Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the Pakistani devotional singer who had worked with such Western musicians as Eddie Vedder, Peter Gabriel and progressive guitarist and producer Michael Brook, died at age 48.
After traveling to London from his native Pakistan for treatment for liver and kidney problems, Khan was rushed from the airport to Cromwell Hospital, where he suffered a fatal heart attack.
How did Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan died?
London’s Daily Telegraph reported that doctors at the hospital blamed Khan’s death on his treatment in Pakistan with infected dialysis equipment, from which they said he contracted hepatitis.
The singer, who various reports said weighed over 300 pounds, had been seriously ill for several months, according to a spokesperson at his U.S. label, American Recordings.
Khan was a master of qawwali singing, which combines lyrics from Sufi religious poems with hypnotic rhythms and vocal chants.
Considered a superstar in the Sufi community, Khan drew thousands of fans to concerts, where many danced as though lost in ecstatic trances and threw money at his feet while he played.
