The emblematic Malian musician Amadou Bagayoko dies at 70 | Musical news

Bagayoko and his wife, the blind duo Amadou and Mariam, have become one of the artists of the most sold and beloved music industry in Africa.

The Malian musician nominated at Grammy Amadou Bagayoko, who won world renown by molding traditional West African sounds with Western rock and pop influences while half of the blind duo Amadou and Mariam, died at the age of 70.

The Malian Ministry of Culture “learned with concern for the death of artist Amadou Bagayoko this Friday,” he said in a statement read on state television on Saturday.

“Amadou was a blind man who made his mark on the Malian and international scene.”

Bagayoko died in the city of Bamako, his birthplace. His stepson Youssouf Fadiga told the AFP news agency that the musician “was sick for some time” but had not specified what the disease was. He is survived by Mariam, who was also his wife and son, Sam, also a musician.

‘The blind couple of Mali’

Nicknamed “The Blind couple from Mali”, Amadou and Mariam have become one of the best -selling and beloved couples in Africa, playing alongside Damon Albarn by Blur and Gorillaz, and the guitarist of Pink Floyd David Gilmour – a childhood idol.

Born in 1954, Bagayoko became blind at the age of 15 because of a congenital cataract. He studied music in Mali’s Institute for the Young Blind where he met his future wife, Mariam Doumbia. The couple formed their group Blind couple from Mali in 1980, making their mark locally and international.

At first, they sang songs to raise awareness of the problems facing their peers with blindness and handicaps before their mixture of traditional African influences with elements of rock, blues and pop earned them a global suite.

They produced more than 10 award -winning albums, including the victory of French music, in 2005 for Sunday in Bamako and again in 2013 for Folila. Didanche A Bamako also won them one of the BBC Radio Awards for World Music in 2006.

Their 2008 album, Welcome to Mali, was nominated for the best contemporary world music album at the Grammy Award of the best contemporary world music album.

They opened for the British group Coldplay in 2009 and performed at the Nobel Peace Prize concert the same year when US President Barack Obama received the prize.

The latest world -class Bagayogo performance with Doumbia took place at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games closing ceremony.

The Spanish musician of French origin Manu Chao, who produced the album Didance in Bamako, offered his condolences online, alongside other international artists. “Amadou! We will always be together … with you wherever you go,” he said.

“I will never forget his friendship,” said Youssou N’Dour, a songwriter-songwriter of the Senegalese. “My thoughts go to my dear Mariam.”