Amadou and Mariam get Scissor Sisters support

Amadou and Mariam have been announced as very special guests supporting the Scissor Sisters on six dates in the UK at the end of July. One of the Scissor Sisters favourite acts, the West African duo were personally requested by the New York band after they met at Bestival last year.

"The moment I first saw Amadou and Mariam live I was an instant convert," says Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters. "Anybody that could just stand through one of their shows or albums and not feel a euphoric sense of joy does not have a heart. It is both humbling and an honor to be playing shows with such incredible musicians."

The full dates supporting the Scissor Sisters are as follows:

Thurs 26th July London O2 Arena
Fri 27th July London O2 Arena
Sat 28th London O2 Arena
Mon 30th Manchester MEN Arena
Tues 31st Manchester MEN Arena
Wed 1st August Manchester MEN Arena

Tickets for the London show are priced at £30 and Manchester £28.50 and available via www.seetickets.com.

These dates mark a significant new step in the Malian couple's career, which has sky-rocketed since the release of their award-winning 'Dimanche à Bamako' in 2005.

The album has now sold half a million copies worldwide having reached #2 in the French album charts and receiving a prestigious Les Victoires de la Musique award - the French version of America's Grammy Award. In the UK, Amadou & Mariam were nominated for 'Best New Act' in the Mojo Honours List 2006, for a 2005 MOBO Award, as well as winning two BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music 2006 for 'Best African'
and 'Album of the Year'.document.write(unescape("