Love Runs Blind

Did You Know?

• They released the first double album in Bangladesh, LRB I and LRB II, in 1992 on cassette format.
• Their 1996 album Ferari Mon: Unplugged Live was the first live album in Bangladesh.
• Ayub Bachchu gave his last performance in Rangpur, Bangladesh, two days before his death on 18 October 2018.
• LRB has won a record six Meril Prothom Alo Awards and a Citycell-Channel I Music Award in 2007.

History

Ayub Bachchu formed the band LRB, which originally stood for Little River Band. After discovering an Australian rock band with the same name, he changed it to Love Runs Blind in 1997. LRB was invited to perform at a concert at the University of Dhaka arranged by BAMBA on 26 April 1991, alongside bands like Souls, Feelings, and Ark. In their early days, they played live shows at Hotel Sheraton and Chambeeli Super Club with bands such as Ark and Feedback.

In early 1991, they signed a deal with Sargam Records and recorded their first double album, LRB I and LRB II, the first double album in Bangladesh, released on cassette. It included the hit "ঘুম ভাঙ্গা শহরে (In the Woke Up City)", written by lyricist Shahid Mahmud Jangi, which became an overnight success. After this, they signed with Soundtek in mid-1992 and released their third album সুখ (Happiness) in 1993, which brought commercial success with the power ballad "চলো বদলে যাই (Let's Change)".

Drummer Habib Anwar Joy left for Ark after this album, and Milton Akbar joined on 8 June 1993. In 1994, they released তবুও (Yet) from Sargam Records, featuring the hit "রাত জাগা পাখি (Night Bird)". Milton Akbar left in January 1994 and was replaced by Riyad on 31 January 1994. In 2012, Ayub Bachchu was admitted to a CCU hospital in Dhaka for water accretion in his lungs but recovered.

On 18 October 2018, he died from cardiac failure at his residence, was declared dead at Square Hospital at 9:55 a.m., and was laid to rest in Chittagong City beside his mother's grave.

Musical style

LRB is a hard rock band whose music has been described as blues rock, soft rock, and psychedelic rock, and they have been cited as one of the pioneering heavy metal bands in Bangladesh. Early influences included the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, and Dire Straits, with Ayub Bachchu citing Jimi Hendrix and Joe Satriani as his main influences. Their 1990s albums were mostly hard rock, pop rock, and blues rock, but from their 2007 album স্পর্শ (Touch), they released many heavy metal tracks. With the addition of guitarist Abdullah al Masud in 2003, the band produced a heavier sound, and their last two studio albums, যুদ্ধ (War) (2012) and রাখে আল্লাহ মারে কে (Allah Keeps, Who Kills) (2016), mostly consisted of heavy metal numbers.

Tours

LRB has played more than 1,000 shows, with a strong presence in Bangladesh and tours across Asia, Europe, and the United States. Their first performance outside Bangladesh took place in 1997 at Jadavpur University in India. After the show, the organizers, who had been unsure about the band’s quality, asked them to serve as a judge, and Ayub Bachchu agreed. In 1998, LRB completed their first international tour in the United States, covering seven states, and also performed in Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Japan, Germany, Austria, and Italy.

A second U.S. tour followed in 2000, and in 2002 they toured Europe, including Austria, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Between 2005 and 2006, they appeared at venues such as Salt Lake Stadium, Science City Theater, Alpha Bangla, ETV Bangla, Najrul Manch, Rabindra Shorobor, Guru Nanak University in Jodhpur, Haldia Utshab, Durgapur University, Kalyani, and the fest "EXOTICA '08" at Govt Engineer College, as well as NRS Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata for "ECSTASY 2013."

They have also performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City. LRB has used their music to support social causes alongside other Bengali rock groups, including shows for children affected by the Tsunami and Sidr, and campaigns such as "Say No to Drugs," "Save Motherhood," and "Victims Against Non-violence." In 1998, Ayub Bachchu released a solo album titled বাঁচাও বিধাতা (Save Me God) to aid flood-stricken people in the country.