Tosin Ajirire
Legendary drummer of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Tony Allen, is dead.
He passed on in Paris, France on Thursday at the age of 79.
According to his manager, Eric Trosset, the cause of Allen’s death was not exactly known, as he did not die of the rampaging coronavirus.
“We don’t know the exact cause of death,” he said, adding, “it was not linked to the coronavirus pandemic. He was in great shape, it was quite sudden. I spoke to him at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT), then two hours later, he was sick and taken to Pompidou Hospital where he died.”
Allen was in Lagos late last year. He was hosted to a show tagged: ‘Lagos No Shaking’ which held on November 29, 2019 at the upscale hangout, The Reserve located on Victoria Island, Lagos and owned by Multichoice chairman, Dewunmi Ogunsanya.
At the show compered by Ayoola Shadare of Inspiro Production, Tony Allen performed to the admiration of the guests, alongside other artistes like Tee Mac, Dabyna, Aderinsola among others.
He was in good spirit all through the show as he sang, drummed and exchanged banters animatedly with the audience. Born in Lagos in 1940, Allen was regarded as one of the pioneers of Afrobeat. Fela once said that, “Without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat”.