Youssou N'Dour (also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine described him as, "perhaps the most famous singer alive" in Senegal and much of Africa. From April 2012 to September 2013, he was Senegal's Minister of Tourism.
N'Dour helped develop a style of popular Senegalese music known by all Senegambians (including the Wolof) as mbalax, a genre that has sacred origins in the Serer music njuup tradition and ndut initiation ceremonies. He is the subject of the award-winning films Return to Gorée (2007) directed by Pierre-Yves Borgeaud and Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love (2008) directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, which were released around the world.
In 2006, N'Dour was cast as Olaudah Equiano in the film Amazing Grace.
He took formally to the stage at age 12 and by his mid-teens was singing regularly with the Star Band, the most successful group in Senegal at that time. In 1979, he formed his own ensemble, the Etoile de Dakar, which, by 1981, had evolved into The Super Etoile. The most famous band in Africa, The Super Etoile, guided by Youssou N'Dour has crafted and invented a thoroughly modern African pop style, one which has gone on to influence artists as diverse as Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon.
It was Gabriel, in fact, who introduced N'Dour to American and British artists via his So album (in 1986) and took N'Dour and The Super Etoile on the road with him in a subsequent world tour. In 1988, Youssou N'Dour was a co-headliner on the Amnesty International "Human Rights Now!" tour alongside Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, and Tracy Chapman. It was during the "Human Rights Now!" tour that N'Dour first heard Chimes Of Freedom and became friends with Branford Marsalis, who appears on The Guide.
Links to Peel[]
Peel first seemed to have played Youssou's material in the mid-80's, but didn't seem to play further tracks after 1986 (although his friend and colleague, Andy Kershaw continued playing his songs [1]), except in August 2002 when he dedicated a Youssou N'Dour track to the Senegalese players in the Liverpool football team, who had "not a great night for them tonight, but hopefully great nights will follow." (Liverpool had drawn 2-2 away at Blackburn Rovers that evening.) JP: "If you're listening lads, a draw at Blackburn Rovers [is] frankly not good enough I think. No disrespect to Blackburn, but you've go to do better than that if you're going to win the title."
After Peel's death in 2004, it was found out that he had three of Youssou's albums in his Record Collection: N.
Shows Played[]
- 19 March 1986: Nelson Mandela (7" - The Rubberband Man / Nelson Mandela) Magnetic
- 14 April 1986: Nelson Mandela (album - Nelson Mandela) Earthworks ERT 1009
- 17 May 1986 (BFBS): N'Dobine (album - Nelson Mandela) Earthworks ERT 1009
- 17 June 1986: N'Dobine (album - Nelson Mandela) Earthworks ERT 1009
- 2002
- 28 August 2002: Absa Gueye (Compilation LP - The Rough Guide To Youssou N'Dour & Etoile De Dakar) Rough Guides
- 29 August 2002: Jalo (Compilation LP - The Rough Guide To Youssou N'Dour & Etoile De Dakar) Rough Guides