Rapper Aitch has said he had no idea the iconic Ian Curtis mural in the Northern Quarter would be painted over with his album artwork.
People were left outraged as the Manchester Evening News reported yesterday that the black-and-white wall painting of the Stretford Joy Division frontman, on Port Street in the city centre, had been painted over with an advert. The name 'Aitch' had been painted in white over the stunning artwork, which was created by street and graffiti artist Akse in 2020.
Moston-born Aitch has now said that he and his team will get the mural fixed. He added that he would 'not want to disrespect a local hero like Ian'.
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In a tweet posted last night, the rapper said: "It’s come to light that the iconic Ian Curtis mural on Port Street has been painted over with my album artwork. This is the first time I’ve heard of this, me and my team are getting this fixed pronto. No way on earth would I want to disrespect a local hero like Ian."
He added 'MCR' to the end of his tweet with a love heart and bee emoji. Last night, Akse said on Instagram that the mural 'should have remained for what it represented and stood for'.
The artwork was originally created to mark the start of the Manchester music and wellbeing festival Headstock, a mental health music event. Akse posted: "So my mural of Ian Curtis based on the original photograph by @philippecarly has been painted over to promote the release of a new album, personally I don’t have anything against hand-painted advertising as this is how I make a living, but this mural was painted in collaboration with @headstockuk and supported by @manchestercitycouncil and @sweetnothingmcr to raise awareness for Mental Health and support @giveusashoutinsta a free text messaging services to help people with mental health issues.
"It had become a cultural landmark and meant so much to people from Manchester and beyond; it doesn’t take much common sense to understand that this mural should have remained for what it represented and stood for."
Last night, dozens of outraged people tweeted about the mural being painted over. Headstock Festival said: "Absolutely gutted to see our Ian Curtis mural painted over.
"Such a shame when @AmazonMusicUK had pretty much any other wall in Manchester to choose from. Especially when it was created by@Akse_P19 to raise mental health awareness in support of @GiveUsAShout."
@MANCHESTERMUS10 wrote: "Absolutely disgusted to hear the @akse_P19 Ian Curtis mural in Manchester has been painted over. It isn’t important what has replaced it but simply that it has been replaced. This should have been a tribute to a legend for as long as that building remained. Angry ain’t close."
@gshawisme added: "Who on Earth thought this was a good idea? The Ian Curtis mural was stunning piece of art. The ad could’ve gone anywhere."
On Akse's Instagram post, thisisourmanchester commented: "An absolute joke this piece has been replaced. It was fantastic of a Manchester icon."
Anthony Byrne wrote: " This is such a stupid move but unsurprising. The Ian Curtis mural should be reinstated and left there permanently.
"If there’s someone to contact and petition regarding this let me know.
Councillor and city centre spokesperson Pat Karney told the M.E.N : "People will have wanted this mural to stay there for a few more years, and my view is that the artwork should have stayed there too. If it is being replaced by an advert, they can be displayed anywhere around the city.
"Of course, we are proud of Aitch as another artist from Manchester who is successful, but many people will be upset by this. Personally, I felt it was such a special piece of artwork. But at the same time, nothing is permanent and musical culture is always changing."
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