Winning Play

Shahid Khan, the Brit R&B/hip hop producer who goes by Naughty Boy, has enjoyed huge solo success with his garagey La La La (featuring Disclosure singer Sam Smith), a UK #1 and multi-platinum here. His eccentrically conceptual album, Hotel Cabana, also taking in the earlier Wonder with Emeli Sandé, is populated by other illustrious guests: Tinie Tempah, Gabrielle, Bastille, Ed Sheeran and token American Wiz Khalifa (who partners Ella Eyre on the current single, Think About It). The inspiration came from an old job. “I used to work in a five-star hotel – I was a waiter there for two years in 2004,” Khan explains. He'd observe the rich and famous in the “luxurious” surrounds. “I became a bit obsessed with it, in a way. I wanted to be able to afford to go there myself. But then I started thinking, as I spent time working there, the guests seemed a bit lonely and depressed. They had money, but not many friends. I just started to see the other side of it.” For Khan, Hotel Cabana is an allegory for fame, its artists really like guests – “they check in and they check out.”

Gabrielle was a big name in the '90s, best remembered for the classic Dreams, but, disillusioned, she 'retired' in the noughties. Khan thought she'd be perfect for Hollywood. “I needed someone who's kind of seen it all – 'cause that song deals with the rise and fall...”

A sometime business student, raised by Pakistani immigrant parents in Watford, Khan was determined to crack the music industry, finding enterprising means to kit out his garden shed studio and establish a company. Not only did he receive a grant from The Prince's Trust, Prince Charles' youth initiative, he also signed on as a Deal Or No Deal contestant – Khan scooped £44,000. “I kept my cool throughout the whole thing. I didn't get out of my chair, I didn't hug anyone, I didn't do anything like that. I just stayed calm and I was just trying to trust my instincts – and I beat the banker, so it worked out really well!” Along the way, he connected with Sandé, then an aspiring singer/songwriter, and they created Chipmunk's 2009 hit, Diamond Rings. Khan was heavily involved in Sandé's mega Our Version Of Events.

Khan, these days producing for US acts like Rihanna, has been attached to various blockbusters, including the upcoming MKS (former Sugababes) album. “There are rumours,” he admits coyly. Khan is “so busy” promoting Hotel Cabana he's had to decline offers. Nevertheless, work has begun on Sandé's second.

Khan will be joined by his band at FMF. “I'm bringing Hotel Cabana to Oz,” he enthuses, referencing La La La's Wizard Of Oz-themed video. “Basically, I'm gonna be like the Wizard and I'm gonna bring all the different characters – and there'll be some surprises... I want it all to feel like you're coming into this world – so my band members might be dressed like hotel workers.”