Popular singer Rachid Taha dies at 59

Algerian-born singer Rachid Taha has died of a heart attack in Paris aged 59, his family said.

He rose to prominence as the lead singer of Arabic-language group Carte de Séjour, which blended Western punk rock with Algerian Maghrebi music.

Taha was a magnetic and popular figure on France's rock scene ever since his 1981 debut as the charismatic leader of Carte de Séjour.

Taha was born on Algeria's north-west coast in 1958 and moved with his family to Lyon aged 10.

Taha moved with his parents to France when he was ten-years old, settling in an immigrant community around the French city of Lyon in 1968. His father was a textile factory worker. When 17, Taha started working at a central heating plant and worked as a club DJ during night.