Paksitani Pop Queen - Nazia Hassan
Nazia Hassan, who has died of lung cancer at the age of 35, revolutionised Asian pop music. A singer of rare expressiveness, she pioneered the disco revolution in Indian film music in the 1980s.
If Someone Like You Comes Into My Life, the song she sang - as a 15-year-old schoolgirl - in Qurbani (Sacrifice, 1980), was one of the biggest hits in Bollywood film music. Young Asians in the sub-continent and Britain took to the dance floors to its tune.
Born into a well-to-do Karachi family, Nazia came as a teenager to London, where the song was recorded after she had met Bollywood filmmaker Feroz Khan at a party. She was not a trained singer, but Feroz, and the London-based composer Biddu, liked the nasal quality of her voice.
Nazia's association with Biddu brought her into the limelight on the British Asian pop scene. Together, they brought out the immensely successful album, Disco Deewane (1981), which, with its racy songs and harmonious blend of eastern rhythms and western beats, was number one for more than a year. Overnight, Nazia became the queen of Asian pop.
Later, she and her brother, Zohaib Hassan, sang in another Bollywood film, Star. They returned to Pakistan in the early 1980s and released their first album, Young Tarang. Another album, Hotline, followed in 1987. Nazia's last solo album, Camera Camera, came out in London in 1992. Though some of these later albums lacked Nazia's early expressiveness, they still revealed her joie de vivre.
Nazia, who had a London University law degree, lived most of her life in Britain, but always returned to her roots in Pakistan. She was independent, and was never afraid to speak her mind. A lot of her money was given to charity; she also set up an organisation to help the poor, and - even at the peak of her popularity - made special appearances on television shows for children. She spent a lot of time with young people, educating them about the dangers of drugs.
She is survived by her husband and son.
• Nazia Hassan, singer, born April 3 1965; died August 13 2000
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2000/aug/23/guardianobituaries)
