Rapper Aitch has apologised after it was pointed out to him that an advert for his debut album was being painted over an iconic mural of Joy Division’s Ian Curtis.
The 22-year-old, who has scored seven top 10 UK singles since 2019, is gearing up to release Close To Home on Friday August 19.
However, in the excitement to get the word out around his hometown of Manchester, it appears someone on the marketing team made a questionable choice.
Locals and music fans were aghast to see the work being carried out this week, with one bringing it to the attention of Aitch on social media.
‘Just to let everyone in #manchester know something criminal is happening in NQ and the beautiful ian curtis mural is being painted over by an ad for an @OfficialAitch album,’ they wrote, tagging the artist.
The social media user then added: ‘(no disrespect to @OfficialAitch) but that mural is iconic and it’s so sad that such a lovely pic of a manchester icon is gone.
‘I saw two guys bringing their kids to see it at the weekend. the ad that’s replaced it could go anywhere else in NQ.’
The popular mural, a black and white wall painting of Joy Division’s frontman – also a native son – on Port Street in the city’s centre, was first unveiled back in 2020 and had become an established local landmark.
Fans were distraught by the news, branding it ‘criminal’ and ‘really tragic’.
Curtis’s bandmate Peter Hook, Joy Division’s co-founder and bassist commented: ‘That is very sad to see… it was such a wonderful mural. I will miss seeing that now on my drives into Manchester.’
Curtis died by suicide in 1980 at the age of 23.
The mural was created by Manchester street artist Akse P19 in 2020 to spread awareness of mental health.
The artist himself took to Facebook to voice his disappointment over the painting being covered due to its origins.
‘Personally I don’t have anything against hand-painted advertising as this is how I make a living,’ he wrote, ‘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. [sic]’
However, Aitch responded quickly to the backlash, tweeting: ‘I don’t just choose locations for billboards, this is the first time I’ve seen it myself. Getting fixed as we speak.’
He then followed up with a longer apology, and stated: ‘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, before signing off with ‘MCR’ and a heart and bee emoji, to represent the city.
Hook responded in the comments, thanking him, before sharing his statement with a retweet and praising him for his ‘great gesture’.
Fans then showed that the advert had already been repainted over on Wednesday morning as efforts began to restore the mural.
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