Kurt mural is heads up for mental health
Image of tragic singer Kurt Cobain who took his own life features number for charity support line
A NEW mural to mark the 30th anniversary of the death of Kurt Cobain has been revealed in Manchester city centre.
The mural, which is located at The Bread Shed, a live music venue just off Oxford Road, commemorates the singer who was found dead after taking his own life on 5 April, 1994. Its completion has been timed to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week and features a phone number for a mental health charity which provides free, confidential support.
Manchester-based social enterprise Headstock commissioned the artwork, and hopes it will raise awareness and ‘prevent further tragedies’ from happening. The social enterprise aims to create music-led solutions to raise money and awareness for mental health charities.
“This is the third mural we’ve done to commemorate a huge music icon and this one of Kurt Cobain is designed to be a celebration of him and his life,” explains Headstock founder Atheer Al-Salim. “It’s also a chance to reflect and prevent anything happening like this again.
“All the murals have been commissioned to raise awareness of the mental health text message support service, Shout 85258, to celebrate the incredible artist, and prevent further tragedies from happening.” The mural has been created by local artist Akse P19, who was also behind the Ian Curtis mural on the side of the Star & Garter pub which was unveiled to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day in 2023. Headstock also commissioned a mural of The Prodigy’s Keith Flint for the same cause in 2021.
Nirvana played two gigs in Manchester the first at Manchester Polytechnic Students Union on Oxford Road on Tuesday, October 25, 1989. It was the second date on Nirvana’s first UK tour alongside Sub Pop labelmates Tad. Two years later, the group played their second - and last Manchester gig at the Academy on December 4, 1991, three months after the release of their seminal album Nevermind, which would catapult them to superstardom.
A concert at the G-Mex in March 1994 was cancelled when the singer was diagnosed with bronchitis and severe laryngitis.
“We were looking for a location in close proximity to Oxford Road, because that’s near where to both of those gigs took place,” adds Atheer. “We wanted a venue that was a stone’s throw away from that.”
It’s a chance to reflect and prevent anything happening like this again
Headstock founder Atheer Al-Salim