Pakistan's music band scene was discovered in the 60s. The Panthers, a Karachi-based band founded in the late 60s, consisted of Norman Braganza (Lead Guitar and Vocals), Fasahat Husain Syed (Keyboard, Sitar and Tabla), Eric Fernandes (Bass Guitar) and Syed Ahsan Sajjad (Drums and Vocals). The Panthers recorded two albums: 'Folk Tunes of Pakistan on Electric Sitar and Western Instruments' and 'East Goes West,' both released by EMI Pakistan. The Panthers disbanded in the early 70s when one of the band members left the country to settle overseas after Pakistan's authoritarian regime gained momentum.
The rise of musical bands in Pakistan began in the 1980s when cassettes first came into Pakistan bringing in a wave of Western rock music. Western-influenced rock music began to feature in underground concerts all across the country. In the 1980s, rock bands Vital Signs and Strings rose in defiance of the authoritarian regime and gained immense popularity amongst the youth. Vital Signs is widely regarded as Pakistan's first and most successful pop-rock band. Their single "Dil Dil Pakistan" was voted the third most popular song of all time in a BBC World poll in 2003, and is also called Pakistan's "pop national anthem". Despite being active since the late 80s, Strings attained widespread popularity after the release of their second album in 1992.
