London: Tributes have been pouring in on Sunday for singing legend Asha Bhosle following the news of her passing away in Mumbai, with diaspora groups and artists in the UK honouring her musical legacy. Describing her as a “sound of Bollywood”, the UK media highlighted the 92-year-old singer’s impact as a cultural icon over the course of a career spanning more than eight decades and made up of thousands of unforgettable tracks.
“Bhosle’s distinctive voice breathed life into countless film songs as actors lip-synced to her unforgettable tracks,” reads the BBC’s tribute to Bhosle. “Her pervasive presence in Bollywood earned her the 1997 hit Cornershop tribute ‘Brimful of Asha’, and she was also known internationally for a collaboration with British musician Boy George. “Her voice had an infectious quality that kept fans on their feet, dancing and singing along, ensuring that her music became the soundtrack to generations,” it states.
London Bollywood Orchestra (LBO), which wrapped its latest concert at Alexandra Palace in London on Friday with Bhosle classics such as ‘Chura Liya’ from ‘Yaadon Ki Baraat’ on the setlist, said it is adding a special tribute segment for the orchestra’s upcoming tour of Bradford, Manchester and Leicester. “The quality of Asha’s songs provides an emotional resonance that changes the environment in the concert hall,” said LBO music director Tim Pottier.
“We feel closer to the audience when we perform them. We will do some extra Asha on our forthcoming tour in homage to her extraordinary voice and musicianship,” he said. Bombay Funkadelic, a popular UK-based Bollywood events company, described Asha Bhosle tracks as the “ultimate secret
weapon” for their dance floor over the years. “For many in London’s South Asian diaspora, these nights became more than parties; they were spaces of identity, nostalgia,
and reinvention. At their centre was Bhosle’s unmistakable sound,” said founder Jaspreet Bajaj. “There hasn’t been one party amongst the hundreds we have organised over the past two decades where an Asha track wasn’t on the playlist.
Even as trends evolved, her presence on the dance floor never faded. She may be gone, but her music and memory will remain on the party scene,” she said.
“Her legendary collaborations with R D Burman, especially heavy hitters like ‘Piya Tu Ab to Aaja’ and ‘Dum Maro Dum’, never fail to land and always get the crowd moving,” added DJ Shai Guy. In the UK, Asha Bhosle’s influence was felt beyond the world of music as the chain Asha’s attracted celebrities and several awards to its fine-dining Indian restaurants in Birmingham and Manchester.
“No one can sing or listen to music on an empty stomach,” the singer famously said at the restaurant launch over a decade ago. In 2016, aged 83, she undertook a farewell tour of the UK with performances in London and Birmingham. “They will all remember when they heard a particular song for the last time in concert here,” she said at the time.
However, the singer was to return to the UK a few years later for a tribute concert in memory of her musician partner R D Burman as a final bow. The organisation British Indians Voice credited Bhosle as a “true pioneer who took Indian music to the world stage”. “End of an era in Indian cinema. The music world has lost a timeless voice,” said the group Reach UK.
