Eight years after his death, the ambitions Ayub Bachchu once described to প্রথম আলো remain unrealised. The Bangladeshi guitarist and bandleader died on 18 October 2018, and the plans he had outlined — a massive open-air concert, a competition for young guitarists, and a guitar school — never came to fruition, the newspaper reports.
According to প্রথম আলো, Bachchu had spoken in an interview about wanting to stage a concert at Manik Mia Avenue in Dhaka before an audience of 1.5 million people. He envisioned a three-hour set with local and international artists sharing one stage. His wish list of foreign performers included American guitarists Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Carlos Santana, along with British drummer Ian Paice. Among Bangladeshi artists, he named James, Bappa Mazumder and Manam Ahmed.
"We'll play a slot, for about three hours. And there will be 1.5 million in the audience. That would be the concert of my dreams," প্রথম আলো quotes him as saying at the time.
Why it matters
The unrealised plans point to something beyond one artist's wish list. Bachchu was among the most recognisable figures in Bangladeshi band music, and his ideas for a guitar school and a young guitarists' competition suggest he wanted to build infrastructure for the musicians who would come after him, not just perform himself.
প্রথম আলো notes that he also wanted to organise a contest for emerging guitarists, with instruments from his own collection going to the winners — the same guitars he had played on stage for years. The initiative did not go ahead for lack of sponsorship, the paper reports. A similar fate met his plan for a guitar school, which he intended to open not only for guitar but for other instruments as well, giving newcomers a formal setting to learn and prepare for music as a career.
A career built on the guitar
Born in Chattogram on 16 August 1962, Bachchu was drawn to music early. According to প্রথম আলো, his first guitar came from his father, and his interest deepened after watching Nayan Munshi play on BTV. He went on to perform with several bands before joining Souls, where he established himself as a guitarist, composer and music director.
On 5 April 1991 he founded his own band, Little River Band, known as LRB, which later stood for Love Runs Blind. His years with LRB are widely regarded as a significant chapter in the history of Bangladeshi band music.
His catalogue includes songs such as "Shei Tumi," "Cholo Bodle Jai," "Koshto Pete Bhalobashi," "Rupali Guitar," "Ferari Mon" and "Ekhon Onek Raat," which প্রথম আলো reports remain popular with listeners. The paper describes his playing as combining the force of rock, the melancholy of blues and melodic appeal, and credits him with treating the guitar as a voice of its own rather than mere accompaniment.
Had he lived, Bachchu would have turned 64 this year. প্রথম আলো notes that his songs continue to reach a younger generation that listens to, performs and reworks them — a following that has outlasted him.
The guitars he left behind
Since his death, discussion has recurred about the guitars Bachchu collected over his career. Each instrument, according to প্রথম আলো, is tied to a period of his working life — some played on stage, some used to compose well-known songs, others part of his personal collection.
The paper suggests that preserving the instruments is only part of the task, and that his wider ambitions could still be pursued. It raises the possibility of exhibitions built around his guitars, or a museum drawing on his instruments, handwritten song drafts and other musical memorabilia. It also points to a digital archive of his performances, interviews and recordings as a resource for future generations.
Whether any of these ideas moves from proposal to project is the question to watch. For now, the concert stage on Manik Mia Avenue that Bachchu described to প্রথম আলো exists only in the interview he left behind.
