"One Pound Fish", often stylised as "£1 Fish", is a
novelty song performed by
British-based
Pakistani fish trader and recording artist Muhammad Shahid Nazir, credited as
One Pound Fish Man
Muhammad Shahid Nazir (Urdu, pa, ; born 1981), also known as the One Pound Fish Man (sometimes stylised as £1 Fish Man), is a Pakistani trader and singer-songwriter who found Internet fame with his viral video, "One Pound Fish". His subsequen ...
. It was released on 7 December 2012 for
download in the
United Kingdom, reaching number 28 in the
UK Singles Chart, number 4 in the
UK Dance Chart, and number 1 in the UK Asian Chart.
Background
Following brief employment at a
pound shop, Muhammad Shahid Nazir, a Pakistani immigrant to UK, originating from the town of
Pattoki
Pattoki ( ur, ) is a city in the Kasur District of the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the headquarters of Pattoki Tehsil, an administrative subdivision of Kasur District. Pattoki is known as the 'City of Flowers', due to the abun ...
in
Punjab,
who had settled in
East London
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...
, began work on a fish stall at
Queen's Market
Queen's Market, also known as Queen's Road Market, and Green Street Market, is a historic street market in the London Borough of Newham. It lies adjacent to Green Street and Upton Park tube station.
The street market originated in Green St ...
,
Upton Park where his employer instructed him to use a trader's call to attract customers. He soon composed the song "One Pound Fish".
It became an internet smash and a
viral video after passing customers uploaded videos of Nazir performing his song onto
YouTube.
A music video to accompany the release of "One Pound Fish" was first released on 10 December 2012 at a total length of two minutes and thirty-six seconds. It featured
Bollywood-style dancers and an appearance from former
weather forecaster Michael Fish.
In 2012 it was rumoured that Nazir had been deported to Pakistan after his
visa had expired, although this was not the case.
Covers and remixes
The song has since been covered by many artists
including
Alesha Dixon
Alesha Anjanette Dixon (born 7 October 1978) is an English singer, rapper, dancer, television personality, and author. She gained recognition in the early 2000s as a member of the R&B, garage and hip hop group Mis-Teeq. The group disbanded in ...
.
Mindless Behavior performed it live on the
BBC Radio 1Xtra
BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been cod ...
Breakfast Show, and
Timbaland,
Boy Better Know and
The Kiffness made remixes sampling from the song.
Chart performance
Release history
References
External links
* {{official website, https://web.archive.org/web/20141207072512/http://www.onepoundfishofficial.com:80/, name = One Pound Fish Official Website (archived)
2012 debut singles
Warner Music Group singles
Internet memes introduced in 2012
Novelty songs
Songs based on jingles
Songs about fish
2012 songs