- About postgraduate study
- Part-time study
- Courses
- Faculties
- UK students
- EU students
- International Students
- How to apply for your course
- Handy Hints
- Open Events
- Student Recruitment
- Money Matters
- About Us
9 Mar 2010 08:44:15
Driven Abbey K is the Rolls-Royce of singers – and he’s returning to Pakistan this Easter to prove it.
Real name Khalid Mirza, the mature student at the University of Bedfordshire is in the third and final year of a Music Technology degree.
Before starting his degree, he juggled singing with his full-time jobs – first as an engineer for Rolls-Royce and latterly as a driving instructor.
Abbey K was ‘discovered’ performing on Manchester-based Asian channel DM Digital TV. This was by Birmingham-based film producer Raja Fazal Pehlwan who invited him to fly out to Lahore in Easter 2008 to work.
He was invited back last Easter to record for similar Bollywood-style films and is returning to Pakistan for a third time to record vocals for four films.
Last year’s visit saw him record 27 complete songs in a month for four different films, including the vocals for nine tracks in just one day!
Abbey K also composes his own songs and some of his work has been covered by professional singers in the last few years.
And the Lutonian, married with children, has also branched out into film production, dealing with the playback side and musical composition for three movies for the UK Asian market in the last two years. He even enjoyed a cameo role in his second film Khushian (Happiness).
His third and latest film, Sada Dushman (Our Enemy), is due for release this summer and deals with the dangers of drug abuse.
Abbey K said: “The story is a bit more serious for this new film. It tells how one lad takes drugs and how this destroys his family. There are still some lighter moments though in true Bollywood fashion.”
He has been singing for the last two decades on and off, including a two-year stint at the Watford School of Music. He travels all over the UK to perform, either playing with live musicians or to backing tracks.
Abbey K said: “I’m just a struggling artist at the moment but hopefully I’ll make it big one day – and make some money! It’s been hard to fit in my singing and film work with my studies over the last couple of years.
“But the two and a half years here have gone so quickly and the University has opened my mind and encouraged me. The University has built up my confidence to take things further as a career.
“Maybe if I hadn’t come to the University, I wouldn’t be doing all that I am now.”
You can see and hear Abbey K’s work on www.youtube.com/pspuk
