From The Fall... to a chippy wall!
A GIANT mural of Mark E. Smith is being painted on the side of a chippy in his hometown.
The prolific mastermind behind cult post-punk band The Fall, who died in January aged 60, is being commemorated as part of Prestwich’s arts festival.
A 20ft high painting of Smith, pictured in typical sneering, abrasive style, is nearing completion on the gable end of Chips@No.8 on Clifton Road in the centre of the village.
It’s being created by renowned graffiti artist Akse P19, the man behind the Northern Quarter murals of David Bowie and Tony Wilson.
Work on the painting began at the weekend and will be completed during the Prestwich Arts Festival, which takes place on Saturday and Sunday. Akse P19 said he hoped the painting would be ‘appreciated by the local community.’
Jane Thomson, chair of Prestwich Arts Festival, said: “There have been six local members of the community who have funded the materials and donated the cherry picker to make it happen, as well as Akse P19 donating his time for free. We’re incredibly honoured to have such a well-respected and talented artist be involved in our festival and enable us to doff our proverbial cap to local legend Mark E. Smith in this way.”
Prestwich-based artist Myro Doodles will also be creating a doodle trail of Fall lyrics at locations across Prestwich, crowdsourced via The Fall fanclub. Myro, who organised the 22 Bees Project last year to support the victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack, said: “I’m delighted to be part of this exciting project for Prestwich Arts Festival and encouraging people to explore Prestwich to find all the locations.” Smith was the only ever-present member of the band he founded in Prestwich in 1976. At rough count, The Fall saw about 66 musicians in its 42-year existence, although the bulk of the final line-up remained almost unchanged since 2006.
Notable ex-Fall members include BBC Radio 6 Music DJ Marc Riley.
Born in Broughton in Salford in March 1957, Smith moved to Prestwich at a young age and lived there for the rest of his life.
He formed The Fall, named after the novel by Camus, with friends Martin Bramah and Tony Friel after dropping out of college in his late teens.
Influenced by Can, Captain Beefheart, The Stooges and The Velvet Underground, Smith gave up his job as a shipping clerk at Salford docks to concentrate on the band. The Fall would go on to record 32 studio albums.
Visit www.prestwichartsfestival.co.uk for full listings.