The Crowdfunder for the Andy Rourke mural has reached its key target it will be unveiled in Manchester on 21 November – World Pancreatic Cancer Day.
The mural will be brought to life by world-renowned street artist Akse with a striking image credited to The Smiths’ 1985-1986 UK/USA tour photographer, Nalinee Darmrong, who has kindly given her blessing to the project.
The photo was taken at the Caird Hall in Dundee in 1985.
It will be located on the side of the Wheatsheaf Pub on Oak Street in the Northern Quarter of Manchester – an area loved and frequented by Rourke when he lived in the city.
Mike Joyce from The Smiths says
“A huge thank you to everyone who has supported the Crowdfunder – absolutely delighted to confirm we’ve hit the target to secure funding.
It means the mural is going ahead and I am over the moon, as is everyone involved. We have been blown away with the response and sincerely, no matter what size the donation, you’ve made it happen.
When you see the mural in its final glory, you can know YOU played a part in bringing it to life.
I can now also confirm it will also be officially unveiled on 21 November – Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day.
Don’t stop donating – the Crowdfunder continues with collectable items being added as rewards in the run-up to the mural unveiling – every penny now goes to the Pancreatic Cancer Action charity.
Shout out to Warner Music UK who have kindly donated the full vinyl collection of all (9) The Smiths albums to the Crowdfunder.
Simply donate a minimum of £10 to be in with a chance of winning 1 of 4 of these, personally signed by me with a message of your choosing. The following albums are up for grabs as prizes: The Queen is Dead, Strangeways Here We Come, The Smiths and Meat is Murder.
As a special thank you, the prize includes a collectable post-card photo of Andy – signed by photographer Nalinee Darmrong, whose striking black and white image inspired the mural.
Nalinee’s post-card is based on the original Rough Trade Records’ promo post-cards of the 1980s for The Smiths.
Thanks again – the amount of generous donations and the amazing response is a reflection of just how loved Andy was and it means the world to everyone involved in this project – cheers, Mike x “
