Aitch: I was the most hated person in Manchester for about 40 minutes

Rapper Aitch has said he felt like “the most hated person in Manchester for about 40 minutes” after a mural of late Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis was painted over with an advert for his recently released debut album.

The 22-year-old, whose real name is Harrison James Armstrong, hails from Manchester where the wall painting by street artist Akse P19 was unveiled in the Northern Quarter in 2020.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast about discovering the artwork for Close To Home had covered the mural in Port Street, Aitch said: “I seen it on Twitter, that was the first time I seen it when there was an outrage burst of like, ‘What’s Aitch doing putting his album over Ian’s mural’, and then I was like, ‘Oh god, what’s this’.

“I don’t pick and choose where I put my billboards or album promo. I just wake up and drive past it, or see it on the internet, just like everyone else.”

He said the situation left him “fuming”, adding: “I seen it straight away, made a phone call, we spoke to Amazon, we spoke to the artist who originally done Ian’s mural, and we just put a stop to mine straight away, and we’re going to get it either restored or redone off the original artist.”

Curtis fronted influential Salford post-punk band Joy Division for four years until 1980, when he killed himself, aged 23, on the eve of their first North American tour.

Asked by Breakfast presenter Jon Kay what he thought when he saw what had happened, Aitch said: “I was fuming.

“I was fuming for two reasons. I was fuming for Ian, and his people and what that mural stands for, and then I was fuming for myself, because I was having such a good week.

“I was like, the album is coming out in a couple of days, I can’t wait, everything’s going so well, and then next minute I was the most hated person in Manchester for about 40 minutes.

“But it was out of my control and there was nothing I could do, apart from put a stop to it and get it fixed, and obviously that’s exactly what I’ve done, so I think everyone is my friend again now.”

After Aitch took to Twitter to respond to the online backlash on Wednesday, the wall appeared to have been returned to its blank state.

Close To Home, released last week, features a personal song written by Aitch about his 12-year-old sister Gracie, who has Down’s syndrome.

Speaking about the track, titled My G, the rapper said: “It was actually my dad’s idea to come up with a song, the whole title, My G and all that. And that was probably about three or four years ago.

“At the time, I was a bit younger and I wasn’t really rapping about anything personal. Not necessarily on purpose but just because I didn’t really have anything personal to rap about.

“And then I just felt now was the perfect time to get certain things off my chest and show a bit more vulnerability than usual.”

An accompanying music video featuring Ed Sheeran has also been released, with funds raised by the video being donated to the Down’s Syndrome Association.

BBC Breakfast airs every weekday morning from 6am.