Nagar Baul (English: Urban Baul)[1] is a Bangladeshi rock band that was founded in Chittagong in 1977 by Kumar Bishwajit.[2][3][4] The band is considered to be one of the pioneers of rock and blues music in the country.[5][6][7] The frontman of the band, James, is referred to as the "Guru of Rock" as a mark of respect.[8]
History
Nagar Baul started in 1977 and was originally named Feelings and was formed by Kumar Bishwajit.[9] Band members included Ayub Bachchu and James.[9] Ayub Bachchu left the band in 1980.[9]
They released their first album, Station Road.[10] James, lead vocal and guitarist,[11] composed all the tracks, and wrote the lyrics for five of them. Though the album was not a hit, the tracks "Ager Jonome", "Amai Jete Dao" and "Rupshagor" enjoyed moderate success.[citation needed]
In 1993, they released their second album, Jail Theke Bolchhi. This album was a major hit, and Feelings became a mainstream band.[12]
In 1996, they released their third album, Nagar Baul. The Daily Star wrote, "Nagar Baul introduced Bangladesh to a whole new way of singing".[13] It had the "classic" and "iconic" song, "Taray Taray Rotiye Debo", based on the poem "Uttor" by great poet Shamsur Rahman.[14]
In 1998, they released their fourth album, Lais Fita Lais.[15]
In 1999, the band was renamed from Feelings to Nagar Baul.
In 2001, their fifth album, Dushtur Cheler Dol, was released.[16] This was their first album release under the new band name Nagar Baul, named after their album from 1996.