Love Runs Blind, often abbreviated as LRB, was a Bangladeshi

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band formed in

Chittagong City Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

Ayub Bachchu Ayub Bachchu (; 16 August 1962 – 18 October 2018) was a Bangladeshi rock guitarist, composer, singer and songwriter, who was the founder of the Bangladeshi rock band LRB and earned success as the lead singer and the lead guitarist of the b ...

from 5 April 1991 until 18 October 2018. They are one of the most successful bands of Bangladesh. Since their formation, they have released thirteen studio albums, one live album and two compilation albums. They have also appeared in several mixed albums. They are considered to be among the pioneers of Bangladeshi hard rock music. They were originally formed as a

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band, but have experimented with many subgenres of

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

. After signing with Sargam Records, LRB released the first double album in Bangladesh, ''LRB I'' and ''LRB II'' in 1992. Their 3rd album ''" সুখ (Happiness)"'' (1993) helped them to get more commercial success in the country, and featured the song " চলো বদলে যাই (Let's Change)", which is one of the most popular rock songs in Bangladesh. Their popularity continued with hit albums like ''" তবুও (Yet)"'' (1994), ''" ঘুমন্ত শহরে (In the Sleeping City)"'' (1995) etc. In September 1996, they released ''" Ferari Mon: Unplugged Live"'', which was the first

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

in Bangladesh. They are the only Bangladeshi band to perform in the

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

, New York. They rose to mainstream fame in the early 1990s and is part of "Big Three of Rock" along with

Ark Ark or ARK may refer to: Biblical narratives and religion Hebrew word ''teva'' * Noah's Ark, a massive vessel said to have been built to save the world's animals from a flood * Ark of bulrushes, the boat of the infant Moses Hebrew ''aron'' * ...

and Nagar Baul, who were responsible for popularizing

music in Bangladesh in the 1990s. In 18 October 2018, lead singer and lead guitarist of the band

, died of

cardiac failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, an ...

in his own residence. Bachchu gave his last performance in Rangpur, Bangladesh, two days before his death. LRB is considered to be one of the most influential and successful rock bands of Bangladesh. ''The Top Tens'' ranked them number 4 on their list of "Top 10 Rock Bands of Bangladesh". They have won a record six

Meril Prothom Alo Awards ''Meril Prothom Alo Awards'' or ''Prothom Alo Awards'' is an annual Bangladeshi awards ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in Bangladeshi Film Industry. The awards are divided into two components, Viewers' Choice and Critics' Choice. The a ...

and a Citycell-Channel I Music Award in 2007.

History

Early Years, ''L.R.B. I'' and ''L.R.B. II'' (1990–1992)

In the late 1990,

got out of

Souls In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

. Bachchu along with S.I. Tutul,

Saidul Hasan Swapan Love Runs Blind, often abbreviated as LRB, was a Bangladeshi rock band formed in Chittagong City by Ayub Bachchu from 5 April 1991 until 18 October 2018. They are one of the most successful bands of Bangladesh. Since their formation, they have ...

, Habib Anwar Joy formed the band LRB, which stood for Little River Band. But, after Bachchu found out that an

Australian rock Rock music in Australia, also known as Oz rock, Australian rock and Aussie rock, is rock music from Australia. The nation has a rich history of rock music and an appreciation of the roots of various rock genres, usually originating in the United ...

band had the same name, he changed it to Love Runs Blind. Their first line up included Bachchu on vocals and guitars, S.I. Tutul on keyboards, Swapan on bass, Joy on drums. LRB were invited to perform in a concert in

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

arranged by BAMBA on 26 April 1991 along with other rock bands like

Feelings Feelings are subjective self-contained phenomenal experiences. According to the ''APA Dictionary of Psychology'', a feeling is "a self-contained phenomenal experience"; and feelings are "subjective, evaluative, and independent of the sensations ...

and many other bands. In their early days they used to play live shows in Hotel Sheraton and Chambeeli Super Club along with bands like

and

Feedback Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handled ...

. In early 1991, they signed a deal with Sargam and went on to record their albums ''LRB I'' and ''LRB II'', which was the first double album in Bangladesh. The album was released in Cassette format. It included one of the greatest hit songs of LRB "ঘুম ভাঙ্গা শহরে (In the Woke Up City)" which was the first released song of LRB as a band and this song was a super hit overnight all over Bangladesh, "ঘুম ভাঙ্গা শহরে (In the Woke Up City)" was also the first rock song of Bangladesh and the song was written by legendary lyricist

Shahid Mahmud Jangi Shahid Mahmud Jangi Chowdhury (born 6 February, Chittagong, Bangladesh), known professionally as Shahid Mahumd Jangi, is a Bangladeshi lyricist and author. Early life and education Shahid Mahmud Jangi was born in Chittagong, Bangladesh to fath ...

. The albums also include songs like "ঢাকার সন্ধ্যা (Evening of Dhaka)", "হকার (Hawker)", "মা (Mother)" and "এক কাপ চা (A Cup of Tea)".

''"সুখ (Happiness)"'' and ''"তবুও (Yet)"'' (1993–1994)

After the release of their double albums, they signed a new contract with Soundtek in the mid 1992 and quickly started to work on their third album '' সুখ (Happiness)''. The album came out in 1993. It was the band's first album to get commercial success. With the power ballad " চলো বদলে যাই (Let’s Change)" becoming the most popular rock song of the year, they became one of the best bands of that era. The song became their signature song. The album also included hard rock song "গতকাল রাতে (Last Night)", "রুপালী গিটার (Silver Guitar)". After the release of '' সুখ (Happiness)'', drummer Habib Anwar Joy left the band for

. On 8 June 1993, Milton Akbar joined the band as their drummer. In 1994, they released their fourth studio album '' তবুও (Yet)'' from Sargam Records. It included the hit song "রাত জাগা পাখি (Night Bird)". Though the album was not as successful like the previous album, it cemented their

status. In January 1994, drummer Milton Akbar left the band and was replaced by Riyad on 31 January 1994.

Death of Ayub Bachchu and tribute concert (2018–present)

In 2012,

was admitted to the CCU Hospital in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

for the accretion of water in his lungs. He recovered after receiving treatment. On 18 October 2018, he died from cardiac failure at his own residence. He was declared dead at Square Hospital at 9:55 a.m. He was laid to rest in

beside his mother's grave. After his death his bandmates and other musicians in the country held a concert named "Tribute to Ayub Bachchu" which was produced by BAMBA, where many bands performed songs of LRB. A tribute concert in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

was held on 24 November 2018, title "আইয়ুব বাচ্চুর স্মরণে দুই বাংলার রকবাজি (In Memoriam of Ayub Bachchu, the Rocking of Two Bangla)" where many Indian artists performed songs of LRB. The remaining members of the band, along with his achchuson Ahnaf, performed in the whole country. They started another tour from 22 January 2019, with Golam ur Rahman Romel on vocals and drums, Abdullah al Masud on guitars and Saidul Hasan Swapan on bass. The first show was held at ''"Hotel the Palace"'' in

Sylhet Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate an ...

. On 7 April 2019, during an event at Cafe Thirty-three, under the tagline "The Legacy Continues", the group announced Balam Jahangir as their new lead singer. Bachchu's wife and daughter was not satisfied with the members of the band performing with a new singer under the name LRB. They asked the members to change the name. The band was disbanded for few days and the other members of the band along with Balam formed a new band named, "Balam and the Legacy". Bangladesh Copyright Office said that: "Bachchu is the sole owner of LRB, only his heirs can run the band with the same name." On 15 April 2019, Bachchu's son Ahnaf Tazwar Ayub posted in his Facebook account that he was "okay" with the other members of the band keeping the name, and later Bachchu's wife and daughter also agreed on it.

Musical style

LRB is a

band, whose music has often been described as

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

. The band has been cited as one of the pioneering heavy metal band in Bangladesh. Early on LRB were influenced by

the Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

and

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percuss ...

. Ayub Bachchu stated in an interview that

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

and

Joe Satriani Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". ''AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and guitar teacher. Early in his ...

were his main influences. On the back sleeve of their album, ''LRB II'', Bachchu said that: The 1990s albums of LRB were mostly hard rock,

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

and blues rock. But, from their 2007 studio album ''" স্পর্শ (Touch)"'' they have released many heavy metal tracks. Since, Abdullah al Masud joined in 2003, LRB was making more heavier sound as there were two guitarist. Their last two studio albums, ''" যুদ্ধ (War)"'' (2012) and ''" রাখে আল্লাহ মারে কে (Allah Keeps, Who Kills)"'' (2016) mostly consisted heavy metal numbers.

Tours

LRB has performed over 1,000 gigs that have included extensive performances in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

as well as tours in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and

the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Their first show outside country was held in India in 1997 at

Jadavpur University Jadavpur University is a public state university located in Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established in 1905 as ''Bengal Technical Institute'' and was converted into Jadavpur University in 1955. In 2022, it was ranked fourth am ...

, where LRB was to perform. But the organisers were a little bit doubtful about the quality of the band. After their performance they request LRB to act as a judge which

agreed to comply with. In 1998, LRB went for their first international tour in United States, where they played in seven states. In 1998, the group also played in

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The group played a second tour in the United States in 2000. The group had a European tour in 2002, which included

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. From 2003 through 2006, LRB performed twice in Italy and Belgium. They also performed in many cities in India as well as Germany, Singapore, Hong Kong, and

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...

in London. At Singapore they performed at Fort Canyon Park stage. In 2005 and 2006, LRB performed in

Salt Lake Stadium The Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK; ), commonly known as the Salt Lake Stadium, is an all-seater multi-purpose stadium located in Bidhannagar, with current capacity of 85,000 spectators. Named after Swami Vivekananda, the stadium fo ...

, Science City Theater,

Alpha Bangla Zee Bangla is an Indian general entertainment pay television channel broadcasting in the Bengali language. It is owned by the Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It is the first Bengali-language satellite television channel in India, officially com ...

ETV Bangla Colors Bangla, previously known as ETV Bangla, is an Indian general entertainment pay television channel broadcasting in Bengali language. It was launched in 2000 as ETV Bangla, owned by the Hyderabad-based ETV Network. It was later sold to TV18 ...

, Najrul Manch, Rabindra Shorobor, Guru Nanak University (Jodhpur), Haldia Utshab, Durgapur University, Kalyani, Govt Engineer College in the fest "EXOTICA '08", and recently at NRS Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata in their college fest "ECSTASY 2013". LRB has performed in

Wimbledon Stadium Wimbledon Stadium, also known as Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium, was a greyhound racing track located in Wimbledon in southwest London, England. It also hosted stock car and other small circuit motor racing events, and until 2005 hosted motorc ...

in London,

in New York City twice, and Ellin Garden in the United Kingdom. LRB also has used its music to support social causes in conjunction with other Bengali rock groups. Recently, they performed in support of children endangered by the recent Tsunami and Sidr. Also, they have performed in support of campaigns to "Say No to Drugs", "Save Motherhood", and "Victims Against Non-violence". In 1998 Ayub bachchu released a solo album "বাঁচাও বিধাতা (Save Me God)" for the aid of the flood-stricken people of the country.

Discography

Studio albums * ''L.R.B I'' (1992) * ''L.R.B II'' (1992) * ''" সুখ (Happiness)"'' (1993) * ''" তবুও (Yet)"'' (1994) * ''" ঘুমন্ত শহরে (In the Sleeping City)"'' (1995) * ''"স্বপ্ন (Dream)"'' (1996) * ''" ফেরারী মন: Unplugged Live"'' (1996) * ''"আমাদের? (Ours?)"'' (1998) * ''"বিস্ময় (Wonder)"'' (1998) * ''"মন চাইলে মন পাবে (If You Want My Heart, You'll Get it)"'' (2001) * ''"অচেনা জীবন (Unknown Life)"'' (2003) * ''"মনে আছে নাকি নাই (Do You Remember, or Not)"'' (2005) * ''"স্পর্শ (Touch)"'' (2008) * ''"যুদ্ধ (War)"'' (2012) * ''"রাখে আল্লাহ মারে কে (Allah Keeps, Who Kills)"'' (2016)

Awards

, - , 1998 , , Love Runs Blind , , Best Band of the Year , , , - , 1999 , , Love Runs Blind , , Best Band of the Year , , , - , 2000 , , Love Runs Blind , , Best Band of the Year , , , - , 2001 , , ''মন চাইলে মন পাবে (If You Want My Heart, You'll Get it)'' , , Best Band Album of the Year , , , - , 2005 , , Love Runs Blind , , Best Band of the Year , , , - , 2007 , , ''স্পর্শ (Touch)'' , , Best Band Album of the Year , , , - , 2009 , , ''Bolini Tomai'' , , Best Male Vocal of the Year , , Citycell-Channel I Music Awards , - , 2007 , , ''স্পর্শ (Touch)'' , , Album of the Year , ,

Members

All members *

(died 2018) — front-man, band leader, lead guitars, lead vocals * Shahidul Islam Tutul — keyboards * Habib Anwar Joy — drums *

— bass guitar * Milton Akbar — drums * Sumon — drums * Riaydh Sarwar - drums * Abdullah al Masud — guitars, vocals * Golam ur Rahman Romel — drums * Arif Shishir — drums * Kazi Md. Ali Jahangir Balam - lead vocal

References

External links

Official Website [archived

Official Website of AB Kitchen

Official Facebook Page

BBC Music

LRB (Love Runs Blind)
Band's Details with Lyrics {{Authority control Bangladeshi rock music groups Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups disestablished in 2020 1991 establishments in Bangladesh 2020 disestablishments in Bangladesh [ ategory:Musical groups from Chittagong

History

Early Years, ''L.R.B. I'' and ''L.R.B. II'' (1990–1992)

''"সুখ (Happiness)"'' and ''"তবুও (Yet)"'' (1993–1994)

Death of Ayub Bachchu and tribute concert (2018–present)

Musical style

Tours

Discography

Awards

Members

See also

References

External links