Aitch promises to restore Ian Curtis mural ruined by advert for his new album

Virgin Radio

17 Aug 2022, 13:38

Aitch has promised to restore a popular mural of late Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis which was painted over with an advert for his debut album, sparking outrage from locals.

The mural by artist Akse P19 was first unveiled in 2020 on Port Street in Manchester City centre to mark the start of the music and mental health festival Headstock.

Not only did the mural pay tribute to the iconic musician, who sadly took his own life in 1980, but promoted the mental health support service Shout.

It became something of a popular landmark in the city, so when a picture circulated on social media yesterday (16th August) showing it being replaced by an advert for Aitch, people were quite angry.

Taking to Twitter to share their thoughts, one person wrote: “Gutted to hear the Ian Curtis mural in the NQ has been painted over.It felt like it should be a permanent tribute and a poininet reminder of the struggles some have with mental health.”

Headstock themselves tweeted: “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 😔😔 #mentalhealth.”

Aitch was quick to respond to the criticism and vowed to get it sorted as soon as possible.

In a statement, he said: “I don’t just choose locations for billboards, this is the first time I’ve seen it myself. Getting fixed as we speak.”

In a follow-up Tweet, the singer added: “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”.

Many fans took to the comments to thank the singer for his quick response, including bassist for Joy Division Peter Hook.

Earlier today, locals gave an update that showed the advert was already being repainted, but it is not yet known how it will be restored.

This year marked 42 years since Curtis took his own life after battling with depression.

In May, the remaining members of Joy Division/ New Order joined a meeting held at Speakers House where founding member Bernard Sumner and drummer Stephen Morris urged the government to take mental health more seriously.

At Virgin Radio, we are committed to improving the wellbeing of our audience wherever possible. Whilst we ourselves are not Mental Health experts or qualified to directly assist those in need, we have compiled useful resources to help point you in the right direction, should you need help, at https://virginradio.co.uk/mental-health-resources.