By Geoffrey RowlandsIt is so often said that it’s better to be lucky than good. If you are lucky and good, it’s a much easier road to pop success. Step forward 28-year-old Shahid Khan. Better known as producer and songwriter Naughty Boy, Shahid’s path to the summit of Britain’s singles chart was eased by winning £44,000 on the Deal Or No Deal television game show.“I’d dropped out of university and was back home in Watford living with my parents,” Shahid explained. “I was delivering pizzas but dreaming about a career in music. I decided to do two things, apply to The Prince’s Trust for a grant to set up my own music production business and apply to become a contestant on Deal Or No Deal.“I’d been making music in my parents’ garden shed but I needed enough money for a laptop computer and software to be taken seriously by anyone in the business. I hoped I might get the money from one of the applications.“As it happened, they both worked out. I received £5,000 from The Prince’s Trust. This got me going and the winnings from Deal Or No Deal meant I was able to afford a place at the Ealing Studios complex.“The great thing about Deal Or No Deal is you don’t need to know anything. It’s the sheer good luck of picking what turn out to be the right boxes. I even beat The Banker. His offer was £9,000 more than I had in my box.”The money initially gave Shahid the time to take an unpaid apprenticeship at a recording studio in Shepherd’s Bush. He learned how to use the equipment and determined what was required for his own studio. “The first artists I worked with were London rappers such as Tinie Tempah and Chipmunk. They’re big now but were underground back then. I had my first top 10 hit by co-writing Diamond Rings for Chipmunk.”He co-wrote the song with Emeli Sande. Now the recipient of multiple awards, Emeli was then an unknown singer/songwriter who had attracted Shahid’s attention at an Iluvlive club night. “I was captivated by Emeli’s performance. It felt like she was just singing to me. I met her afterwards and we began e-mailing work to each other. She was still living in Scotland so stayed in a local bed and breakfast guest house when she travelled down to have songwriting sessions with me.”Shahid’s name is all over the songwriting and production credits on Emeli’s record-breaking debut album, Our Version of Events. But he has now found major success in his own right with Naughty Boy’s La La La topping the UK singles chart.“I couldn’t believe it when my song hit top spot on the first day of release and stayed there all week. This was my first mainstream number one. I’d had some other big hits but being number one just felt incredible.”La La La, which features British singer Sam Smith, is taken from Naughty Boy’s forthcoming debut album, Hotel Cabana. A concept LP showcasing a mix of star name and lesser known vocalists, the artists effectively portray characters in a filmic narrative.“Creating the album made me feel more like a movie director than just a songwriter and producer. Hotel Cabana is a state of mind as much as a place. The songs develop a story. I think it’s an album for our time.” Despite his success, Shahid still lives with his parents and sees himself as no more than a Watford boy who made good.“I know I got lucky but I had an objective and took the initiative in trying things to achieve my goal. I’d always encourage anyone to do the same.”IN BRIEFBlack SabbathHeavy metal veterans Black Sabbath have made UK chart history. The band’s long-awaited new album, 13, shot straight to the top of Britain’s LP chart. This gave them their first number one since October, 1970, when pole position was held by the band’s second album, Paranoid. The span of 42 years and eight months is a new record for the biggest gap between number one albums. Bob Dylan held the previous mark with the passing of 38 years and six months between 1970’s New Morning and 2009’s Together Through Life.Rod Stewart had set what became a short-lived new record for British artists earlier this year. His current album, Time, gave Rod his first chart-topper since 1976’s A Night On The Town.Black Sabbath’s album can be heard in full on the Internet. 13 is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGOvKJYDXXsLissieAmerican folk rocker Lissie has been delighting fans and critics alike since the release of her debut EP, Why You Runnin’, in 2009. Real name Elisabeth Corrin Maurus, the quality of her first album, Catching a Tiger, prompted the accolade of Best New Solo Artist of 2010 from Paste magazine.Apart from earning a minor UK hit in early 2012 when her cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Go Your Own Way was used in a Twinings Tea television commercial, Lissie has been fairly quiet in recent times. But she is back now with Shameless, the lead single from her as-yet-untitled sophomore album which is set for release in September.The Shameless video is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5vzZcbH39E. More of Lissie’s songs, including the entire Catching a Tiger album, can also be found on YouTube. Gain access by typing her name in the website search box.The Julie RuinBikini Kill spent much of 1997 in the process of breaking up. Lead singer, Kathleen Hanna, devoted herself to creating the songs for a solo album which she released the following year under the name of Julie Ruin.Kathleen’s friends, Sadie Benning and Johanna Fateman, were originally recruited to form a Julie Ruin live band. But the project was abandoned in favour of the trio becoming electroclash outfit Le Tigre.Yet Julie Ruin has apparently always remained in Kathleen’s thoughts. So much so that she has named her new five-piece band The Julie Ruin. Their debut album, Run Fast, will be released in September. Lead single, Oh Come On, is already available. The video is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=8briC_E89yMIf you enjoy the song, it can be downloaded for free from (no www.) soundcloud.com/thejulieruin/oh-come-onThe entire original Julie Ruin album is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY0mCOg5yZY&list=PL9D42253BC8AEEBC1. The opening track, Radical or Pro-Parental, is available for free download from www.thejulieruinband.com/wp/Victoria JusticeWhere Ariana Grande leads, Victoria Justice will attempt to follow. The two girls co-starred in Nickelodeon’s teen sitcom, Victorious. They performed on the three Victorious soundtrack albums and both are now seeking success as solo artists.Ariana has already achieved this ambition. Her latest single, The Way, is a top 10 hit on Billboard’s Hot 100. Victoria, who actually played the lead character in Victorious, was slower to start her solo music career. Her debut single, Gold, has just been released.No promotional video exists as yet but a recording of the song’s premiere on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show is available to hear at www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNRXLVeNmbc. The lyrics are also posted here. Reveal them by clicking on ‘see more.’