Hot Press Meets Naughty Boy

Shahid Khan is explaining how he ended up on television with UK national treasure and Mr Blobby bessie Noel Edmonds.

“I needed money to get my career off the ground,” says the 28-year-old producer who as Naughty Boy, has owned the number one spot for the past several weeks with mega uber-smash ‘La La La’. “Seven years ago I was delivering pizzas for Domino’s. I couldn’t see how I could be a producer. I knew I required funds. So I went on Deal Or No Deal.”
It’s merely one of several bizarre twists in his rise to the top. A few weeks ago Britney Spears’ producer picked up the phone and asked Khan to fly to LA, to serve as midwife to Britney’s upcoming reboot album. He’s also BFF with global chart-topper Emeli Sandé, whose success he had a huge part in plotting (Khan wrote several of her hits and helped her swing a record deal). His life, frankly, is ker-azee.
To be clear Khan wasn’t on Deal Or No Deal to make up the numbers. He lasted 26 episodes on the primetime quiz show, bagging £40,000 in prize money for his efforts – cash he ploughed into the studio he’d constructed in the shed at the end of his garden in Watford.
“Of course I thought going on Deal Or No Deal was mad,” he admits. “My family thought it was mad. Everybody thought it was a crazy idea. What I learned was that, if you want to achieve crazy things in life, you have to do crazy things. I wanted to be a big producer and yet I had no idea how you achieved that. All I knew was that money was essential.”
Was he nervous being on telly?
“At the start, a little. I got into it though. By my 26th episode, I was really enjoying myself. I’d nailed my game.”
Did he strike up a relationship with Edmonds? On screen, the presenter seems highly invested in how the contestants perform. Khan smiles.
“It’s interesting. Up until the cameras roll, you don’t really get the ‘Noel love’. However, I admire him. I like the way he thinks.”
With some cash in his pocket Shahid started to tout his production talents. He was randomly introduced to Sandé, a Scottish medical student recently arrived in London and trying to break into music. As outsiders, they struck up a mutual understanding and began to collaborate. Sandé’s single-mindedness left a lasting impression on Khan who’d been somewhat of a geezer, contentedly trundling along in the slow lane.
“Outside the studio, she’s had a big impact on me personally. I’ve taken a lot of notes from her. Obviously there are differences. She’s a singer. I’m a producer. It’s a separate ball game. That said, there are similarities in approach. Getting together was the best decision we made. She hadn’t worked with a producer previously, I hadn’t worked with a vocalist. She’s very driven and practical. I’m ‘friskier’. We combine well.”
They had creative chemistry. That much was plain, they felt. Initially, though, nobody else seemed to recognise their potential. Sandé wasn’t having much luck with a record deal; Khan was running low on cash. His savings were just about exhausted when the duo sold a tune to rapper Chipmunk. Released in late 2009, ‘Diamond Rings’ was a medium scale smash that bought Khan and Sandé a measure of financial breathing room – and, more importantly, brought them to the attention of the London record industry. It’s been up, up, up ever since.
“Having a hit is a strange and exciting feeling,” reflects Khan whose debut LP Hotel Cabana features vocals from Tinie Tempah, Dan Smith of Bastille, X Factor winner James Arthur and others. “It gives me hope. When you have a big record, you experience it in gradual steps. I was a bit afraid of the exposure initially. I’m a producer not a singer. Now I’m embracing it.”
With Sandé’s Our Version Of Events moving a gazillion copies, Naughty Boy’s production skills are in demand. He’s worked on the forthcoming LP by the aforementioned James Arthur; Lily Allen and Tinie Tempah have sought him out and in a few weeks he’s off to Los Angeles for that Britney hook-up.
“William Orbit rang up and asked was I interested. Britney’s great. Ultimately, it was William I really wanted to collaborate with. I wouldn’t just do a Britney track for the sake of it. I’m sure she has loads of people who could bring her songs. I want to switch it up, try something different. It’s going to be interesting.”