Rapper Aitch says he felt like the ‘most hated person in Manchester’ after a mural of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis was painted over to promote his latest album.
People were left outraged after the black-and-white painting on Port Street in the Northern Quarter was covered with an advert last week. The original mural, created by street artist Akse, has been in place since 2020 as part of a mental health campaign and has become well-recognised within the city.
In a statement on Tuesday (August 16), the Moston -born rapper said the outrage had been the first time he had heard about the advert, and was working with his team to get it fixed "pronto."
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"No way on earth would I want to disrespect a local hero like Ian," he said. Bosses at Amazon later apologised by confirming they commissioned the advert but said they were unaware the Port Street wall had been chosen as the location by a third-party agency.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast this morning (August 23), Aitch - whose real name is Harrison James Armstrong - said he was left ‘fuming’ by the stunt.
“I seen it on Twitter... when there was an outrage burst of like: "What's Aitch doing putting his album over Ian's mural?," he told the news programme. “Then I was like, "oh god, what's this?". I don't pick and choose where I put my billboards or album promo. I just wake up and drive past it, or see it on the internet, just like everyone else.”
He added: “I was fuming for Ian, and his people and what that mural stands for, and then I was fuming for myself, because I was having such a good week. I was like, "the album is coming out in a couple of days, I can't wait, everything's going so well," and then next minute, I was the most hated person in Manchester for about 40 minutes.”
Work on restoring the Ian Curtis mural has already begun, with the album promotion since erased. It is not yet clear when the restoration will be complete.
“It was out of my control and there was nothing I could do, apart from put a stop to it and get it fixed,” Aitch added. "Obviously that's exactly what I've done, so I think everyone is my friend again now.”
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