Band of doctors: Fronted by a British Indian NHS doc, Gulz is touring the United Kingdom

A 25-year-old British Indian physician, whose ardour for music resulted in a band with some of his medical colleagues, has launched into his first UK-wide tour, with the launch present (February 10, 2024) in London just lately proving a sell-out.

Gulzar (Gulz) Singh Dhanoya began the indie-rock band named ‘Gulz’ throughout his college days as a medical scholar. It was throughout the COVID pandemic that the singer-songwriter plucked up the braveness to place out some of his musical creations onto the audio streaming service SoundCloud. Soon, this one-man bed room undertaking struck a chord with an ever-expanding fan base.

The lead singer and songwriter is now busy rehearsing together with his 4 bandmates for his or her subsequent dwell gig in Birmingham on March 16.

“How it often works is that at the second, I’m going away and assume of an thought for a track, and it’s very naked bones. Then we go into a studio rehearsal room and all of us collectively variety of take into consideration our components, and we simply maintain taking part in it again and again. It’s a nice strategy to variety of stability our artistic concepts,” Gulz informed the Press Trust of India.

While two of his bandmates are additionally National Health Service (NHS) medical doctors like him, two are professionals in different fields — this, he feels, brings some flexibility to placing a stability with late-night hospital shifts.

Talking to PTI, Gulz admitted to typically questioning how they have been all in a position to decide to their music with disturbing full-time jobs.

“It’s a enormous dedication. Obviously, the working day is lengthy, after which it’s becoming in exhibits and rehearsals and social media stuff. It’s like a second job and one which doesn’t realistically pay in comparison with a ‘regular’ job. It’s very cliché, but it surely’s simply because we like it,” he stated.

Themes of life in Gulz music

Born in Newcastle, in the northeastern half of England, to a Punjabi father born in India and mom born in Southall, west London, Gulz had music in his life from a very younger age.

From the nice Indian playback singer and classical music virtuoso Mohammed Rafi to the American R&B and soul music legend Stevie Wonder, his musical influences have been an eclectic combine — one thing that chimes with the variety of songs he is now creating lyrically and musically.

“I started by kind of writing music that appears like the music I like, and have tried to retain that in some methods. I simply attempt to weave sure themes of my life at the time into the stuff that I’m writing, be it relationships and breakups or simply having some enjoyable,” he stated.

Currently primarily based in Brighton and finishing his second basis yr as a junior physician in the National Health Service, Gulz plans to take a while off later this yr to focus solely on music.

Solidarity with NHS colleagues

Asked about the ongoing strikes by NHS junior medical doctors, demanding higher pay and dealing circumstances, the younger physician stated that the Gulz band totally supported their medical colleagues on this industrial motion.

“We all the time hope the subsequent set of strikes can be the final one, as a result of junior medical doctors don’t need to must strike. But sadly, there’s no different strategy to be heard by the authorities. The working circumstances and pay proper now are actually not acceptable,” he stated, declaring that in actual phrases, all his colleagues have been preventing for was an additional GBP 5 an hour.

“There’s a lot accountability that medical doctors have, with individuals’s lives at stake actually, and the working circumstances and pay don’t mirror that in any respect,” he added.

Hopeful of an India tour

Juggling their work shifts and rehearsals, the band is all set to carry out at the Sunflower Lounge in Birmingham. Then its tour is slotted for the lead singer’s house crowd in Newcastle, adopted by Manchester in direction of the finish of subsequent month.

Beyond March, Gulz is open to bookings. Asked if a tour to India could also be in the offing, the doctor-musician sounded very excited at the prospect of taking part in a gig in the nation that he had to date solely visited with household, to spend time with cousins in Punjab.

“After August, I’m out of contract, which sounds dramatic, but it surely’s really a actually good factor, as a result of it signifies that I’ve received a lot extra flexibility in my time and work. So, I might like to go to India and carry out, in case any promoters on the market need to attain out,” he stated.