Guitarist and singer Amadou Bagayoko of the star Malian music duo Amadou & Mariam has died aged 70 following an illness, his family announced on Friday, paying tribute to the Grammy-nominated blind musician.

With his wife Mariam Doumbia, Amadou formed half of a group whose blend of traditional rock guitars and Western blues saw them sell millions of albums and conquer dance floors across the world.

Among other achievements the pair, who met at the institute for the young blind in the Malian capital Bamako, composed the official song for the 2006 football World Cup in Germany and played at the closing ceremony concert for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.

"He had been ill for a while," Amadou's son in law Youssouf Fadiga told French news agency AFP.

Their France-based manager Yannick Tardy, who had just spoken to Mariam by phone, told AFP that Amadou was taken to a clinic after feeling fatigue, before dying in the afternoon.

Confirming the musician's death to AFP, Mali's Culture Minister Mamou Daffe said he felt "dismay" at the loss.

France's Culture Minister Rachida Dati, also paid tribute to Amadou, who she says "embodied the generosity, commitment, and richness of French-language music.

"With Mariam Doumbia, they formed an unforgettable duo, both on stage and in person, and made their differences their strength," she wrote in her message on social media X.

After meeting in 1976, when Amadou was 21 and Mariam 18, the pair discovered they had similar tastes in music.

(with AFP)