Amadou Bagayoko dead: Grammy-nominated musician of blind duo Amadou & Mariam dies aged 70 after ‘long illness’

AMADOU Bagayoko, the renowned guitarist and singer of the Malian marriage duo Amadou & Mariam, has died at 70. The Grammy-nominated musician died after a long battle with illness, his son-in-law confirmed on Friday. The band's manager, Yannick Tardy, said Amadou had been taken into hospital feeling drained on Friday, and died later that day.

He passed away in his birth town of Bamako. Mali's Minister of Culture Mamou Daff paid tribute to the star on TV. Amadou, born in 1954, went blind when he was 15 because of a congenital cataract.



But loss of sight never held him back, and he went on to study music at Mali's Institute for the Young Blind. More to follow..

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