A mural of Paul O’Grady which was defaced just days after it was created has now been painted over with a loving tribute message.
The mural, which was originally created by artist Chris Moore, aka Manchester Murals, appeared under the Kingsway bridge on the Fallowfield Loop earlier this week after the star and television personality died 'unexpectedly but peacefully' at the age of 67.
Featuring O'Grady's portrait next to a dog alongside the caption 'For Paul', the original artwork was created as a way of recognising the ‘well-grounded entertainment machine that spanned generations’.
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On Sunday (April 2), the mural was discovered to have been defaced with tags drawn over the portrait of O’Grady. The news was met with fury from fans who described it as being ‘disrespectful’.
Speaking to the M.E.N at the time, artist Chris said: ”I did this work out of a passion for my art and out of respect for Paul O’Grady who meant so much to people and animals throughout his life.”
He added: “I can kind of understand people’s disappointment in that the mural has only lasted as long as it has, especially given how recent his passing was, but, ultimately and unfortunately, this is part of the nature of the street art and mural scene."
The defaced mural has since been replaced with a new graphic altogether, featuring an arrowed text design and a man - appearing to look a little bit like Mario - with tears rolling down his face.
The graphic also features the words ‘RIP Paul O’Grady’ alongside another caption saying ‘sad times’.
Manchester Murals’ Chris said he hadn’t ‘ruled out’ the possibility of recovering the artwork but wanted to make a permanent recreation elsewhere instead, ideally somewhere like Battersea Dogs Home, which O’Grady regularly supported.
At the time, Chris said: “I guess, ideally, it’d be nice for it to be rehoused now,” he explained. “It would be great to do it at Battersea Dogs Home so it could live on permanently as a fitting home.
“The response has been overwhelming, I’ve had loads of messages from people asking where it was located as they wanted to visit it with their dogs. I’m really happy that people were able to enjoy it.””
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