Live at WOMAD 1985

Marking its 30th anniversary, Real World Records has released this album as a tribute to the late qawwali king, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, recorded at the label's first encounter with him at WOMAD in 1985 when he sang through the evening into the wee hours of dawn. For the very first time in his life, Khan performed before a largely non-South Asian audience for whom qawwali (music of South Asian Sufis or Islamic mystics) was a new experience. From here, this music was to go on to become an international phenomenon, transcending the boundaries of religion and language. The association with Real World, lasting for the rest of Khan's life, subsequently led to hit landmark albums like Mustt Mustt and Night Song (recently reissued and reviewed in this issue on p62) and numerous others.

The disc features four tracks from his regular repertoire including ‘Allah Ho Allah Ho’, ‘Haq Ali Ali’ and the enormously popular ‘Shahbaaz Qalandar’. But the outstanding number on this disc is a particularly energetic performance of the rarely heard Punjabi song ‘Biba Sada Dil Mor De’ (Turn My Heart). Although there are some better (and longer) versions of these songs on numerous other albums, this disc evokes the nostalgia of those heady days before the king was crowned and it is sure to appeal to fans.