Zubir Said made history with his music. In 1958, he composed Majulah Singapura – the iconic song that has galvanised our nation, and is still sung all over the island to this very day. But there is so much more to Zubir Said’s remarkable career than the song that has come to define it.

Intent on pursuing his dream of becoming a musician, he defied his father’s wishes and left his village in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, to settle in Singapore. Over 40 years, he became one of the pioneers of Singapore’s nascent music industry – composing close to 1,500 songs as well as countless film scores.