Muhammad Shahid Nazir (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Pakistani trader and singer-songwriter who found Internet fame with his

viral video A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Haupt ...

, "

One Pound Fish "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. It was released on 7 December 2012 for download in th ...

". His subsequent appearance on ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' led to a record deal with

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and th ...

Personal life

Nazir was born in the town of Pattoki, near

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

, Pakistan. He grew up listening to

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

and Punjabi music, and would sing religious songs during assembly at school. Prior to emigrating to the United Kingdom for a better life, Nazir worked for the family-owned transport company. He is married to Kashifa. The couple has four children. His mother, wife and children are still living in Pattoki.

Career

"One Pound Fish"

Following brief employment at a

pound shop A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, automotive parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, home furnishings, and a selection of groceries. It us ...

, Nazir, who had since settled in East London, began work at 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": After passing customers uploaded videos of him performing his song onto

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

, it became an internet smash and a

, and he was invited to perform the song on the television show ''The X Factor''. The song was later covered by

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 i ...

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and

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Post ''X Factor''

In November 2012, Nazir was signed by

as a recording artist, and released a dance version of his market sales pitch. A video was also filmed which featured Bollywood-style dancers and an appearance from former weatherman

Michael Fish Michael Fish, (born 27 April 1944 in Eastbourne, Sussex) is a British weather forecaster. From 1974 to 2004, he was a television presenter for BBC Weather. Career Educated at Eastbourne College and City University London, Fish was the lon ...

. The song was in the running for securing the

Christmas Number One In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume ...

for 2012 alongside ''X Factor'' winner

James Arthur James Arthur (born 2 March 1988) is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to fame after winning the ninth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2012. His debut single, a cover of Shontelle's " Impossible", was released by Syco Music after the fi ...

's release of his winning song "

Impossible Impossible, Imposible or Impossibles may refer to: Music * ''ImPossible'' (album), a 2016 album by Divinity Roxx * ''The Impossible'' (album) Groups * The Impossibles (American band), a 1990s indie-ska group from Austin, Texas * The Impossibl ...

Return to Pakistan

Nazir's fame alerted the UK's immigration services. Nazir had arrived in the United Kingdom on a

student visa A visa (from the Latin ''charta visa'', meaning "paper that has been seen") is a conditional authorization granted by a polity to a foreigner that allows them to enter, remain within, or leave its territory. Visas typically include limits on t ...

, but left his studies to work as a

fishmonger A fishmonger (historically fishwife for female practitioners) is someone who sells raw fish and seafood. Fishmongers can be wholesalers or retailers and are trained at selecting and purchasing, handling, gutting, boning, filleting, displaying, m ...

. In December 2012, under the government policy he was ordered to leave the country as his visa had expired. He returned to Pakistan in December 2012. His management said he would return to the UK to promote his musical career with a new entry visa. His agent, Samir Ahmed, said: "He will be returning to Pakistan and will be celebrating New Year with his family. His return to the UK is pending approval of a working visa. We fully expect him to return in the coming weeks". According to a 2016 article in the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British Political magazine, political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney Webb, Sidney and Beatrice ...

'', Nazir was declined a new visa to enter the UK because he violated the terms of his last visa by singing as a professional entertainer. A year after that he applied for another visa to try and appear in a film about his life, however it was also denied.

Discography

Singles

References

{{Authority control 1981 births 21st-century Pakistani male singers Pakistani male singer-songwriters Living people Musicians from Punjab, Pakistan People from Kasur District Punjabi people Pakistani businesspeople Warner Music Group artists Internet memes English-language singers from Pakistan Fishmongers (people)