Singer Tarsame Singh Saini, also known as Taz Stereo Nation and previously Johnny Zee, passed away in hospital last evening. Taz, who had been suffering from hernia, was due to have surgery two years ago but it was postponed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. As the hernia worsened, Taz fell, following, which he was taken into a coma. News of his deteriorating health emerged in early March.

However, Taz recovered and was taken out of the coma later in March. At the time, Taz’s family released a statement thanking everyone for their good wishes. The news of his passing away has certainly sent shockwaves around the world. Taz, a British singer, composer and actor of Indian descent, is the lead singer of the pop band Stereo Nation which was formed in 1996. He is credited with being the pioneer of cross-cultural Asian fusion music.

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He first hit the charts in 1989 with the album Hit the Deck which spent over 36 weeks on the UK Asian pop chart at number one. The album was produced by Tom Lowry. He went on to produce many albums in the 1990s and early 2000s which were successful. To date, all but two of his albums have received gold platinum and multi-platinum discs. His most successful album to date is Slave II Fusion, released in 2000, which includes many of his most well-known hit songs including "Pyar Ho Gaya", "Nachenge Saari Raat", and "Gallan Gorian". His music videos also feature actors before they became famous. His video Ishq features model and actress Koena Mitra In 2005, he won "Best International Artist" at the UK Asian Music Awards.

In 2007, he made his film debut with Don't Stop Dreaming, for which he also composed the soundtrack and did the playback singing. In 2008 he returned with his new album Jawani on the Rocks. His hit singles from this album include Meri Nazron Mein Tu Hain and Hai Hai Jawani. In 2010, he released his album, Twist & Shout, which was a success. The 2020 single release, Galan Goriyan, with Dhvani Bhanushali, which is a remake of the 2000 hit song, amassed over 10 million views on YouTube.