Malkit Singh MBE

Malkit has released over 20 Bhangra albums

DESIblitz brings its SpotLight onto the Bhangra legend who has been in the UK Bhangra music industry for over two decades – Malkit Singh. From arriving in the 1980’s in the UK as a Punjabi singer to being the first ever Bhangra artist to receive a prestigious MBE (Members of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to Bhangra music, Malkit Singh has come a long way.

Malkit Singh was born in 1972 and was raised in the village of Husseinpur from Jalandhar district in the Punjab, India. He was educated at his village school initially and then graduated at Khalsa College in Jalandhar. His singing started as a hobby during his education years, starting at school and then at college. He entered and sang in folk song competitions during that time and received a star shaped gold medal at Guru Nanak University for his singing.

Malkit Singh arrived in Birmingham in the UK, in 1984 and was supported by Tarlochan Singh Bilga, who is a relative and was from the early 1970’s UK Punjabi band Bhujanghy Group. Subsequently, Malkit’s singing career started two years later in 1986 with the release of his first album and newly formed band called ‘Golden Star,’ which was aptly named after the medal that he won in India.

The first album called ‘Nach Gidde Vich’  was primarily an acoustic Punjabi folk album with the raw and live sounds of harmonium, tumbi and dhol. The songs from the album spiraled Malkit Singh into a new singing sensation of the UK Bhangra music scene. The traditional boliyan style song ‘Gur Nalo Ishq Mitha’ from this album was a massive hit all over the UK. Listen to this hit song by clicking on the player!

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Subsequent hit albums followed as Malkit Singh’s career strengthened year by year and huge hit songs like ‘Tootak Tootak Tootiyan’, ‘Kurri Garam Jayee’,  ‘Chal Hun’ and ‘Jind Mahi’ which was featured in the blockbuster movie ‘Bend it Like Beckham’ soundtrack, were all dance floor smashes.

Signed to the Oriental Star Agencies (OSA) record label in Birmingham (UK) and with long term support from Mohd. Ayub the owner of the label, Malkit has released over Bhangra 20 albums including I Love Golden Star, Put Sardaran De, Up Front, Fast Forward, Hai Shava, Gal Sun Ja, Midas Touch, Forever Gold, Akh Larr Gayee, Nach Nach, Paaro and Midas Touch II.

Malkit Singh’s live performances are as good as his recordings, which demonstrate the versatility of this singer and his ability to woo and entertain audiences world-wide. He has toured over 20 countries around the world and finds that he learns from every concert and admits he still has those nerves before every performance, hoping the crowd will appreciate his performance.

DESIblitz is proud to present an exclusive interview with the legend and king of Bhangra music, Malkit Singh. The three parts below demonstrate the depth of questions and answers during the interview in order to give you a very unique insight into Malkit Singh MBE. Find out about his likes and dislikes, his views on Internet downloading, views on music videos, the accusation of human trafficing, his favourite food, his favourite artists, his most loved song and lots more!

Interview Part 1

Interview Part 2

Interview Part 3

In addition to the MBE bestowed upon him by the Queen of England, Malkit Singh has won many awards during his successful singing career and these include being listed in the 2000 Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest selling bhangra artist of all time, an award from Birmingham City Council, the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation award and the NRI Institute Excellence Award.

Check out the gallery of pictures below of Malkit Singh MBE – the highlight of our SpotLight feature. Hover over the viewer and click on the play [>] button for autoviewing or the left and right arrows.