The concerts of Amadou Bagayoko (70) with Amadou & Mariam always ended euphoric

On Friday, guitarist and singer Amadou Bagayoko, together with his wife, formed one of the most popular African music acts in recent decades. The blind musical couple Amadou & Mariam sold millions of albums worldwide and packed large festivals and concert halls with their disarming mix of Maliblues, Afropop, Rock and electronic music.

Although the family of seventy -year -old Amadou Bagayoko at the French news agency AFP reports that he had been sick for some time, stopping was not yet the case. They were about to go on a European tour again, where they were booked several times in the Netherlands, including in TivoliVredenburg, Festival Best Kept Secret and the Concertgebouw.

Amadou and Mariam met in a blind institute in the Malian capital Bamako in 1974. He was 21, she was 18 years old and they loved the same music: traditional Malian music on Balafon and Kora, but also James Brown and Pink Floyd. Initially, they mainly sang for a West African audience and wrote songs about the difficulties of life with a disability: they were struck songs on which their voices merged about Amadou’s guitar playing.

Stevie Wonder

It was the start of a very successful music career. The duo involved more and more influences in the game, both Western rock music as well as Latin influences and Indian tablas. Among other things, through a meeting with Stevie Wonder, they also started playing outside of Africa, especially at festivals that specialized in African music.

The big breakthrough came in 2004 with their Hitalbum produced by Manu Chao Dimanche à Bamako. Often announced as ‘The Blind Couple From Mali’, Amadou & Mariam became a precursor in the new popularity of West African music that gained more and more foothold in the new millennium, both in original form and in a merger with rock and electronic music. From that moment on, they often played in the Netherlands, such as Lowlands in 2005. They also participated in one of the internationally driving forces behind that current: Damon Albarns ‘Africa Express’ with which they stood at Festival Glastonbury, including their fellow countrymen Tinariwen. There, a lasting friendship with the American rock band Scissor Sisters also developed, as they built up long -term relationships with many more band.

Their world hit ‘Beaux Dimanches’ paved the way to a broader radio audience. In 2006 they took the official song for the football world championship in Germany, followed by American festivals such as Choachella and Lollapalooza. A new album in 2009 provided a collaboration with their youth hero David Gilmour, guitarist of Pink Floyd. The duo also played that year with Blur and Coldplay and more and more, Remixen also found the road to the dance floor.

Concerts ended euphoric

The earring vocals of Mariam and the Nut Stream of Amadou’s guitar is difficult to resist. Live has built up a solid reputation over the years, not only by the public -friendly sound, but also because of their engaging stage presentation. The two lovers usually shuffled hand in hand in hand to crawl close to the microphones and find both physical and musical support together. A concert by Amadou & Mariam actually always ended euphoric, not least because of the both rhythmic and smooth guitar playing of Bagayoko.

Amadou & Mariam often commit themselves to charities, including support for people with disabilities. In 2024 they played at the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Paris. In their songs they sung social themes such as migration and exclusion. One of the most important moments for the duo was a meeting with Barack Obama when he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.

With the death of Bagayoko, Amadou & Mariam, a duo that has meant a lot for playing and popularizing West African music, that built bridges between different cultures and managed to attract a lot of attention for the position of blind in Africa. He leaves three children behind. The couple has friends through the entire music world who reacts shocked to his death. Manu chao posted on Instagram: « Amadou! We will always be together … with you wherever you go. »

To share

Mail the editors