::

In 1997, Junoon recorded their album, AZADI. AZADI was released by EMI/Virgin, and became Junoon's debut album in India. "Sayonee", the first single off Azadi, became an instant hit in South Asia and the Middle East, shooting to the top of all the Asian charts, and staying at the Number One position on both Channel [V] and MTV Asia for over 2 months. AZADI hit platinum sales status in a record 4 weeks. ZEE TV invited Junoon to perform at the star-studded ZEE Cine-awards in Mumbai in March 1998, where the group received accolades from the creme de la creme of India's entertainment industry.

In 1998, Junoon won the “Best International Group” title at the Channel [V] Music Awards, where they performed along with world-wide icons Sting and Def Leppard. AZADI was nominated for Best International Album, having achieved the prestigious honour of being the highest selling album in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India in 1998 & 1999. Junoon headlined the BBC Mega Mela in 1998, which was the largest Asian festival outside of the Subcontinent.

In 1999, UNESCO presented Junoon with an award for their achievements towards Peace in South Asia. Junoon was invited to perform at UNESCO’s “Music for Peace” concert held in Paris, along with Lionel Richie, Montserrat Caballe, Zubin Mehta and many other great artists from around the world. In London, the BBC presented Junoon an award for their contribution towards Asian Culture. Junoon closed 1999 with a tour of Bangladesh, where 45,000 ecstatic fans went Junooni in Dhaka’s Army Stadium.

Come Y2K, Junoon performed in Japan for the first time, as well as at the Roskilde Festival outside Copenhagen, Denmark, which is the premier summer European Rock Festival, alongwith Pearl Jam, Iron Maiden, The Cure, and many others. Junoon also performed the largest ever concert in Dubai, UAE, with Bollywood superstar singer Sonu Nigam, with nearly 20,000 in attendance.

In 2001, Junoon released their latest album, Andaz (titled Ishq in Pakistan), which topped the charts in Pakistan, as well as in the Gulf and South Asia, with its first single entitled “Zamane ke Andaz (Saqi-nama)” which made it to #1 in the Gulf, and to #5 on the Asian charts. Junoon sold out Wembley Arena in London in April, and performed at “United for Gujarat”, the first South Asian rock concert in New Delhi, with bands from India and Bangladesh, singing together to raise funds for the Gujarat Earthquake.

In June the United Nations dubbed Salman Ahmad of Junoon their Goodwill Ambassador for Pakistan in the campaign to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS. Salman went on to attend the UN General Assembly’s special session on HIV/AIDS in New York. A 12-city tour of North America followed. In September, Junoon performed in Norway with Morten Harket of A-HA, and went on to perform 3 sold out friendship concerts in China in Tongzhou, Qing Dao, and Beijing University.

In October, the band sold out a show in Dubai. In response to the bombing of Afghanistan, Junoon organised a national peace and solidarity concert in Islamabad for the Afghan Refugees, entitled United For Peace, which was produced for television and broadcasted internationally. The leading Pakistani celebrities from Film, TV, Music, Dance, and Sports assembled to show unity in the face of the crisis that faced Pakistan.

On October 24th, Kofi Annan invited Junoon to perform at the UN General Assembly in New York in a concert for Peace. MTV’s affiliate music channel, VH1 produced and aired a documentary on Junoon entitled “Islamabad: Rock City" in the US and worldwide. CNN aired a 30 minute interview of Junoon on the program Talk Asia. Junoon’s Peace concerts in the US in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks garnered praise from media worldwide, and got Junoon rave reviews in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, ABC TV (US), NBC, CNBC, The Village Voice, Billboard Magazine, The New York Post, Newsweek, and others. The band is planning a Western album release shortly.

In December, the President of Pakistan, Gen. Pervez Musharraf invited Junoon to perform at the mausoleum of Pakistan’s founder, Quaid-e-Azam M.A. Jinnah, on Jinnah’s birthday. The President joined Junoon on stage as well, becoming the first Head of State in Pakistan to have ever done so. By Shehryar Ahmad

[©2002 Dahijifus Inc.]