Mancunians have been left outraged after the iconic Northern Quarter mural of musician Ian Curtis was painted over on Tuesday (August 16). The wall painting, on Port Street in the city centre, depicted a black and white portrait painting of the Stretford Joy Division frontman and was first unveiled back in 2020.
However, less than two years on, workmen were spotted at the site painting over it on Tuesday, seeming to replace it with an advert announcing a new release by Aitch, a rapper also from Manchester.
It was in October 2020 that the stunning monochrome image of Curtis was revealed by street artist Akse. The artwork was created to mark the start of the Manchester music and wellbeing festival Headstock, and was based on a photo of him performing in Brussels in 1979, taken by acclaimed Belgian photographer Philippe Carly.
