A London fishmonger just might be on his way to becoming the next Psy.
Muhammad Shahid Nazir, better known as the £1 Fish Man, has released a major-label music video eight months after a video of his “One Pound Fish” song appeared online.
Psy had a long music career (and a number of dance moves) before “Gangnam Style” went online and shot the Korean rapper to international superstardom, but Nazir, a Pakistani immigrant who moved his family from Pakistan to London in order to find a better life, was a fishmonger with an extremely catch trader’s call: “Come on ladies, come on ladies, one pound fish” before he went viral.
Colin Miller, a freelance web designer, captured Nazir, who had already become a local legend, singing at the request of customers at his stand in Queens Market, Upton Park and put it on his YouTube channel in April. The video instantly went viral.
“This bloke is a legend,” Miller wrote in the description. “One Pound Fish, market stall trader. He certainly entertains the good folk of East London with his unique song.”
It was watched over 4.2 million times and remixed by The Poke, Mindless Behavior and Timbaland, among others.
A couple months later, Nazir auditioned for The X Factor. He didn’t make it past the first round, but a record company approached him to record the song anyway.“One Pound Fish” is now backed by the massive Warner Music Group.
With almost 500,000 views in less than 24 hours, “One Pound Fish” is just as ridiculous as “Gangnam Style.” With the aid of auto-tune and a catchy beat, Nazir’s trader’s call is turned into a dance track as he grooves with the backup dancers, handles a number of plastic fish and jams in front of a number of London landmarks.
He even has his own animal-based signature move: His arm moves like a fin for the fish he’s selling.
For Nazir, it was a dream come true.
“I always wanted to be a pop singer,” Nazir told the Guardian in July. “I was shouting one day and started singing the next. God put the words in my mouth.”
And if nothing else, business at his fish stand will be booming.
Photo via OnePoundFishManTV/YouTube