Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan PP (Punjabi: نصرت فتح علی خاں, pronounced [nʊsˈɾət ˈfəte(ɦ) əliː ˈxãː]; born Pervez Fateh Ali Khan; 13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997), also known by his initials NFAK, was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and music director.

He had his heart set on Nusrat choosing a much more respectable career path and becoming a doctor or engineer because he felt qawwali artists had low social status.

Khan's first public performance as the leader of the qawwali party was at a studio recording broadcast as part of an annual music festival organized by Radio Pakistan, known as Jashn-e-Baharan.

In 1989, commissioned by Oriental Star Agencies Ltd in Birmingham, UK, Khan collaborated at Zella Recording Studios with composer Andrew Kristy and producer Johnny Haynes on a series of 'fusion' tracks that propelled Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Party into the Channel 4 Christmas Special of "Big World Café."

[26] Following this, in 1990, the BBC devoted a programme of its series Network East to this collaboration, and Big World Café invited Khan, Andrew Kristy, and violinist Nigel Kennedy to perform Allah Hoo live on the show.

One of these collaborations occurred in 1995, when Khan teamed up with Pearl Jam's lead singer Eddie Vedder on two songs for the soundtrack to Dead Man Walking.

Khan also provided vocals for The Prayer Cycle, which was put together by Jonathan Elias, but died before the tracks could be completed.

Khan was the main performer at Imran Khan's charity appeal concert at the InterContinental London Park Lane Hotel on December 3, 1992[29] to raise funds for Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, a cancer hospital built in Imran's mother's name which provides free services.

[32] Khan contributed the song "Gurus of Peace" to the 1997 album Vande Mataram, composed by A. R. Rahman, and released to celebrate the 50th anniversary of India's independence.

As a posthumous tribute, Rahman later released an album titled Gurus of Peace which included "Allah Hoo" by Khan.

He also composed music for Kartoos, where he sang for "Ishq Da Rutba" and "Bahaa Na Aansoo" alongside Udit Narayan.

His final music composition for Bollywood was for the movie Kachche Dhaage, where he sang "Iss Shaan-E-Karam Ka Kya Kehna."

[34] After traveling to London for treatment for liver and kidney problems, he was rushed from the airport to the Cromwell Hospital, where he died of a sudden cardiac arrest on 16 August 1997, aged 48.

[41][42] In 1996 he was awarded Grand Prix des Amériques at Montreal World Film Festival for exceptional contribution to the art of cinema.

"[56] Widely acclaimed for his spiritual charisma and distinctive exuberance, he was one of the first and most important artists to popularize qawwali, then considered an "arcane religious tradition", to Western audiences.

[58][59] Many other artists have also cited Khan as an influence, such as Nadia Ali, Zayn Malik, Malay,[60] Peter Gabriel,[61] A. R. Rahman,[62] Sheila Chandra,[63] Alim Qasimov,[64] Eddie Vedder, and Joan Osborne, among others.

[65] His music was also appreciated by singers such as Mick Jagger, socialites such as Parmeshwar Godrej, actors such as Amitabh Bachchan, Trudie Styler,[66] Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, and Tim Robbins,[65] and authors such as Sam Harris, who cited Khan as one of his favourite musicians.

[70] In 2007, electronic music producer and performer Gaudi, after being granted access to back catalogue recordings from Rehmat Gramophone House (Khan's former label in Pakistan), released an album of entirely new songs composed around existing vocals.

[71] On 13 October 2015, Google celebrated Khan's 67th birthday with a doodle on its homepage in six countries, including India, Pakistan, Japan, Sweden, Ghana, and Kenya,[72] calling him the person "who opened the world's ears to the rich, hypnotic sounds of the Sufis."

[73][74] In February 2016, a rough mix of a song recorded by Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1998 called "Circle of the Noose" was leaked to the internet.

[76] One of Khan's famous qawwali songs, "Tere Bin Nahin Lagda"[77] ("I am restless without you"),[78] appeared on two of his 1996 albums, Sorrows Vol.

[81] Lata Mangeshkar recorded a cover version called "Tere Bin Nahin Jeena" for Kachche Dhaage, starring Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan and Manisha Koirala.

[77] Composed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the Kachche Dhaage soundtrack album sold 3 million units in India.

[82] British-Indian producer Bally Sagoo released a remix of "Tere Bin Nahin Lagda", which was later featured in the 2002 British film Bend It Like Beckham, starring Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley.

"[85] His music also appears on soundtracks for Hollywood films such as The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Natural Born Killers (1994), and Dead Man Walking (1995).

[84] The following are known sales of records with songs credited to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, either as a vocalist, composer, or special thanks.

The following are known Indian sales of Bollywood soundtrack albums featuring copied versions of songs originally composed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, without crediting him.