Dele Fadele

Dele Fadele
Born
Ayodele Fadele

(1962-08-08)8 August 1962
Highbury, London, England
DiedMarch 2018(2018-03-00) (aged 55)
London, England
OccupationJournalist

Ayodele Fadele (8 August 1962 – March 2018)[1] was an English musician and music journalist who was active from the mid-1980s.[2] He wrote for the NME in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and was one of the first music critics to introduce then emerging US rap artists such as Public Enemy,[3] De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest[4] to mainstream British music fans.[1]

Fadele had broad musical tastes, ranging from hip-hop and acid house to shoegazing, industrial and grunge.[5] He wrote long pieces on artists including Nick Cave, New Order, 808 State,[6] Einstürzende Neubauten, Marianne Faithfull and Osibisa.[7] He was gregarious and according to Andrew Collins was always "absolutely impassioned" when he arrived at the NME office each morning [8]

He died in March 2018 from stomach cancer. His death was not known to his former music industry colleagues until August 2020. Many of them wrote shocked but highly appreciative obituaries in the following days. Chuck D of Public Enemy said that Fadele was the "first black journalist from the UK that ever interviewed me", and that he "thought that was amazing. And it was for our first important spread in the UK music press too."[2]

  1. ^ a b Jonze, Tim (14 September 2020). "'He was a groundbreaker and a visionary': music writer Dele Fadele remembered". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b Robb, John (20 August 2020). "Dele Fadele – music journalist legend RIP". Louder Than War. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  3. ^ Fadele, Dele (16 May 1987). "Public Enemy: The Enemy Without". NME.
  4. ^ Fadele, Dele (15 December 1990). "A Tribe Called Quest: Why Are You Being So Treasonable Now?". NME.
  5. ^ "Dele Fadele". Rock's Backpages. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  6. ^ Fadele, Dele (6 March 1993). "808 State: Town and Country Club, London". NME.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference qt was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Long, Pat (2012). The History of the NME: High times and low lives at the world's most famous music magazine. Portico. ISBN 978-1907554483.