San Francisco Frontiers - Despair and sadness follow death of Malian musical great Amadou

One half of the husband-and-wife duo Amadou & Mariam, the Grammy-nominated blind guitarist and singer died on Friday following an illness.

His wife Mariam Doumbia, who is also blind, described to AFP her late husband's last moments.

"I took his hand and tried to make some movements with it, but it didn't move," she said.

"I said: 'Amadou, don't do this, speak to Mariam'. I kept saying 'Amadou, Amadou....' but he didn't speak any more."

After he was taken to hospital, "I asked the doctor to check him," Mariam added.

He did and subsequently "told us that he was gone".

"I thought that, if Amadou went just like that, then me, I'm alone. I was alone and I will remain alone in life," Mariam added.

Well-wishers flocked to the couple's home to pay their respects and express their sympathy with the family.

Some were in tears, others silently fiddled with prayer beads.

Since Amadou's death "the house has not emptied", family spokesman Djibril Sacko told AFP.

No date has yet been set for a funeral service.

- World Cup and Olympics exposure -

The couple met at the institute for the young blind in the Malian capital Bamako. They had three children together.

They are perhaps best known globally for having composed the official song for the 2006 football World Cup in Germany and playing at the closing ceremony for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Fans have paid their respects to the musician in countless messages on social media.

Franco-Spanish star Manu Chao led the tributes to Amadou in a post on Instagram, saying: "We will always be together... With you, wherever you go," with a photo of him and the duo.

"Mariam, Sam, the whole family, your pain is my pain. I love you," he added.

Young Malian singer Sidiki Diabate lamented "another immense loss for Malian music".

Congolese singer Fally Ipupa, who was due to work with Amadou & Miriam, wrote on Facebook that he "still cannot believe that you are gone".

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

They began touring together from the 1980s, mixing traditional west African instruments like the kora and balafon with the Pink Floyd and James Brown records from their youth.

Their 2004 album "Dimanche a Bamako" (Sunday in Bamako) brought them worldwide success backed up by the title track.

They became one of Africa's best-selling and most beloved pairs, playing alongside the likes of Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz and Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour -- a childhood idol.

The duo went on to play at festivals including Glastonbury in England, share bills with Coldplay, U2 and Stevie Wonder, and play for Barack Obama at the concert marking the US president's Nobel Peace Prize award.

M.Powell--SFF