Jun 7: Youssou!

I first heard Youssou n'Dour's voice back in the early 80's. 

He was also the support for Peter Gabriel on his 'So' tour that I saw in Birmingham and which remains one of my favourite concert experiences.

Here he is on the best version of 'In your Eyes' to round off the live show that I saw that year.

In 1994, he released the track '7 Seconds' with Neneh Cherry. 

This remains a classic track, and introduced him to many. He later collaborated with a great many musical artists.

Youssou was a lead force in a style of music called mbalax. He is also called a griot.

This is a genre that has sacred origins in the Serer music njuup tradition and ndut initiation ceremonies.

He then became a politician in Senegal and was Minister of Tourism for a while. He won a Grammy in 2005.