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 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.