Mural of The Fall singer celebrates 'life and legacy'

A mural of The Fall frontman Mark E Smith has been unveiled in his home city to celebrate his "life and legacy", a council has said.

The ceramic and glass artwork of Smith, who died in 2018, has been created by artist Mark Kennedy, who said he was a "great friend" of the often-acerbic singer-songwriter.

He said the image of the musician holding a buttercup beneath his chin, was based on a photograph he took of Smith while the pair were walking through Manchester's Heaton Park.

Salford mayor Paul Dennett said as part of the celebrations of the city's 100 years, it was "fitting that we have created this artwork to recognise a Salford legend and cultural icon".

Born in Broughton, Smith wasa shipping clerk at Salford docks when he famously founded the influential post-punk band after seeing the Sex Pistols at a now-legendary gig in Manchester in 1976.

He became a rock hero whose drinking and fighting - as well as his ragged but rare musical artistry - was the stuff of legend.

His band, named after an Albert Camus novel, became a firm favourite of BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel and produced 30 albums, with Smith being the only constant member across four decades of performances.

In that time, he hired and fired more than 60 bandmates and while mainstream success eluded The Fall, with only two of their singles charting higher than number 40, critical acclaim was never far away.

In fact, Smith's highest chart performance was a guest vocalist on Inspiral Carpets' 1994 hit, I Want You.

Kennedy, whose mural has been installed on the side of a building at the junction of Lower Broughton Road and Great Clowes Street in Salford, said creating had been "a great honour".

"Mark's work has given me, and countless people around the world, enormous inspiration and pleasure," he said.

"He was very important because he brought a great literacy to the working class.

"He brought horror and science fiction and created a world you were allowed into."

He said Smith was "a unique artist and a unique voice".

"There will never be another person quite like him."

He added that he hoped the artwork would help make "more people aware of his contribution to Salford, to music and to the cultural identity of this city".

Former New Order and Joy Division bassist Peter Hook, who was also at the Sex Pistols show and was one of the founders of legendary Manchester nightclub The Hacienda, said Smith had been "a maverick and totally unique".

"Mark and I had a sparky relationship. Groups are so competitive," he said.

"Music is much the worse for not having him.

"He came to every Hacienda Night we ever did and loved it."

A Salford City Council spokeperson said the authroity contributed £6,000 towards the cost of materials for the project.

Dennett said as the council celebrated "100 years of this great city, it is fitting that we have created this artwork to recognise a Salford legend and cultural icon".

"Mark Kennedy was the perfect fit to create the mural," he said.

"It will be visited by Mark E Smith's family, friends and fans from all over the world."

He added that the work was "a celebration of a true Salford original and a reminder of the creative talent that continues to emerge from our city".

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