INSTEP Magzine

BIG 5
Nostalgia highway:
Five iconic pop songs from the '80s
Instep delves into the 1980s - the decade of shoulder pads, crazy hair colour and military dictatorship -to rediscover five iconic pop songs that defined that era and spearheaded the pop music revolution that was to hit Pakistani airwaves.

By Saba Imtiaz

'Disco Deewane' - Nazia Hassan

While Nazia's more popular Bollywood ticket was 'Aap Jaisa Koi' (featured in the film Qurbani), 'Disco Deewane' remains to be one of the most iconic pop songs ever made. For one - it talks about discos - a cultural aspect of most cosmopolitan cities that never came to Pakistan. So with that forbidden value, and the rather risqué lyrics combined with the pulsating chorus of 'Disco, disco, disco, deewane!' Nazia Hassan had a sure-fire hit on her hands. It is still covered (and often butchered in the process by singers but we'd love to hear someone re-do this song properly and propel the song back into the public consciousness. Zeb and Haniya, we hope you're taking notes.

'Dekha Na Tha' - Alamgir

He's the man who put pop music into the Pakistani film soundtrack with 'Ko Ko Korina' in the 1967 Waheed Murad-starrer Devar Bhabhi, and who is one of Pakistan's most proment musical icons. 'Dekha Na Tha', the breezy summer romantic pop song, is still as much a classic as it was when it was first released in the '80s - and is actually still sung at weddings. Along with Nazia and Zoheb Hassan, Alamgir made the '80s a very cool decade for Pakistani pop music!
'Humma Humma' - Mohammad Ali Shehki and Allan Faqir
Perhaps one of the first collaborations of its kind between pop and folk music in Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Shehki and the late Allan Faqir's explosive 'Humma Humma' is a legendary song in its own right. This musical union - between two musicians who were poles apart - bore fruit to a song that is still extremely popular. Fusion music at its very best!

'Dil Dil Pakistan' - Vital Signs

You know a song is iconic when 22 years after its release, every kid seems to still know the words to this patriotic tune. The song has come to be associated with any monumental occasion, whether it was Benazir Bhutto's PPP winning the elections in 1988 that marked the revival of democracy or Pakistan winning the cricket World Cup in 1992 and the sight of Imran Khan lifting up the trophy drowned in a blaze of lights. 'Dil Dil Pakistan' sparked the new wave of Pakistani pop music that brought with it a plethora of musicians who are now all icons in their own rights. While it may be cheesy to its very core, there's just something uplifting about the song that makes you want to sing it at the top of your voice.

'Dosti' - Nazia and Zoheb Hassan

'Dosti' by Nazia and Zoheb Hassan wasn't just a great pop tune about friendship. It was made even more iconic by the fact that despite they were siblings, the duo wasn't even allowed to hold hands or stand close to each other on state television. While the airwaves have changed considerably in their outlook since then, it is still a reminder of the fact that dzespite these draconian regulations in place, musicians like Nazia and Zoheb made fantastic songs. And 'Dosti' is just one example of the talent these two had: an extremely catchy and exuberant song, this is another tune we'd love to see re-done by a contemporary artist. Or perhaps siblings who are musicians - hint hint, Ali Noor and Ali Hamza!