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Nayanka Bell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nayanka Bell
Birth nameLouise de Marillac
Born1963 (age 60–61)
Agboville, Ivory Coast
GenresDisco, funk
OccupationSinger/songwriter
Years active1981–present

Nayanka Bell (born 1963 in Agboville, Ivory Coast)[1] is an Ivorian singer who has released several albums, the earliest between 1982 and 1984.

Biography

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Bell's early work was inspired by the Francophone Caribbean, and although her native tongue is French, she sings in English.[1] Her debut album, Amio, was released in 1983, with styles ranging from funk and disco to ballads.[1] A second album in 1986, If You Came To Go, showed a greater Antillean influence.[1] Bell is considered one of the top female Ivorian singers.[2]

In 2000, she recorded a version of Serge Gainsbourg's "Je t'aime... moi non-plus", with Congolese singer Koffi Olomidé and performed it in front of 17,000 spectators at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy.[3]

In April 2009, Bell was critically injured in a road accident, prompting rumours to spread that she had died.[4] She in fact survived the accident although her injuries were serious and required several operations.[5]

Discography

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  • Just a Boogie (1983) SIIS
  • Amio (1984) Celluloid
  • Djama (1984) Celluloid
  • If You Came to Go (1986) Celluloid
  • Visa (1994) SLP Editions
  • Brin de Folie (2001)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Larkin, Colin (1998) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae, Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0242-9, p. 23
  2. ^ Ham, Anthony, Bainbridge, James, & Bewer, Tim (2006) West Africa, Lonely Planet, ISBN 978-1-74059-771-5, p. 262
  3. ^ Hebdo, Bamako (2008) "Nayanka Bell : Pourquoi on ne l'entend plus", Maliweb, 21 March 2008
  4. ^ "Côte d'Ivoire: Victime d'un accident dimanche – Nayanka Bell interdite de visite", Allafrica.com, 9 April 2009
  5. ^ Kader, Omar Abdel (2009) "Nayanka Bell: Elle va mieux", Top Visages, 18 April 2009