Seun Kuti mourns death of his father’s drummer and ex-band leader, Tony Allen | Theinfong

Nigerian singer, Seun Kuti has expressed sorrow over the death of one of the pioneer drummers of Afrobeats sound, Tony Allen; his late father’s drummer and also former band leader.

Tony Allen died in Paris, France, on Thursday, aged 80. He was born in Lagos and regarded as one of the founders of Afrobeat.

Seun Kuti took to his Instagram page to mourn the death of the legendary drummer. According to him, Tony always made himself available for his shows despite their differences. Seun called him a pure artist and a fierce competitor. He wrote: “Waking up to the most disastrous news. First Uncle Manu now Uncle Tony. These 2 men played together with me in my coming out concert in Dakar in 2004. Uncle Tony was always available to me and even tho we had our differences, there was never anything but love and respect. Uncle Tony was an enigma. A pure artist and fierce competitor( in his own way)! I love and miss u baba. Rest In Peace. #getthesax”

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