19/06/2022
M. Nasir was born on July 4, 1957 in Bukit Panjang, Colony of Singapore (modern-day Singapore). He is the fourth of nine siblings. His father, Mohamed Sam, hailed from Pagoh, Muar in Johor and emigrated to Singapore. He worked as a firefighter in the Singapore Fire Department while his mother, Esah Yahya is a housewife who have a keen interest in the life story of Prophet Muhammad and studies in Arabic. After Singapore expelled from Malaysia in 1965, his family decided to obtain the Singaporean citizenship. Nasir began his early education at the Sekolah Tinggi Kerajaan Bukit Panjang before pursuing his studies at the Boys Town Vocational Institute.[3] He attended the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and graduated with a diploma in Western painting in 1978,[4] originally wanting to become an artist.
Career
Nasir performing at the Konsert Alam Muzik M. Nasir at Istana Budaya in 2009.
M. Nasir had been deeply exposed to music not only through listening to the radio; but also through his elder brother who had brought him purchased records of bands such as Bob Dylan, Queen, Al Stewart and Led Zeppelin while they were growing up in Singapore in the 1960s and 1970s.[5]
He was roped into music making in 1978 when a friend of his Wan Ibrahim, then executive producer of PolyGram Singapore, had invited him to write song lyrics for the band Alleycats, who were rising in popularity at that time.[4]
Nasir decided to venture into singing, releasing debut album Untuk Pencinta Seni under the name of Mohamad MN in 1979, which ended up being a flop. He moved on to form the folk rock act Kembara (Original act M. Nasir, A. Ali & Zainal Headwind) and Zainal left, Nasir forms with four other members; A. Ali, S. Sahlan, and siblings Abby and Eddie Ali. The Ali siblings however left the group early on the band's formation due to disagreements on picking what genre they wanted.[1]
Kembara released their own self-titled debut album, which became a commercial success with 25,000 copies sold.[4] The band went on releasing six albums and was riding on their fame until their disbandment in late 1985.[1]
After Kembara disbanded, Nasir went on solo again. In 1989, he released his second solo album, S.O.L.O under PMC/BMG. This was his first solo album in 10 years since Untuk Pencinta Seni (1979) and the first to be registered under his present name. He went on record five more solo albums – namely Saudagar Mimpi (1992), Canggung Mendonan (1993), Srikandi Cintaku (1999), Phoenix Bangkit (2001) and Sang Pencinta (2006), all of which became commercial successes. Though Nasir announced that he will release an 8th studio album, it did not materialise.
He also dabbles in the art of painting, particularly abstract art. He has conducted several exhibitions on his canvas works; the first being Tanda in 2014 and Tanda II in 2015, both in Shah Alam.[6]
Personal life
Nasir moved along with his family to Malaysia in 1984, where he became a naturalised citizen in 1989.[4]
He married Junainah Johari, who was the lead singer of Ideal Sisters, Singapore's earliest girl group on September 12, 1981.[7] Their relationship – from which they have five children namely Ilham, Yasin, Hidayat, Syafi'i and Nurnilam Sari – lasted until Junainah's death on 8 August 1998[8] due to asthma. Nasir's second marriage not long after was with actress Marlia Musa, and they both have a daughter named Suci Musalmah.[9][10][11]
His children are also involved in music making: Ilham, Yasin and Hidayat make up the band Pitahati while Syafi'i is a member of the psychedelic rock band Ramayan.[5]
His father, Mohamed Sam, died on 28 January 2021 due to natural causes at the age of 96. Nasir was unable to return to Singapore to attend his father's funeral due to COVID-19 restrictions.[12][13][14]
