Malkit Singh

Malkit Singh

Malkit Singh is a Punjabi bhangra singer from Punjab, United Kingdom, born in 1962. He is associated with bhangra and is credited as one of the artists who helps bring Punjabi folk music from rural settings to a wider international audience.

Career

In childhood, Singh gains admission to a school for six-year-olds when he is four, after his singing ability is recognised. In the 1980s he forms the band Golden Star, and together they record a set of bhangra songs that become established dance-floor favourites. His best-known track includes Tootak Tootak Thootian (Hey Jamalo).

During the 1990s, he records songs including Midas Touch, Forever Gold and Kudi Patoley Wargi. His work also appears in films such as Monsoon Wedding and Bend It Like Beckham. He performs with musicians including Pandit Ravi Shankar, Trilok Gurtu and A R Rehman.

Recognition and reach

Singh and Golden Star tour in twenty-seven countries. In 2000, he is listed in the Millennium Edition of the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest-selling bhangra artist in the world. He receives the Best Bhangra Singer Award at the Bollywood Music Awards in New York in 2002, and in 1997 he is recognised by the City of Los Angeles for services to the Indian community.

Later work

He releases 21st chapter, which includes the song Jago Aaya. His music also includes cross-cultural experiments with rap, house and Bollywood influences.