André "Dédé" Fortin (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃dʁe dede fɔʁtɛ̃]; 17 November 1962 – 8 May 2000) was a founding member, frontman, and guitarist of the Québécois band Les Colocs, formed in 1990.
His legacy includes the renaming of a street in his hometown, a biographical film, and the Fondation Andre Dédé Fortin, which focuses on depression education and suicide prevention.
He was deeply affected by the 1994 death due to AIDS-related complications of bandmate and friend Patrick Esposito Di Napoli, and Fortin struggled with depression in the ensuing years.
Dehors Novembre (1998), the last LP from the group, was written and performed with the help of the Diouf brothers, whose background from Senegal added a new element to the band's music.
[4] Several years later, the remaining members of the band recovered a CD with the original song recorded from this poem by Dédé himself; they made their own version, which they released in 2009.