Vital Signs was Pakistan's first ever pop band and were given the title of "pioneers of pop music.". The original line up consisted of Junaid Jamshed on vocals, Rohail Hyatt on keyboards, Shehzad Hassan on bass and Nusrat Hussain on keyboards as well. The band shot to instant fame with their 1987 patriotic song Dil Dil Pakistan.

Soon after Nusrat Hussain parted ways with the band to make way for guitarist Salman Ahmad. They released their successful debut album in 1989 under the supervision of multi-talented producer Shoaib Mansoor . In 1990, Salman Ahmad left the band due to differences with composer Rohail Hyatt and formed Junoon.

Rizwan-ul-Haq joined the band on guitars and Vital Signs released Vital Signs 2, the follow up to their debut album in 1991 which was a departure from the band's rosy imagery and sound.

In 1993, Vital Signs bagan work on their third album in Rohail Hyatt's studios in Rawalpindi. A few months later they released the hugely popular album Aitebar , which soon outsold its predecessor, Vital Signs 2. On Aitebar , the Vital Signs returned to the upbeat mood of their first album. After performing a number of concerts, they headed out with director Shoaib Mansoor to film Geetar ‘93 , a Pepsi-financed venture featuring videos shot all across Pakistan.

Rizwan-ul-Haq was then replaced by guitar virtuoso Aamir Zaki because Rohail Hyatt was not pleased with Rizwan's style of play. During 1995, Vital Signs began work on their fourth album but Rohail Hyatt and guitarist Aamir Zaki clashed during the recording. The band left for a UK tour after recording three songs for the new album but the two clash again in a continuing battle of egos and musical preferences and ultimately Zaki was asked to leave.

Vital Signs asked Assad Ahmed (from Awaz and then Karavan ) to play on the rest of the new album. The album was titled Hum Tum and was released to critical and commercial acclaim. It was a production masterpiece on which Rohail Hyatt perfected the moody Pink Floydian sound and production he first attempted on 1991’s Vital Signs 2. Melancholic compositions, dark lyrics and somber vocals on Hum Tum were a far cry from Aitebar ’s upbeat tone.

After the release of Hum Tum, the band concentrated on their personal projects and Vital Signs drifted away. Junaid Jamshed went on to pursue a career as a solo singer, Shehzad Hasan concentrated on his work as a music producer and Rohail Hyatt formed a production company.

There have been several rumors over the years about the band's supposed comeback but none of the plans materialized and Hum Tum remains to be Vital Signs' last studio album.

Members

Rohail Hyatt (Keyboards / Guitars)

• Formed a production house called Pyramid Production
• Known to fire several members of the band over the years

Junaid Jamshed (Vocals)

• Released three solo albums after Vital Signs' fourth album, all produced by Shoaib Mansoor .
• Announced that he would not perform or make any more music several times due to his religious commitments but changed his mind several times.
• Owner of a successful fashion label in Pakistan.

Shehzad Hasan (Bass)

• Worked with India's Pooja Bhatt on her movie Paap .
• Produced the critically acclaimed album Sawal by Rushk

Discography

External links

• Vital Signs on itsPakistan.net Music
• Bandbaja: Pakistani Music Magazine
• PakistaniMusic.com

See also

• Music of Pakistan
• List of Pakistani musicians
• Nadeem F. Paracha