10 Facts About Dele Fadele

Ayodele Fadele was an English musician and music journalist who was active from the mid-1980s.

Dele Fadele 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, De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest to mainstream British music fans.

Dele Fadele wrote long pieces on artists including Nick Cave, New Order, 808 State, Einsturzende Neubauten, Marianne Faithfull and Osibisa.

Dele Fadele was gregarious and according to Andrew Collins was always "absolutely impassioned" when he arrived at the NME office each morning.

Dele Fadele's death was not known to his former music industry colleagues until August 2020.

Ayodele Fadele was born in Highbury, London, on 8 August 1962 but raised in Ibadan, Nigeria, where his father practiced as an architect.

Dele Fadele later studied civil engineering at Syracuse University in New York.

In 1992, Fadele was the first critic to allege that Morrissey was adopting the imagery of right-wing politics and anti-immigration attitudes, when he said the singer was "fanning the flames of race-hate".

Dele Fadele had been out of contact with fellow music journalists for a number of years, and his death was only noticed by the UK press in August 2020 when it was reported that he had died two years earlier.

Dele Fadele was a brilliant friend, a lovely man and a fantastic writer.