Early years (1980–1989) Junoon's roots stretch back to
Tappan, New York, in the 1970s.
Salman Ahmad left
Lahore,
Pakistan, for New York with his family when he was eleven, and received his baptism in rock music when a friend offered him a ticket to a
Led Zeppelin concert. Salman Ahmad was so enthralled by the show that he saved $235 to buy his own electric guitar. He also befriended
Brian O'Connell in Tappan, another young aspiring musician, with whom Ahmad formed their first band together by the name of "Eclipse". Salman Ahmad's parents moved back to Pakistan in 1981, and Salman began to study medicine at Lahore's
King Edward Medical College. In 1987,
Nusrat Hussain, by then the lead guitarist of the band
Vital Signs, after composing the song "
Dil Dil Pakistan" parted ways with Vital Signs and suggested to
Rohail Hyatt, founder and keyboardist of Vital Signs, to bring
Salman Ahmad as his replacement in the band. Vital Signs then went on to record their debut album at the
EMI Studios in
Karachi, but almost all the songs were written and composed at Salman Ahmad's residence where the band had been lodged. In March 1989, the band released their debut album,
Vital Signs 1, which was a success throughout the country. The following year, Salman Ahmad parted ways with the most successful pop band of
Pakistan as he wanted a change in the band's music for their second album and therefore after leaving the band he went on to form his own band.
Formation (1990–1993) .Junoon formed in 1990 when Salman Ahmad, founder, songwriter and lead guitarist, had a dream where one of his teachers shook him and said "Tumhey mousiqui ka Junoon hai!" (You have an obsession for music!). Salman Ahmed recruited singer
Ali Azmat from the
Jupiters and then the former Vital Signs lead guitarist,
Nusrat Hussain, on keyboards for Their self-titled debut album,
Junoon. The music was recorded at the
EMI Studios in
Karachi and released in September 1991. Junoon did not achieve immediate success with their first album and barely made a dent in the
Pakistani music industry. After the departure of Nusrat Hussain, Salman Ahmad contacted
Brian O'Connell and invited him to play bass on the band's second album. Brian O'Connell quit his job as a social worker and travelled 10,000 miles to
Karachi,
Pakistan, where he reunited with his old friend. It was after ten years both the friends reunited. In 1992, the band started working on their second studio album. The album was recorded and mixed at Tahir Gul Hasan's Sound on Sound recording studios in Karachi. While working on their second album at one side, on the other hand the band also featured in a television series,
Talaash, directed by
Atiqa Odho and written by
Anwar Maqsood, based on the true story of the band in which the band members acted themselves and due to its novel storyline it became an extremely popular television series in Pakistan. On 23 September 1993, Junoon released their second album
Talaash. Singles from the album, such as "
Talaash", were politically influenced and became subject to censorship, which led to the eventual ban. The government quickly responded to it and banned the song and video from the state television. In 1996, the band released their third studio album,
Inquilaab, which was recorded and engineered with a completely new sound at Aamir Hasan Studios,
Inquilaab was a blend of western music with classical eastern Sufi music. It was the release of their third album when Junoon started to gain success and began to reach a wider audience when one of their singles, "
Jazba-e-Junoon", became the signature song of the
Cricket World Cup. '', hit platinum sales for which the band received a platinum certification. The album was a huge success in South Asia, being Junoon's highest selling album. The music video of the first single, "
Sayonee", was shot by Pakistani director
Asim Raza.
International Success (1998–2000) Azadi was released in India in February 1998 by EMI. In March 1998,
Zee TV invited Junoon to perform at the star-studded
Zee Cine Awards in
Mumbai, where the group received accolades from the crème de la crème of India's entertainment industry. It was also in 1998 that Junoon went on their first tour of India. The band's first appearance of the tour was held in New Delhi, India. After travelling throughout the country, Junoon saw crowds of as many as of 100,000 fans at shows in Lucknow, Kanpur, Bangalore and Delhi. On this very first tour of India, Junoon was in Chandigarh when India tested its nuclear weapons at Pokhran (14 May 1998). The next day, from their hotel room in New Delhi, in interviews to CNN and BBC on the nuclear tests, Junoon's founder
Salman Ahmad suggested that the Indian and Pakistani leaders should spend more on education and health than on weapons of mass destruction. The Pakistani Government reacted by banning Junoon from performing in the country, as well as bans on the band's music being aired on Pakistani radio or television. On 9 August, Junoon performed at New York's
Central Park. This was one of Junoon's most legendary live performances, with over 20,000 fans in attendance. This concert was made into a live video and recording titled "Junoon Live at Central Park: A Tribute to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan". Junoon then went on to perform at the
BBC Mega Mela, which is the largest South Asian festival outside of South Asia, held in London, England. Junoon performed at all three days of the Mela and performed at the
BBC Asian Awards where they were also awarded for their "Contribution to Asian Culture". On 28 November 1998, Junoon won the "Best International Group" title at the
Channel V Music Awards, where they performed along with worldwide icons
Sting,
The Prodigy 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 that year. In March 1999, the
Prime Minister of India,
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in a spirit of cross-border friendship, invited the band to perform at the anniversary of his government in Delhi. Travelling in the same gilded bus that Vajpayee had travelled cross-border to shake hands with Pakistan and sign the
Lahore declaration, Junoon crossed the
Wagah border from Lahore into India. In a very emotional performance before the Prime Minister, they performed the
Jupiters hit, "Dosti" onstage with Indian group,
Silk Route. Later the same year, Junoon released their fifth studio album,
Parvaaz, which was recorded and mixed at
Abbey Road Studios in London and was hailed by many critics as the finest work by Junoon to date and was released by
EMI internationally. The album was mostly based on the poetry of
Bulleh Shah and singles from the album such as "
Bulleya", "Sajna", "Ghoom" and "Mitti" were a success and did well at the music charts. The album was produced by John Alec who came from New York to work on the band's fifth studio album. Also in 1999,
UNESCO invited Junoon to perform at their Millennium Peace concert held in Paris, France. Junoon were presented with an award "Outstanding Achievements in Music and Peace" by UNESCO. The event was attended by many well-known artists from around the world like
Yesudas,
Lionel Richie,
Montserrat Caballe and
Zubin Mehta. In 2000, Junoon released a compilation of their albums and videos,
Millennium 1990–2000. The compilation album consisted of singles like "Azadi", "Muk Gaye Nay" and live tracks like "Allah Hu". Later the same year, Junoon performed in Japan. On 30 June, the band then went on to perform at the European Rock Festival,
Roskilde Festival, near
Copenhagen, in
Denmark. Junoon became the first Asian band to perform at the festival and performed along with many well-known bands and musicians like
Pearl Jam,
Iron Maiden,
The Cure,
Queensrÿche and many other well-known artists from around the world. At the end of the year, Junoon performed at a concert in
Dubai,
UAE, with
Bollywood singer
Sonu Nigam, with nearly 20,000 in attendance, which was organised by Oberoi Middle East Events.
Continued success (2001–2004) In March 2001, Junoon released its sixth studio album,
Andaz (titled as
Ishq in
Pakistan). The album topped the music charts in Pakistan as well as in the
Persian Gulf and South Asia. The first single entitled "Zamanae Ke Andaz (Saqi-Nama)" made it to No. 1 in the Persian Gulf and to No. 5 on the Asian charts. In April, Junoon performed to a sold-out concert at the
Wembley Arena in London On 30 June, Junoon performed at the
Celebrate Brooklyn festival at Prospect Park Bandshell in
Brooklyn, New York. On 7 July, the band performed at the
Hyatt Regency in Chicago, Illinois. In September, Junoon did a concert in
Norway with
Morten Harket, lead vocalist of
A-ha, performing a duet "Piya (Ocean of Love)". The same year, the band also made a trip
China to perform a peace concert. Following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, Junoon, in the aftermath of the attacks, travelled to the United States for a series of shows at universities and high schools. On 9 October, the band played a peace concert at the United Nations (UN). They became the first ever rock band to be invited to perform at the United Nations general assembly, by UN secretary-general
Kofi Annan. On 25 December, Junoon had once again been embraced by the Pakistani government, and were even joined on stage by then the President,
General Pervez Musharraf, as he invited them to perform at the mausoleum of Pakistan's founder,
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, on Jinnah's birthday. Although Junoon continues to promote peace and harmony, the band also speaks out on contentious issues that most popular groups avoid. The band served as goodwill ambassadors for HIV/AIDS awareness for the UN and raised several issues. In 2002, Junoon opened a new chapter by releasing the antiterrorism song "No More" in English, yet another attempt by the group to spread their message to a wider audience. Although, Junoon had previously released English songs on their first two albums, such as "Our Land", "Lady Magic", "Downtown Princes" and "Game of Chance". The song "No More" is the first English song for which Junoon released a music video.
CNN aired a 30-minute interview of Junoon on the program Talk Asia. They received rave reviews in
The New York Times,
Billboard,
The New York Post,
Newsweek, and others. On 29 March, Junoon released their second live album and the overall twelfth album,
Daur-e-Junoon. On 16 February 2003, Junoon performed at the Basant Festival Show held in
Lahore. On May, 5, the band went to
Karachi to perform at the PAF Creek Club. On 18 June, Junoon performed live at the
Royal Albert Hall, London, England. On July, 17, the documentary
The Rock Star and the Mullahs by
Wide Angel was aired on
BBC based upon Junoon and music in Islam. In December, Junoon released their seventh studio album,
Dewaar. The single "
Garaj Baras" was selected as the soundtrack of the
Bollywood movie
Paap directed by
Pooja Bhatt, the song topped the charts in the country again in 2004. Another single off the album "Pappu Yaar" shot to the No. 1 spot on the music charts in Pakistan. This was the album which last featured the trio together. After the release of the band's seventh studio album bassist,
Brian O'Connell went back to United States and vocalist,
Ali Azmat went on to pursue his career as a solo singer. In April 2004, Junoon released their third compilation album,
Dewaar: The Best of Junoon. In August, Junoon released
Ghoom Taana video and a special documentary entitled "Building Bridges" which was screened at a launch ceremony in
Karachi in time for the Independence Day celebrations of
Pakistan and
India. On 14 October, Journeyman Pictures released a short film documentary based on
Pakistani music featuring local rock bands, Junoon and
Fuzön.
Breakup (2005–2008) Dewaar was the album which last featured the trio together. After the release of the album
Brian O'Connell went back to United States. Since his departure, Pakistani musician
Mekaal Hasan and the band's producer John Alec have been playing bass guitar for live shows in place. On 2 February 2005, Junoon performed a charity concert for the
Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami victims at
Alhamra Auditorium in
Lahore. On 3 March, Salman Ahmad appeared on the documentary ''
It's My Country Too: Muslim Americans aired on BBC television documentary strand This World. The last Junoon concert to feature Ali Azmat took place in Dubai, UAE in March 2005 after which Ali Azmat went on to pursue his career as a solo singer. Later the same year, he released his debut solo album, Social Circus. Shehryar Ahmad, the band manager also departed from the band. Salman Ahmad also released his debut solo album, Infiniti'' in July 2005. In September 2007, Junoon re-released three albums,
Parvaaz,
Azadi and
Infiniti with
Magnatune. On 11 December, Junoon performed at the
Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway together with a variety of artists, which was broadcast live to over 100 countries. On 25 May 2008, Junoon performed in
Srinagar for the first time and turned thousands of music lovers hysterical. On 8 June, Ali Azmat performed a duet of "
Garaj Baras" with
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan along with singles from his solo albums at the
Coke Studio season one first session. On 15 August, Ali Azmat released his second album,
Klashinfolk, which was recorded at Mekaal Hasan Studios in
Lahore. The album received significant critical acclaim across Pakistan, although, like the previous album, it was not a huge commercial success.
Post-breakup: Rock & Roll Jihad (2009–2010) Salman continues to take the band to new heights, from performing at the
Nobel Peace Prize, featuring at the Clinton Global Initiative to performing at the
Atlantic City House of Blues with multi Academy/Grammy-winning artist
Melissa Etheridge after collaborating with her on one of her albums. Salman also featured in the series of Mystical Sufi Tours throughout the US and Canada. He has performed at various educational institutions throughout the world, including Oxford, Harvard, Yale, Stanford various times and continues to actively tour and engage college audiences. He also is actively involved as a professor of Islamic Arts at Queens College NY. On 12 September 2009, Junoon performed at "The Concert for Pakistan" along with other musicians from around the world, which included
Outlandish,
Sting held at the UN
General Assembly Hall. At the concert Salman Ahmad also performed on stage with
Gavin Rossdale covering the song "
All Along the Watchtower". On 30 November, Salman Ahmad, as Junoon, announced that the first single from the upcoming album would be "Love Can You Take Me Back". On 12 January 2010, Salman Ahmad published a book, ''
Rock & Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star's Revolution, regarding his time with Junoon and all the struggle he faced to become a rock star. On 14 March, Junoon released the video of their first single. On 25 March, Salman Ahmad was invited at the television programme Good Day L.A. where he talked about his soundtrack album and about the book. On 1 June, Junoon released the soundtrack album Rock & Roll Jihad'' based on Salman Ahmad and Junoon's musical journey throughout the years. On 23 July, Salman Ahmad was present at the opening ceremony of
Masala Mehndi Masti 2010 in Toronto, Canada. On 24 July, Salman Ahmad with his band performed at the Masala Mehndi Masti 2010. On 26 July, Salman Ahmad appeared on the BBC television programme,
HARDtalk, where he talked about religion and music in Islam. In August, Salman Ahmad was interviewed by American music magazine
Rolling Stone, he talked about his novel and the soundtrack album based on the novel. In the interview, Salman informed that in
India the book will be published by
Jaico Publishing House and will be accompanied by a free cd which includes two singles, "Love Can You Take Me Back" and "
Bulleya/Lonely Heart" and also including two other tracks, "
Sayonee" and "
Meri Awaz Suno". Salman also confirmed that he's currently working on a new Junoon album release, which will release in next year. On 16 August, in an interview with
BBC World Service, Salman Ahmad confirmed that he was writing a song named "Khwab" for the
Pakistan flood victims to raise funds for them. He also confirmed that the song will be internationally released within a few weeks' time and hopes to record it with Pakistani and Western artists. After a few days, it was confirmed that Salman Ahmad will collaborate with
Peter Gabriel on the song "Khwab", in an attempt to raise funds for the Pakistan flood victims. On 25 August, Salman Ahmad talked to
Dutch TV about organising a charity concert with various artists to collect money for the flood victims in Pakistan. In September, Salman Ahmad confirmed that he has collaborated with
Alison Sudol on the song "Pakistan Humara" (first named "Khwab", later named "Open Your Eyes") for the Pakistan flood victims. Salman further added that Peter Gabriel will be bringing his genius to the song on 6 September. "Will try and send a picture from the studio", says Salman. In an interview with
ABC News, it was confirmed that both the US and British governments have enlisted Salman Ahmad to speak against extremism. On 29 October, Salman Ahmad released the song "Open Your Eyes" with Peter Gabriel and Alison Sudol for the Pakistan flood relief. The song was launched on 2 November, to be downloaded from digital music sites globally. Each dollar for download will go to Pakistan flood relief through their charity organisation, Salman and Samina Global Wellness initiative (SSGWI). After the release of "Open Your Eyes", Peter Gabriel offered Salman Ahmad to record a complete album with his
Real World Records label next year. Salman Ahmad also confirmed that he's working on a duet with American artist and producer David Sisko who has worked for the likes of
Justin Timberlake &
Gwen Stefani.
Partial Reunion: Junoon's 20th anniversary (2011–2012) On 26 January 2011, Junoon performed at
Lahore University of Management Sciences for United Nations HIV/AIDS campaign. On 16 March, the single "Pakistan Humara" in collaboration with Peter Gabriel was dedicated to the
Pakistan cricket team playing at the
2011 Cricket World Cup. On 18 March, Junoon performed at
The College of William & Mary as part of W&M's Asian studies initiative. On 23 March, Junoon launched the music video of the single "Pakistan Humara" directed by Asad Pathan. On 12 August, in an interview with
The Express Tribune, Ahmad confirmed that he is set to celebrate Junoon's 20th anniversary with the band's former bassist
Brian O'Connell. "We are reaching Junoon's 20th anniversary, so I'm excited about more projects coming up regarding that," Ahmad told
The Express Tribune. On 24 September, Junoon celebrated their 20th anniversary by performing a concert at the Asia Society & Museum in New York City. It was after 8 years that both Salman Ahmad and Brian O'Connell shared the same stage together to celebrate the band's reunion and anniversary. In response to the 20th Anniversary of the band, former vocalist, Ali Azmat Azmat also confirmed that Salman Ahmad invited him to be part of the 20th Anniversary reunion concert but he never replied to his emails. On 30 September, Junoon performed at the Crowell Concert Hall in Wesleyan University,
Middletown, Connecticut, United States and also released the first edition of their 20th Anniversary album,
Junoon 20. On 21 December,
EMI Pakistan released Junoon's 20th anniversary album volume I in a ceremony held at
Marriott Hotel,
Karachi, Pakistan. On 25 December, Salman Ahmad announced that he will be collaborating with former
Vital Signs lead vocalist,
Junaid Jamshed to record a 21st-century version of the two famous Pakistani patriotic songs "
Dil Dil Pakistan" and "
Jazba-e-Junoon". Ahmad also stated that the rehearsal session was captured by Ahmad's son, Imran, with his phone. "The video and the photo contain a true emotion providing a rare glimpse of hope for the new generation. Two days ago, my dear friend and Vital Signs bandmate, Junaid Jamshed and I came together to rehearse after many years. We felt inspired to sing two anthems of our youth; 'Jazba Junoon' and 'Dil Dil Pakistan'." On 28 April 2012, Junoon travelled on a tour to
India performing at
Mumbai. On 3 May, Junoon paid tribute to Khwaja Gharib Nawaz by performing an informal concert of Sufi songs in
Ajmer Sharif. Followed by performing at BlueFrog in the capital city, New Delhi at a sold-out concert on 10 May. Salman Ahmed, lead vocalist of the band, confirmed, during his tour to India, in an interview that he has collaborated with singer
Sunidhi Chauhan recording two songs, "Yaaron" and "Kaise Bolun", for
Vicky Kumar's Bollywood movie,
Rhythm.
Collaborations (2013–2016) Former members of
Vital Signs and Junoon collaborated to release a patriotic song, "
Naya Pakistan". The song is written by Salman Ahmad and Aania Shah featuring Shahi Hassan on bass,
Nusrat Hussain on keyboards and percussions, and vocalist
Junaid Jamshed. The song was recorded at Indus Music World Studios and released on 22 February 2013. Salman Ahmed while talking about his latest project at
Asia Talk on
BBC said, "For almost a decade, Junaid has always asked me not to bring guitar or to ask him to sing. When you are friends with somebody you always have to transcend differences and I respect Junaid's views. Junaid once told me that his biggest regret was not to be a part of Jazba Junoon's recording. So when we came up with 'Naya Pakistan', I asked him that this is the chance that's not going to come again so finally Junaid accepted the offer with the condition that he will sing only the opening lines with no music at all." and further added "it signifies the metaphor for unity as we have to compromise for unity in hope of Naya Pakistan." After a long hiatus, Junoon released a new album titled
Door in December 2016 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the band. from the album is also titled "Door Bohat Door" and the music video was shot in
Gwadar,
Balochistan featuring
Wasim Akram. while a piece in
The News International said, "'Sayonee', sung by Ali Noor and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan with music directed by Salman Ahmed as Junoon is quite possibly one of the worst songs to have emerged from
Coke Studio – not from just this season but in its ten years, the standard has never dropped to this degree until now." and the
Daily Pakistan reported that the rendition "...left a bad taste in your mouth". After the release of "Sayonee", Salman Ahmad recomposed the song "
Ghoom Taana" for
Coke Studio, he revealed to
Samaa TV about this recreation, "Ayesha, Eman, Sajar and Simal were at a singing competition where I was a judge in January. I picked them out of 25 participants." He then convinced the executive producers of the show;
Bilal Maqsood and
Faisal Kapadia; to give them a chance and they accepted. On bringing forward the new talent; the four girls called
Irteassh; he said, "We just need to give them a platform of arts and culture. They will succeed and show the world that Pakistan is a beautiful and rich country". He changed the old sound of the song to add a cinematic feel. While, he added that,
Momina Mustehsan also wanted to join him as she sung earlier with him when they were in New York.
Reunion (2018–present) In August 2018, Ali Azmat, Brian O'Connell, and Salman Ahmad came together once again to release a new video for the song "Khudi", sponsored by a biscuit company. On 25 December 2018, Junoon including Ali Azmat, Salman Ahmad and Brian O Connell reunited after 13 years to a sold-out concert in Karachi, Pakistan at the Moin Khan Academy. This was followed by another sold-out concert in Dubai on 17 January 2019. Junoon band has now embarked on a world tour with UK in Aug 2019, US and Canada in Oct/19 Nov. Back to Dubai in November 2019. The band will be performing together as Junoon till further notice. In the new lineup, American drummer and musician Taylor Simpson joined as the drummer of the band. A concert in Brampton, near Toronto Canada is planned on January 28, 2022. On February 18, Junoon performed at the Dubai Exhibition Centre at Dubai
Expo 2020 representing the line up featured by the Pakistan pavilion. The concert was unique in that it featured
Faisal Kapadia and
Goher Mumtaz during the closing set (who were in attendance during the event). ==Music==