Amadou Bagayoko from Amadou & Mariam is dead
Bagayoko was born in 1954 and became blind at the age of 15 due to cataracts. He studied music at a school for blind, where he also met his wife Mariam Doumbia. The couple formed the duo Mali’s Blind Couple in 1980 and began to make a name locally. Bagayoko also played in the legendary Mali band Les Ambassadeurs during the 1970s.
In 1985, Amadou & Mariam broke through the borders of the country. They moved to Ivory Coast and later to Paris. In 1998 they got a radio hit with the song « Je Pense à Toi » and five years later they were picked up by the Spanish-French artist Manu Chao, who produced the album « Dimanche à Bamako » with them, where he himself visited several songs.
Singer Damon Albarn In Blur was also a big fan of the duo and guest lake on the album « Welcome to Mali » from 2008. The song « Sabali » became the most played French -language song that year.
Amadou & Mariam toured all over the world as a band for Blur, Coldplay and Scissor Sisters, among others. In Sweden, they played at Hultsfred 2006 and Way Out West 2009.
They performed at the latest at the closing ceremony for Paralympics in Paris 2024.
The family states for AFP that Amadou Bagayoko died after a period of illness. He turned 70.
