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Dele Fadele

Dele Fadele

Dele Fadele wrote regularly for NME in the late '80s and early '90s, focusing on hip-hop, acid house, shoegazing and grunge. Courtney Love claimed that his review of Hole at the Camden Underworld was the worst she ever received. Tragically, news of Dele's death in 2018 did not emerge until the summer of 2020. (Photo: Martyn Goodacre)

James McMahon remembers Dele Fadele

Tim Jonze's tribute to Dele

184 articles

List of articles in the library

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Einstürzende Neubauten: Heaven, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 14 September 1985

COLLAPSING NEW Virus Spreaders, Volcanoes Still Active, Last Few Day's Sounds capers — Einstürzende Neubaten: more than all this. Whispering in Heaven brings you closer ...

Echo & The Bunnymen: Warren Peace

Interview by Dele Fadele, ZigZag, November 1985

WHEN THE CONSCIENCE AND SOUL LIE – A BODY'S GOT NO CHOICE. ...

Psychic TV: National Club, Kilburn, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 29 March 1986

THIS IS THE STORY OF GENESIS P, HE'S THE BLOKE IN PSYHIC TV. ...

On-U Sound System, Adrian Sherwood, Tackhead: Adrian Sherwood: Ministry of Dub

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 16 August 1986

Producer ADRIAN SHERWOOD has spent a decade deconstructing and rebuilding music dubwise, from Ministry and New Age Steppers to Mark Stewart, Tack Head and Keith ...

Art of Noise: The Big Kiss-Off: Art Of Noise: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 30 August 1986

THEIR TIME, like the strained smile on celibacy's face, is desperately short. Like the tame, trained, caged bear all their disregard is now marshmallow; their ...

David Sylvian: Gone To Earth

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 6 September 1986

THE THIRD person entered store after store, priced nothing, spoke no word, and looked at all objects with a wild and vacant stare – having ...

Swans: Holy Money

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 13 September 1986

HAS THE vocabulary been conceived, reduced or minimal enough to transmit the gravity or even sonority of those emotions laid bare on this, this, this ...

The Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Run-DMC, Whodini: Run DMC, Whodini, LL Cool J, Beastie Boys: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 27 September 1986

RUN LIKE HELL ...

Cameo: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 4 October 1986

DOCTOR MY EARS ...

The Residents: Hammersmith Palais, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 8 November 1986

IF YOU often wondered what fate befalls ex-members of that most teenage of teenage groups, Menudo, don't. Their hearts are left in San Francisco where ...

The Residents: Hammersmith Palais, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 8 November 1986

VAUDE-VILE ...

Holger Hiller: Oben Im Eck (Mute)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 29 November 1986

A SAMPLER IS always back-to-back with an array of possibilities. At her/his index finger. The choices: to either steal in an indiscriminate manner without discretion ...

The Durutti Column: Durutti Column: Valuable Passages (Factory)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 3 January 1987

SOMETIMES, WHEN you're kept rooted at one spot by something, you stay. None the more sure about what it was that pushed you there, yet ...

Metallica: Masters Of What?

Report and Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 21 March 1987

First and biggest! METALLICA stumbled across the secret of speed-metal and threw open the door for the hairy hordes that followed. In the process, they've ...

Happy Mondays: "Everything Else Is Foreign, Innit?"

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 9 May 1987

HAPPY MONDAYS box ears as Factory's rhythm frenzy new boys. DELE FADELE is welcomed to their working week. ...

Public Enemy: The Enemy Without

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 16 May 1987

PUBLIC ENEMY are the latest hard rap attack from Def Jam's box of tricks, but very different from all that's gone before. Toting Uzi machine ...

LL Cool J: Bad Man Bites Back

Report and Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 30 May 1987

Woah, boy. This is LL COOL J, sitting behind the wheel of an automobile, sensing disrespect! Our man in the wraparounds and the probe-stick: DELE ...

Davy DMX: Now the beat is dope

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 6 June 1987

New York — urban hell special!: DAVY D, Run DMC/Beasties support star and longtime New York DJ, entertains DELE FADELE with a shot of drug ...

Trouble Funk: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 11 July 1987

SOME CLAIM Angel Dust is a one-way ticket to oblivion that brings out the random psycho in you. Forget it. These bona fide purveyors of ...

Einstürzende Neubauten: A Berlin of the Mind

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 19 September 1987

As EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN return from their two years of self-imposed exile, group-face Blixa Bargeld tells DELE FADELE why they remain the best burst on the ...

On-U Sound System, Lee "Scratch" Perry: Lee Perry: Revenge Of The Totally Bananas

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 3 October 1987

Dub President LEE SCRATCH PERRY holds court with DELE FADELE, and predicts the apocalypse. ...

The Dave Howard Singers, Spacemen 3: Spacemen 3, The Dave Howard Singers: University of London Union

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 19 November 1988

THE PROBLEM with most purveyors of ersatz electronic soul is they invariably forget the random element while building citadels of software perfect pop. Dave Howard ...

Diamanda Galás: Sometimes Words Are Not Enough: Diamanda Galás: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 14 January 1989

SELF-CENSORSHIP destroys our richest dreams before they're executed. Just as redneck hysteria is the last refuge of the foul-mouthed scoundrel, so does restraint cast doubts ...

Souled American: Fe (Rough Trade)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 11 February 1989

STILL TRAPPED in the much-vaunted US grassroots revival's clutches, Souled American are floudering. It's no surprise that the search for authenticity petered out, as the ...

Kym Mazelle, Ten City: Ten City, Kym Mazelle: Town and Country Club, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 8 April 1989

KISS IT BETTER ...

Band of Susans: Love Agenda (Blast First LP/Cassette/CD)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 15 April 1989

AS DOYENS of the New York post-everything underground scene and inheritors of the glistening mantle once worn by Television, Band Of Susans never clutch at ...

Todd Terry, T La Rock: Fridge, Brixton, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 6 May 1989

ONE MOMENT you're doubled up with paroxysms of laughter, the next you're seized with rhythmic convulsions. Suddenly, everything makes sense — Todd Terry isn't past ...

Swing Out Sister: Kaleidoscope World (Fontana LP/Cassette/CD)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 20 May 1989

THE SAFEST way to keep ahead of the pack is to reinvent yourself every time. Swing Out Sister are aware of this; from their debut ...

Band of Susans, Throwing Muses: Throwing Muses and Band Of Susans: Loving The Aliens

Report and Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 1 July 1989

THROWING MUSES, BAND OF SUSANS: GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL, SOUTHAMPTON UNIVERSITY, BIRMINGHAM HUMMINGBIRD ...

James: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 3 July 1989

SO WHY AREN'T James chartbusters both sides of the Atlantic? The nascent uplifting strains of the new songs are certainly well-crafted enough. And they're no ...

Boogie Down Productions, KRS-One, Redhead Kingpin: Boogie Down Productions/KRS-1, Redhead Kingpin: Town And Country Club, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 29 July 1989

SURVIVAL OF THE BRUTISH ...

KISS, Ozzy Osbourne, Poison, W.A.S.P.: Spheeris of Influence

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 5 August 1989

The macho world of Heavy Metal is not the most likely place to find a female film director, but PENELOPE SPHEERIS took her camera and ...

Richie Rich: Brixton Fridge, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 2 September 1989

RICHIE'S RICH PAGEANT ...

Schoolly D: Am I Black Enough For You? (Jive LP only)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 2 September 1989

SOMETHING'S CREPT up the stairwell and shat on your perfectly-formed oriental rug. Schoolly D has just moved in, and, as the old adage says, your ...

Nick Cave: Scala Cinema, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 16 September 1989

THIS IS a remarkable, grandiose conceit. The idea of Nick Cave reading from his first novel, The Ass Saw The Angel, is initially as antiquated ...

Buffalo Tom: Fulham Greyhound, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 21 October 1989

BUFFALO TOM don't trade on their American ancestry, it's just there. Immobile, inviolate. Watching them burn bright and spark off tonight, one wonders why we ...

Stereo MCs: Werner Seelinbinderhalle, East Berlin

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 21 October 1989

FEAST IN THE EAST ...

Kym Mazelle: Hell, Brixton Fridge, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 9 December 1989

HELL IS FOR HEROES ...

Alexander O'Neal: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 16 December 1989

THE LIFESTYLE stemming from competent professional soul is utterly despicable. Ostentatious displays of wealth inherent in the flashy cars and gaudily overpriced fashions turn my ...

Die Kreuzen: Islington Powerhaus, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 27 January 1990

PERHAPS IF more people knew about Die Kreuzen they wouldn't undergo such sweeping stylistic changes. From hardcore freaks to metal maniacs, from purveyors of soft ...

Ministry: The Ritz, New York NY

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 27 January 1990

REMEMBER MINISTRY? That hot Dance act from Chicago who influenced House and soaked up exclusively European acts? Well, they've changed. It's 1990 and all that, ...

N.W.A: NWA: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 9 June 1990

BAAAAAD ATTITUDE ...

Sun Ra Arkestra: ULU, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 23 June 1990

WORD OF mouth has drawn a near sell-out (To a free gig? — Ed) crowd to catch the legendary Sun Ra. Amidst rumours that he'll ...

Bim Sherman: Subterania, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 11 August 1990

BIM SHERMAN'S reputation precedes him: either as the slinky-voiced singer on a host of Jamaican 45s in the 70s, his numerous collaborations with Adrian Sherwood ...

Crime & The City Solution: Paradise Discotheque (Mute LP/Cassette/CD)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 1 September 1990

THE WAY Crime And The City Solution have transgressed rock's outer limits for the last five years hasn't registered with pundits who only know them ...

Aswad: Too Wicked (Mango LP/Cassette/CD)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 22 September 1990

ANYONE FAMILIAR with the sussed militancy of Aswad's early 'Three Babylon' period would never have expected them to take an easy option and 'go commercial'. ...

Caron Wheeler: Wheeler Dealer

Interview by Dele Fadele, Vox, October 1990

DELE FADELE TALKS SOUL TO SOUL TO A WOMAN TAKING CONTROL OF HER LIFE ...

Lush: Fire Lighters

Report and Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 3 November 1990

"I DON'T like words," says the erstwhile centre of attention with the shock of bright red hair. "Why?" Inquires the journalist querulously. "Oh, I'm gonna ...

808 State: State of the Manc Union

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 24 November 1990

The Haçienda's half full and "you have to go out of town on a Saturday night to have fun"... so can 808 STATE survive the ...

A Tribe Called Quest: Why Are You Being So Treasonable Now?

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 15 December 1990

Our reigning monarch scores as highly on the diss-o-meter as pop rapper Vanilla Ice for hip-hop hotheads A TRIBE CALLED QUEST. But a spot of ...

Galliano: Jazz Poets

Interview by Dele Fadele, The Face, January 1991

DJ GILLES Peterson's Talking Loud afternoon club (Sundays at Dingwalls, London) has a reputation for showcasing distinctive acts on the jazz tip, but recently moved ...

Billy Idol: Crockabilly!: Billy Idol: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 5 January 1991

THE HEADY STRAINS of pulsating drums and long-forgotten African chants fill the cavernous room: "Zumbayeh, Aikobayeh". Billy Idol's intro tape is 'Cult Of Snap' by ...

Lunachicks: Mammary Weer All Crazee Now!

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 5 January 1991

Yowza! It's ladeeez night every night in the weird 'n' wunnerful world of American underground rock 'n' roll, with the totally outrageous LUNACHICKS leading a ...

Omar: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 5 January 1991

THE HAIRCUT speaks volumes. A multi-storeyed do with the sides shaved, it confirms Omar's refusal to exchange street fashions for something more upmarket. His has ...

Tippa Irie: Original Raggamuffin (Mango LP Only)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 5 January 1991

FORTUNE HASN'T exactly smiled on Tippa Irie recently. After falling victim to the biggest tragedy the pop charts can offer — reggae toasters having novelty ...

Blur: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 12 January 1991

THE HYPE and shoddy promotional tactics surrounding Blur would surely stifle a lesser group. ...

Front 242: The Number of the Beat

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 12 January 1991

We are coming to your House! Paradise crumbles to the sound of FRONT 242's tyrannical Techno ...

Bomb the Bass: Tim Machine

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 9 February 1991

War broke out just as BOMB THE BASS released their first single for two years and the censors swooped. Now TIM SIMENON goes under his ...

Butthole Surfers: Piouhgd (Rough Trade/All formats)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 2 March 1991

PIOUHGD — WHAT A SCORCHER! ...

Massive Attack: Blue Lines (Wild Bunch/Circa)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 6 April 1991

IMMENSE AT WORK ...

Teena Marie: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 27 April 1991

EVEN IF you frequent arthouse cinemas like others do toilets, sometimes you can't avoid the craving for glitzy Hollywood entertainment. By the same token, anyone ...

Swans: White Light From The Mouth Of Infinity (Young God/All formats)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 4 May 1991

WHITE LIGHT, WHITE BLEATS ...

Northside: It's Dim Up North

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 11 May 1991

IN NOVEMBER 1989, Manchester's Free Trade Hall opened its doors to a host of spivs, reprobates, ecstasy-casualties, groovy people and businessmen, unwittingly becoming the focus ...

Bomb The Bass: Subterania, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 18 May 1991

THE TRANSFORMATION is now complete. Tim Simenon has finally shaken off the last vestiges of novelty-type pop stardom and embraced a glorious future-funk noise. Anyone ...

Curve: Bend Of An Era

Profile and Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 18 May 1991

CURVE may now be the drop-dead coolest group in indie rap-dom, but life-patterns weren't always so sweet for Toni Halliday and Dean Garcia. DELE FADELE ...

Coil: Love's Secret Domain (Torso)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 25 May 1991

FROM THE provocative cover which displays a severed penis ejaculating capsules of Ecstasy to the way the title track wryly quotes Roy Orbison's 'In Dreams', ...

Ice-T: O.G. Original Gangster (Sire)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 25 May 1991

FOR ALL the descriptions of graphic violence, sexism and general anti-establishment stances, Ice-T is a committed moralist at heart. Not for nothing did he portray ...

Massive Attack, Smith & Mighty, Mark Stewart, Tricky: Various: The Hard Sell (Earth Recordings/All formats)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 27 July 1991

NO CELL OUT ...

Mudhoney: Astoria, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 24 August 1991

IF YOU want a creative and intellectually stimulating evening, go seek out RW Fassbinder's The Bitter Tears Of Petra Von Kant. Mudhoney are experts at ...

A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, PM Dawn: De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, PM Dawn: Wembley Hall, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 5 October 1991

DIRE STRAITS fans are huddled in masses in the near vicinity, oblivious to the fact that the real revolution is being televised in this makeshift ...

Kirsty MacColl: Mean Fiddler, Harlesden, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 5 October 1991

"SO THAT'S what you look like!" Kirsty MacColl exclaims, faced with an altogether too respectable crowd of 30 and 40-somethings, then launches into an eerie, ...

Shabba Ranks: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 5 October 1991

LIKE THE herbsman grassed upon by his neighhours, some nasty rumours have been circulating recently about Shabba Ranks. To wit: that he's completely lost the ...

Digital Underground: Sons Of The P (Big Life/All formats)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 12 October 1991

YOU'RE TUNED in to the mutant descendants of P-Funk. Digital Underground are updating George Clinton's '70s blueprint to reflect much more worrying times. The larger ...

Moby: Shave the Whale

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 26 October 1991

He once sang with Flipper, but now MOBY — aka straight-edge Techno DJ RICHARD MELVILLE HALL — is having a whale of a time out ...

Hole: Camden Underworld, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, November 1991

YOU KNOW WHEN you're feeling elated, lost in wonder, not out of your cranium but wondering why there seem to be continents on the moon, ...

My Bloody Valentine: Loveless

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 9 November 1991

RECENTLY SOME DEEP-SEA divers stumbled on an underground cave thousands of feet below sea level. Stalagmites, stalactites and mini-icicles greeted their brave entrance, almost too ...

N.W.A: NWA: Efil4Zaggin (4th & Broadway/All formats)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 30 November 1991

BLAXPLOITATION OF MILLIONS ...

PM Dawn: Midnight Mass

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 21 December 1991

Praise the Lord and pass the platitudes! PM DAWN may be worshipped as 1991's brightest, dippiest new rappers, but they're keener to be set adrift ...

Mercury Rev: Nice Merc If You Can Get It

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 4 January 1992

THE FRIDAY afternoon rendezvous with Mercury Rev isn't quite going as planned. Police have cordoned off a large stretch of Harrow Road, West London because ...

Del Tha Funkee Homosapien: I Wish My Brother George Was Here (Elektra/All formats)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 18 January 1992

THE GROOVY, art-directed cover image finds Del Tha Funkee Homosapien in repose: scared stiff and crouching in a forest, hounded by numerous disembodied eyes. Like ...

PJ Harvey: Powerhaus, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 8 February 1992

LAST NIGHT A PJ SAVED MY LIFE ...

PJ Harvey: Scrumpy's Trusted Nut

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 15 February 1992

Way out West Country! Cut off from television, newspapers and all your favourite bands, PJ HARVEY is brewing up an intense, sexual storm that's set ...

Ride: Blank Re-Generation: Ride: Corn Exchange, Cambridge

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 14 March 1992

YOU KNOW the future has arrived early when Ride make mincemeat of the whole sorry teen-pop equation. ...

The Fall: Code Selfish (Cog Sinister)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 14 March 1992

"THOUGH PROUD of the way I've avoided prison.../When the cell door slams/I walk to the wall.../These are the words of success expectation/These are the words ...

The Sugarcubes: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 21 March 1992

HIT THE NORTH ATLANTIC ...

Saint Etienne: St Etienne: Clubber Soul

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 2 May 1992

Stop farming your hair for an instant and smell those flowers! Perfect pop is back and ST ETIENNE will be drifting it blissfully up to ...

The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy: Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury (4th & Broadway/All formats)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 2 May 1992

GREATEST AMERICAN HEROES – In-Disposable! Rono and Michael take their message to the streets ...

N-Joi, Orbital, The Shamen: The Shamen, the Prodigy, Basti, Orbital, N-Joi: Sound City '92, Norwich

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 9 May 1992

FRIDAY ...

Fugazi: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 23 May 1992

LIVE AND LET DIET! ...

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 23 May 1992

ARE YOU ready to have your heart skewered on a grill? Just remember, if you will, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds' cover version of ...

Mary Margaret O'Hara: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 18 July 1992

THE NIGHT is only three songs old when a lone, drunken heckler decides he's had enough. "Stop singing, Margaret," he admonishes. "You'd better stop that ...

Morrissey, The Smiths: Morrissey: Caucasian Rut

Essay by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 22 August 1992

POP STARS are especially strange creatures when it comes to giving that all-important 'image' an overhaul. ...

Babes in Toyland: Marquee, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 5 September 1992

SHRIEK LIKE A CHILD ...

Big Audio Dynamite, The Tyrell Corporation, The Wolfgang Press: Bad II, The Wolfgang Press, Tyrell Corporation: Town & Country Club, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 19 September 1992

CHARITY GIGS are decidedly advantageous in that they encourage strange bedfellows to share a stage; there's none of the usual persecution of support acts to ...

Cabaret Voltaire, On-U Sound System, Jah Wobble: Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart, Gary Clail's On-U Sound System, Cabaret Voltaire: Town & Country Club, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 19 September 1992

IN THE grey area between barrow-boy techno and lumpen flannel-rock, there exists a community of enthusiasts who refuse to let their output be dictated by ...

Mudhoney: Academy, Manchester

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 24 October 1992

AFTER ALL the earache, the broken promises, the mad mullahs chasing after dollar signs and the sheer Zen apathy of the times we're dying through... ...

Sebadoh: 'Doh What A Lovely War

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 14 November 1992

Sick of plaid-toting, attitude-brandishing, Seattle-worshipping corporate rock wannabes? Then seek a cure with SEBADOH, who speak the unspoken and think music is a huge and ...

Huggy Bear, Pavement, Sonic Youth: Sonic Youth, Pavement, Huggy Bear: Rainbow Club, Bristol

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 19 December 1992

SONIC THE HEADSHOCK 3 ...

Einstürzende Neubauten: Apocalypse Neu!

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 23 January 1993

Be honest, you missed the sheer noise terror, the rampant metal-bashing, the power drills and the quite literally explosive live show didn't you? Well now, ...

808 State: Town and Country Club, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 6 March 1993

THE COMPUTER-DRIVEN orchestral score that is Moby's opening gambit comes as a blessed relief. After two hours of beat-fascism courtesy of the hardcore DJ that ...

Slowdive: Pitta And Twisted

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 12 June 1993

Be gone with your rich kid, shoe-gazing, dilettante prejudices about SLOWDIVE, for the kebab-loving, apolitical enemy of the Manics are shaking off those untrendy pigeon-hole ...

Depeche Mode, Sisters of Mercy: Depeche Mode, The Sisters Of Mercy: Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 7 August 1993

GOOD VIOLATIONS ...

The Pharcyde: Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde (East West)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 7 August 1993

"DADDY, WHAT does 'crossover' mean?" ...

Buju Banton: Voice Of Jamaica (Mercury/All formats)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 21 August 1993

THE FURORE provoked by Buju Banton's virulently anti-gay lyric to 'Boom Bye Bye' last year has had lasting repercussions on music in general and raggamuffin ...

The Wonder Stuff: Irish Centre, Digbeth

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 18 September 1993

BRUM UNDAUNTED EVENING ...

Afghan Whigs: Astoria 2, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 25 September 1993

HIP LIBS... IT'S POWER! ...

KRS-One: Return Of The Boom Bap (Jive)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 25 September 1993

HIP-HOP pioneers have always found it difficult to get respect in any true sense years down the line. ...

PJ Harvey: 4 Track Demos (Island)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 16 October 1993

ROCK'N'ROLL EXISTS in a parallel universe to straight society. In this kaleidoscope of pleasures, people with suss, savvy and imagination are allowed to re-invent themselves, ...

Apache Indian, Chaka Demus and Pliers, General Levy, Shabba Ranks, Snow: Shabba: Arrival — Ragga's Born Again

Report and Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 25 December 1993

Just as grunge crossed over from the streets to the catwalk, RAGGA made the shift from underground to mainstream in 1993. Laying siege to the ...

Suede: Kentish Town Forum, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 8 January 1994

Figgy Star Lust ...

Dr. Dre, Snoop (Doggy) Dogg: Snoop Doggy Dog and Dr Dre: Every Dogg Has His Dre

Report and Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 14 May 1994

They called him an "evil bastard", said he shouldn't be allowed in the country, that there would be riots outside his hotel and gigs. But ...

Jah Wobble's Invaders of the Heart: Take Me To God (Island/All Formats)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 21 May 1994

BE ON YAHWEH! ...

Nine Inch Nails: Barrowlands, Glasgow

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 4 June 1994

IN HIS dreams, Trent Renzor is the last great warrior of industrial culture. As the Nine Inch Nails lynchpin. he wants to scare the living ...

Ash, The Cranberries, Crowded House, D:Ream, The Fatima Mansions, Shane MacGowan: Crowded House, The Cranberries, et al: Fleadh '94, Finsbury Park, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 18 June 1994

BLARNEY ARMY! ...

The Lemonheads: Lemonheads: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 19 June 1994

HOW HAS EVAN Dando managed to survive the Russian roulette games and hoop-jumping required of a heart-throb by the shark-infested music industry? How does he ...

Nas: Illmatic For The People

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 2 July 1994

MOST OF THE people Nas looked up to during an eventful adolescence in Queensbridge, New York City, are either dead or in jail. His DJ ...

Aswad: Shiny Natty People

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 3 September 1994

From their early militant days to today's mellowed-out elder statesmen, ASWAD have hauled British reggae into the '90s, sidestepping genres and influencing everyone from Ace ...

Coolio: Con Voyage: Coolio: Camden Underworld, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 10 September 1994

SOME PEOPLE with hidden agendas berate Arrested Development and Public Enemy endlessly for touring with rock bands. ...

Ice Cube, Public Enemy: Ice Cube & Public Enemy: Patinoire De Malley, Lausanne

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 17 September 1994

Yodel, Bum Rush The Show ...

Massive Attack: The Three Racketeers

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 17 September 1994

With the follow-up to their 1991 monster Blue Lines in the can, MASSIVE ATTACK are out to prove that homegrown soul fusion can take on ...

Body Count, Ice-T: Ice-T: Seine In The Membrane

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 12 November 1994

It's not all being grim and Malcolm X when you're ICE-T. You also get to go on the road with your mates, play metal and ...

Pearl Jam: Mo' Vedder Blues: Pearl Jam: Vitalogy (Epic)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 26 November 1994

NOSTALGIA MIGHT BE the last refuge of the scoundrel, but is it too late to turn back the clock? Can we return to a time ...

Blackstreet: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 14 January 1995

MODESTY might not be Teddy Riley's strongest suit, but he's certainly earned the right to project himself as a streetwise megalomaniac from the forgotten projects ...

R Kelly: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 14 January 1995

"IF YOU'RE 16 or under, don't try this at home." ...

Belly: Garage, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 4 February 1995

TUMMY GUNS ...

Tricky: Maxinquaye (4th & Broadway)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 18 February 1995

THE SEVERN ALLIANCE ...

Gravediggaz: Rock City, Nottingham

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 18 March 1995

THE HITMAN AND HEARSE ...

Moby: LA2, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 15 April 1995

WHEN COURTNEY LOVE tries it on, people think she's the defiant survivor shrugging the weight of the world off her shoulders. Yet, when Moby decides ...

Method Man: Method in the Madness

Report and Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 29 April 1995

Welcome to Florida, land of Disney, Dayton Beach and glorious Orlando. And paranoia, machine-gun toting security guards and camcorders shoved up strangers' crutches. METHOD MAN, ...

Cornershop: Water Rats, King's Cross, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 20 May 1995

WHO COULD have foreseen a re-birth on this grand scale? The basic struggle for Cornershop has always been one for identity and, while they've been ...

Royal Trux: It's All Chauffeur Now

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 3 June 1995

They're the most notorious rock band on the planet. They're wilder than a starving lion. So how come ROYAL TRUX are afraid of pre-teen Washington ...

Therapy?: Infernal Love (A&M/All formats)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 17 June 1995

SOME PEOPLE work down in the sewers. Others dispense hard-earned wisdom to spotty adolescents in the name of hard rock. Which job would you prefer? ...

Primus: Tales From The Punchbowl (Interscope/All formats)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 1 July 1995

AS THE cerebrally challenged Austrian King in Amadeus would have no doubt averred, there's but one simple problem here: "too many notes". ...

Goldie: You Can't Beat A Bit Of Bullion!: Goldie: Timeless (Metalheads/ffrr)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 5 August 1995

TO VENTURE INTO Goldie's world you must suspend conventional notions of time. Double-speed breakbeats fly past at irregular intervals; solemn strings swell, as if for ...

Cath Carroll: True Crime Motel (Teenbeat/CD only)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 9 September 1995

TO SOME people, Cath Carroll needs no introduction. Tony Wilson, the situationist supremo behind the sadly-defunct Factory Records, is certainly aware of her, having bankrolled ...

Green Day: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 7 October 1995

THEATRE OF MATES ...

The Chemical Brothers: Astoria, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 28 October 1995

OH NO, not the eyelids again... Nurse! ...

Cypress Hill: Prophets of Boom

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 18 November 1995

Welcome, disciples, to the Temple Of Boom (temporarily relocated to Baker Street). Marijuana monks CYPRESS HILL are in attendance, ready to dispense sacred knowledge on ...

The Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, Slayer: Russell Simmons: Def Shepherd

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 9 December 1995

Yeah Boyee! DEF JAM, the record label that put the ROCK in hip-hop and brought you the likes of Public Enemy and Beastie Boys, is ...

Teenage Fanclub: Kentish Town Forum, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 16 December 1995

SHOULD YOU happen to care about affection and chrysanthemums and heartache and damp bedrooms lit with a warm glow, then Teenage Fanclub will not only ...

Eazy-E, N.W.A: E Bygone!: Eazy-E: Eternal E (Virgin)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 6 January 1996

THE BIBLE says that, in the last days, men will actively seek death and death will flee from them. So, as sad and ultimately preventable ...

The Congos: Heart Of The Congos (Blood And fire/LP/CD)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 20 January 1996

THAT WAS the mother lode year, 1977, set in timeless stone for reggae, and the year that, as Rastafarians would have it, two sevens clashed. ...

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: Murder Ballads (Mute/All formats)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 3 February 1996

HOW DO you prevent any rational person from committing murder? ...

Tortoise: MichaelangeLo-Fi

Profile and Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 13 April 1996

Like Michaelangelo and his Ninja mates, they're mutant crossover crazies in a half shell! They are Chicago's TORTOISE and, supporting ver 'Lab on their British ...

Geto Boys: Southern Discomfort

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 25 May 1996

Deep in the heart of the redneck Bible Belt, squillion-selling rap supergroup GETO BOYS are living up to their paranoid bad-boy reputation. Bushwick Bill has ...

Grant Lee Buffalo: Copperopolis (Slash/All formats)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 1 June 1996

SOME MIGHT fiddle while America burns. Grant Lee Phillips, however, has seen the writing on the wall. A vague premonition of disaster troubles him very ...

Ice-T: Subterania, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 1 June 1996

GANGSTER'S PARADIGM ...

The Fugees: Forum, Kentish Town, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 22 June 1996

THE 'GEE-FUNK ERA ...

M People: Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 29 June 1996

HAIRDO WELL! ...

Nas: Ticket To Scribe

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 29 June 1996

Having adopted the moniker of one Pablo Escobar, NAS ESCOBAR set about creating vivid lyrical depictions of life in his native New York tenement slums. ...

Busta Rhymes, Shyheim: Club UN, Tottenham, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 27 July 1996

POPPED-UP TOASTER ...

Lewis Taylor: Lewis Taylor (Island/All formats)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 24 August 1996

THINGS COULD be a lot worse, of course. Lewis Taylor could turn out to be the new George Michael. Either that or his renaissance soul-man ...

Curve: Arc Psychosis

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 7 September 1996

HOLLYWOOD IN THE 1930s wasn't the ideal environment for a feisty, independent actress with an inquiring mind who couldn't stomach the iniquities of the studio ...

Foxy Brown, Heltah Skeltah, Jamiroquai, Montell Jordan, The Jungle Brothers, Tim Westwood: Foxy Brown, Montell Jordan, Jamiroquai et al: Notting Hill Carnival, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 7 September 1996

HOW THE WESTWAY WAS WON ...

Chuck D, Tricky: Chuck D and Tricky: Conversation Terrorists

Interview by Dele Fadele, Vox, December 1996

It was a most unlikely summit meeting when Chuck D, Public Enemy's motormouth mainspring and founding father of political rap, met Bristol maverick Tricky, hip-hop's ...

Dodgy: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 11 January 1997

SOME ARE born happy, some achieve happiness and some have happiness thrust upon them. Dodgy were born happy. In their minds they're the antidote to ...

Blind Melon: Nico (Capitol/All formats)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 1 February 1997

IT'S EVIL to speak ill of the dead... Therefore, any suggestions that late Blind Melon vocalist Shannon Hoon got cheated by Lucifer when he went ...

De La Soul: Kentish Town Forum, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 8 March 1997

LIZA MINNELLI and Liberace don't even come into it. Once a long-serving band become a parody of themselves and start trawling around in ever-decreasing circles, ...

Death In Vegas: Dead Elvis (Concrete/All formats)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 15 March 1997

FOR SUCH trendy purveyors of Londoncentric dance music, Death In Vegas are surprisingly steeped in rock'n'roll lore. ...

The Notorious B.I.G.: Life After Death (Arista)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 12 April 1997

THE UNFORTUNATE and tragic death of Christopher Wallace in the early hours of March 9, 1997 will leave a bitter aftertaste in the mouths of ...

The Roots: Tuber Soul

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 19 April 1997

THE EARNEST young man sitting in a corner of London's empty Colombia Hotel bar on this late March afternoon doesn't look like a difficult customer ...

Wu-Tang Clan: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 21 June 1997

ALL TOO FAMILIAL ...

Oasis: Here's Looking At You, Our Kid: Oasis: Be Here Now (Creation)

Review by Dele Fadele, Vox, September 1997

OASIS ARE CAUGHT in the eye of a hurricane. What a shitstorm the Gallagher brothers have been through at the hands of the tabloids and ...

David Holmes: Let's Get Killed (Go! Beat/All formats)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 6 September 1997

AS FAR AS career opportunities go, being a top-level DJ in the '90s is on par with being an early-'70s rock star... More money than ...

Toni Braxton: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 10 October 1997

WHEN a church-woman goes bad, she really goes bad. ...

Jay Z: Jay-Z: In My Lifetime Volume 1 (Northwestside)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 25 October 1997

THE FIRST WORDS you hear are spoken by Jay-Z himself, assuming a parodic Italian-American accent, imagining himself as a dying Al Pacino in Carlito's Way, ...

Shola Ama: The Next Generation: Shola Ama

Interview by Dele Fadele, Vox, January 1998

An 18-year-old with attitude who thinks global and acts loco ...

Simple Minds: Neapolis ***

Review by Dele Fadele, Vox, April 1998

IF THE YOUNG Jim Kerr; who fronted Johnny And The Self Abusers in the late '70s tailspin of punk, knew what fate had in store ...

Beenie Man: Many Moods Of Moses (Shocking Vibes/CD/LP)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 11 April 1998

TO CALL Beenie Man a prolific artist is an understatement. The self-styled 'ghetto president' normally records singles in the time it takes others to have ...

Common: Camden Jazz Café, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 13 June 1998

OLD FEUDS die hard. While Common takes great pains to point out his argument with Ice Cube has been settled, it's still with some relish ...

The Bury Crew, Gunshot, The Mud Family, Scratch Perverts, Supernatural, Ty & Shortee Blitz: Old-Skool Assembly

Report by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 5 September 1998

THE CURRENT economic boom may have transformed large swathes of London's East End, but not Stratford. As the queue for FRESH '98 snakes around the ...

Redman: Doc's Da Name 2000 (Def Jam)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 2 January 1999

A PSYCHE AS twisted as Redman's would be hard to find in a psychiatric hospital, let alone on the streets of New Jersey. But here ...

Everlast: the Neverending's Story

Interview by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 13 February 1999

EVERLAST, THE former lead rapper in House Of Pain, has never seemed more humble. The arrogant extrovert on the Irish-American crew's worldwide Number One pop ...

The Roots: Things Fall Apart (MCA)

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 23 March 1999

ERUDITE, LITERATE and keenly aware of their surroundings, Philadelphia's the Roots have become an anomaly in hip-hop – even though they arguably stay truest to ...

Gang Starr: Astoria, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 2 October 1999

LIVE HIP-hop is such a rare occurrence it's almost a duty to disregard the actual quality. However, Gang Starr don't need any excuses made for ...

D'Angelo: Voodoo

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 12 February 2000

OF ALL practices displaced Africans brought to the New World, voodoo remains the most potent. ...

Sizzla: Bobo Ashanti

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 2 September 2000

PEOPLE HAVE KEPT a safe distance from Sizzla in recent times. Since he made remarks at an open-air concert to the effect that he doesn't ...

Black Eyed Peas: Mean Fiddler, London WC2

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 21 April 2001

NOW THAT hip-hop is a global lingua franca, anyone with the slimmest of credentials can lay claim to authenticity. ...

Lil' Kim: Hello Nasty: Lil' Kim: Kentish Town Forum, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 7 July 2001

THERE'S SUCH A thing as hip-hop time. It doesn't generally apply to gigs, more to long-suffering journalists kept waiting for hours on end for an ...

Usher: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 20 March 2002

USHER RAYMOND IV sure has his priorities right. This R&B heavyweight and MTV posterchild understands his hormone-obsessed teenage fanbase. That's why tonight, spectacle is all. ...

Busta Rhymes: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 18 May 2002

BUSTA RHYMES is massive. Not necessarily in a physical sense — though he cuts an imposing figure — but in a metaphysical kinda way. ...

Foxy Brown: Stratford Rex, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 1 June 2002

ON A BILL heavy with London-based garage crews, motormouth MCs and well-dressed ruffnecks striking thug poses, Foxy Brown is the main attraction. ...

Beenie Man: The Forum, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 5 October 2002

ARTISTS ARE usually content with whatever audiences they attract. Not so Beenie Man, a former child prodigy turned dancehall reggae veteran at the age of ...

Common: Electric Circus

Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 16 January 2003

IN THE LATE 1960S, civil rights struggles, and demonstrations against the Vietnam war in America, gave birth to heavy psychedelia and searing soul music. 2002 ...

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