DHAKA : “We need to take care of young talents. I am begging, please take care of young talents – guitarists, drummers or keyboardists, whoever he or she is,” this is how Bangladesh’s rock legend Ayub Bachchu, who unexpectedly passed away on Thursday, appealed to the public on behalf of up-and-coming musicians during a TV interview, reports UNB.
Having known the hardships budding artists have to endure, especially when starting out, the multi-talented singer and songwriter wanted to see young talents across the country get support for their growth.
“This music world is in an uncertain path. We need to protect the artists. We need to send the title – insolvent musicians (dustho shilpi) – to the museum,” said one of the true pioneers of the genre that became known as Bangla ‘band music’, mostly inspired by Western rock and roll acts.
Ayub Bachchu, who had started his music career from his birth place Chittagong with the band Feelings in 1978, before finding fame with one of Bangladesh’s most famous bands, Souls, on lead guitar and sharing vocal duties.
He would go on to leave Souls citing creative differences, and form LRB, essentially the closest thing in Bangladesh to a superstar vehicle, in which Bacchu acted as lord and master.
Bacchu betrayed a patriotic soul once he took to wrapping up each of his live concerts to the tune of national anthem “Amar Sonar Bangla, Ami Tomai Valobasi” blaring from his guitar. Although knowing his rocker’s soul, he may just have been taking after one of his heroes Jimi Hendrix, who famously did the same with the US national anthem at a stage of his career.
Bacchu waited for long to introduce his son Ahnaf Tazwar Ayub, himself a budding guitarist, on the big stage.
“I wanted him (Ahnaf) to prove himself in a real way. I didn’t want to favor him as my son,” said Ayub Bachchu mostly known as AB.
The legendary name in the history of Bangladeshi Band music said though there are many young talents, everybody is scared of taking up music as profession.
“Being a father I was so happy to see my son playing guitar on big stage. But I was a bit sad, too,” he said on a note that this music industry does not provide a certain path. Ayub Bachchu even wanted initiatives from the government to give priority to music industry, the way cricket was given priority from the state level.
In another TV conversation with singers Kumar Bishwajit and Bappa Mazumder, AB
recalled his early struggles from when he first came to Dhaka in the late Seventies, putting up at a cheap hotel with his five other friends. “We were sharing vegetable for 1 person because we had limited money.”
The rock star said they had faced such moments when singing in wedding party was the only means to earn little.
“I remember, one day we had to go to Patiya from Chattogram by a tiny human-hauler with instruments. When we reached the spot, we realized there was no electricity. Then we were asked to sing without instruments,” the band music star said acknowledging that the outcome is always sweet when success is earned through struggle.
“Nothing can be achieved through short-cut way. Nothing is possible without continuous struggle,” he used to believe. Rocking all the way – Career Milestones
With tremendous fan acceptance AB is famous for his fabulous guitar playing. He joined the band Souls in 1980, one of the pioneers in the band movement of Bangladesh.
In 1991 AB left Souls after 10 long years of practice for perfection and formed LRB (Love Runs Blind). AB brought up LRB from the deepest of his impulse, its something beyond high devotion for music.
LRB started to play live gigs on the following years and their history of proceeding began. Millions of music loving people accepted their music with love.
Ayub Bachchu died of a heart attack in the city at the age of 56.