BANKMORE SQUARE STREET ART

I usually walk this way a couple of times a week, but somehow I managed to miss this until I stumbled upon it by fluke.

As I headed home from work on Friday, I was halfway up the Dublin Road before I realised I had forgotten to head into The Limelight to get a ticket for Cast.

So, I did an about turn, and took a short cut along Bankmore Square, and spotted some Street Art on some boarding at a building site, running along Bankmore Square, opposite The Marcus Ward.

I made a note of it in my head, planning to return on Sunday morning to get some snaps.

It was a weekend for accidental discoveries.

On Saturday, I went to see David Hepworth at Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival on Saturday teatime. As a side note, Hepworth has blogged about his visit to belfast. You can find it here.

On my way home, I walked through the tunnel at Exchange Place and noticed something was missing, the mural of John Peel. It has now been painted over, though somebody has painted “John Peel Was Here”.

I don’t usually venture to that part of Belfast City Centre, so I can’t give any info as to why it was removed or when it was removed.

The original mural, picture taken in 2011, can be found here.

An image of what the wall looks like now can be found here.

If you’re enjoying this Bank Holiday Weekend, you’ll be glad that another one is only three weeks away. On the Monday of that weekend (28th May) has been confirmed as the date of Wardrobe Jam, a Street Art event at CS Lewis Square.

That was originally scheduled for early March but had to be postponed due to snow. Hopefully, we will avoid that fate in late May, but you never know.

Not a Street Art even, but an event that features Street Art, the date of Culture Night 2018 has been confirmed for Friday 21st September.

A half day of Annual Leave has already been booked.

Friz has been busy at work in Bank Square (not to be confused with Bankmore Square) so i’ll be heading out to check that out over the next few days.

Photo Album

2015 IN PICTURES – MARCH

March began on a musical theme with concerts taking up two of the first three evenings of the month, The Kooks at Mandela Hall and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds at The Odyssey.

The following Saturday, it was back to football, as Linfield took on Warrenpoint Town at Windsor Park.

The Saturday after that was a road trip to see Linfield take on Institute at Drumahoe.

Some new Street Art appeared in Belfast during the month, a tribute to the recently deceased Leonard Nimoy and a reappearance of the Teenage Kicks mural

There was more Street Art later in the month, when I headed to Glasgow to see Northern Ireland take on Scotland in a friendly, and took advantage of a clear day and some art on show.

From Glasgow, to Glenavon (well, Lurgan) for another football trip the Saturday after. The same result, a 1-0 defeat, but a more damaging than the one in Glasgow.

The day after, more football, as Northern Ireland took on Finland in a European Championship Qualifier. Managed to get some photos of the redevelopment of Windsor Park, which seemed to be going so well at that point.

Little did I know then, It would be my last time in The Kop before it got demolished.

The Kooks Live At Mandela Hall

The Kooks Live At Mandela Hall Photo Album

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds Live At The Odyssey

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds Live At The Odyssey Photo Album 1

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds Live At The Odyssey Photo Album 2

Linfield v Warrenpoint Town

Institute v Linfield

Spock’s Teenage Dreams

Glasgow Street Art

Glasgow Street Art Photos

Scotland v Northern Ireland

Scotland v Northern Ireland Photo Album

Glenavon v Linfield

Northern Ireland v Finland

Northern Ireland v Finland Photo Album

SPOCK’S TEENAGE DREAMS

Two new pieces of Street Art have appeared in Belfast in recent weeks at opposite ends of the city, one in the East and one in the West.

In West Belfast, in one of the streets facing the Kennedy Centre, there is a mural of Leonard Nimoy, who died recently, in his famous guise as Spock from Star Trek, but in a Hip-Hop style.

In the East of the city, there is a resurrection of an old favourite, as the Teenage Dreams mural, painted as a tribute to John Peel, which was removed in 2013 to accommodate renovation work.

However, as reported on Newsline last night, the new work has no mention of John Peel. You may also notice it has a different colour scheme from the original.

Of course, if you’re in Belfast and want to see a tribute to John Peel. You can always find one in the Cathedral Quarter.

Spock

Orginal Teenage Kicks Mural (Pictured in 2007)

Revived Teenage Kicks Mural

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SELECT – DECEMBER 1991

Lenny Kravitz is the cover star of Select, as 1991 comes to an end.

A trend at that time was sampling. Just as trendy, was suing over sampling, so Select made a handy chart of ongoing sampling related court cases that were currently live.

In news, Pet Shop Boys raised £20,000 after doing a benefit gig at Heaven in London for St Mary’s Hospital HIV Unit. In the crowd was Sandie Shaw, Carter USM and James and Ian from EMF.

At time of press, Izzy Stradlin was still a member of Guns n Roses, amid rumours of his departure.

Prizes on offer in competitions include am REM video and posters, and a Cocteau Twins boxset.

Reviews included The Cranberries at The Parkway in Limerick, written by Graham Linehan, who went on to create Father Ted.

The Black Crowes get a three page feature, with singer Chris Robinson taking exception to Rod Stewart comparisons, and stereotypes because he comes from the Deep South.

Also getting three pages, is cover star Lenny Kravitz.

In reviews, INXS have a live album out, which gets 4 stars (out of 5) with the reviewer labelling them “The acceptable face of Stadium Rock”

John Peel, due to celebrate 25 years at Radio 1 in 1992, gets four pages about his career, as he prepares to release a series of Peel Sessions compilations.

ART OF CONFLICT

Got an e-mail last night, unexpected and out of the blue, but definitely worth sharing.

It was from an American TV company looking to get clearance to use this photo of a mural of David Ervine in East Belfast as part of a documentary provisionally titled ‘Art Of Conflict’, looking at murals in Northern Ireland .

I’m presently in the process of signing off the relevant paperwork to approve this.

I’ll keep you updated over the coming months with regards to the progress of this show (If I hear anything) and if it gets broadcast in the UK .

The mural itself was erected in 2008, a year after Ervine’s death. It replaced a mural of David Healy’s goal against England in 2005, based on a photograph by William Cherry. To compensate for that, a new mural of Healy’s goal was painted across the road. The three murals are documented in this blog post from September 2010, A TALE OF TWO DAVIDS

Regular readers will of course be aware that I love my street art and murals, especially getting photographs of them.

To be honest, I’m not as fussed on the paramilitary or political ones. It may shock people, but not every mural in Belfast is a paramilitary or political one.

David Ervine’s son has, in recent years, become a muralist himself. His best known work is one of John Peel in the Cathedral Quarter.

Sport in Belfast also have been immortalised in paint. There was an Elisha Scott mural painted in West Belfast in 2010, Glentoran used to have one on the Newtownards Road . Crusaders have one on St Vincent Street , outside Seaview and there’s an Antrim GAA one in the Lower Ormeau .

Two of Belfast’s most famous sporting sons have the most wallspace dedicated to them. Alex Higgins two World Championship wins were already commemorated on the Donegall Road during his lifetime, and an impromptu mural was painted in the days after his death, outside The Royal Bar, where he frequented in his later years, and across the street from the apartment complex where he lived and died during his later years (There’s a wreath made out like a snooker table outside the building)

George Best was also muralised during his lifetime on the Woodstock Road . That mural has unfortunately gone, but there is one in Blythe Street in Sandy Row. George Best also appears on a mural of Northern Ireland football legends outside Windsor Park.

The other end of Blythe Street features a mural to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Linfield FC, unveiled in November 2011. Linfield are also represented with other wallspace in South Belfast . Taughmonagh sees a tribute to Tommy Dickson, unveiled in 2008 not long after his death, while The Village also features Dickson on a mural, alongside Joe Bambrick and Elisha Scott.

Joe Bambrick’s former home, not far away in Roden Street , has a blue plaque outside to commemorate this.

This blogpost, from August 2010 features Linfield murals ahead of the start of the club’s 125th anniversary season, while this one features the Weavers To Winners launch from November 2011

Just goes to show, there are some hidden gems amongst Belfast ’s murals if you look in the right places.

2011 IN PICTURES – JUNE

Not a lot of football this month, but it was still a productive month of photography.

Went to see 3OH!3 at Mandela Hall. They were excellent, even if the photos were not of a similar quality.

Was also out during the month getting sunset pics, and I was pleased with the quality.

Highlight of the month, was an unveiling of a mural of John Peel in the Cathedral Quarter. It’s an excellent piece of art, well worth checking out.

It’s not in a place friendly to photographers, but I did manage to make the most of the situation.

3OH!3

3OH!3 Photo Album

John Peel Mural

Sunsets

Sunsets Photo Album

PEEL

Amidst all the negative news from Belfast this past week, a new mural in tibute to former Radio 1 DJ John Peel has gone un-noticed.

The mural shows John Peel at the beginning of his career, alongside an image of him in his younger years with the text “John Peel 1939-2004″

Alongside the images of Peel is a 45” copy of ‘Teenage Kicks‘ by Derry band The Undertones, a song famously described as Peel’s all-time favourite.

The artist is Mark Ervine, a noted mural painter, who is the son of former PUP leader David Ervine. The image has been done to promote Bigg Life Arts Initiative, a charity which is being set up in the Cathedral Quarter.

There is of course, another tribute to John Peel in Belfast, Graffiti under a bridge near Short Strand which reads “Teenage Dreams, So Hard to Beat”, lyrics from previously mentioned single ‘Teenage Kicks’ by The Undertones.

Meanwhile, I also spotted some new graffiti by ANCO, a prolific graffiti artist in Belfast.

On Friday night, I was at Custom House Square to see Laura Marling perform at the Open House Festival.

It was an enjoyable concert and the support acts were all excellent as well, especially, Louise and The Pins.

Managed to get some photos, not the best though. They can be found here.

Unfortunately, I left early as I was drenched, properly drenched. I had a free ticket, so I didn’t lose out by my early exit.

The reason I had a free ticket was that I won a newspaper competition. It was the first competition i’d won in just under a year.

I’d previously done quite well out of competitions. Nothing major, usually DVDs and CDs, or tickets to local concerts.

The last competition I won was flights to Blackpool, but due to the inconvenience of dates, I didn’t use them.

It was almost as if I was being punished by the “Competition Gods”, if such a thing exists, until this week when I won Laura Marling tickets in two publications. The second publication, I e-mailed to say I wouldn’t need the tickets now and they replied to admire my honesty, so I think i’ve kept the “Competition Gods” onside for now.

Also this week, I was successful in getting tickets to see Manic Street Preachers at itunes Festival.

Unfortunately, the concert is next weekend, and when window shopping for flights, saw that it would cost well over £100 just to get to London. So, I decided not to take up the option of confirming my tickets.

I’d applied a long time ago in the hope that if I was successful, I would have enough notice to get a reasonably priced flight and hotel.

It’s a pity as I love the Manics, they’re one of the best live acts i’ve seen. If you’re going to this concert, you’re in for a treat.

Meanwhile, remember by recent blogs about how many teams that have reached a European Final that I have seen live?

Currently at 28 out of 100, I might be adding Aberdeen to this list, as they face Hearts at Tynecastle when I am in Edinburgh.

I’ve just booked a trip to Edinburgh in August for the third successive summer to take in the Edinburgh Fringe, which is going to be my STLFTEM for August.

I’d decided to wait until the Irish League fixtures were published before booking this trip, and it turned out to be a risk worth taking as the date i’d originally hoped to go sees Linfield face Glentoran at Windsor Park, a game I would have missed.

So far in the six months this year, i’ve had a STLFTEM for them, though I cheated for January, using the (re-arranged from December) game between Linfield and Glentoran.

So far, the STLFTEM’s for 2011 are :

January – Linfield v Glentoran

February – Barcelona trip, Northern Ireland v Scotland

March – Northern Irelannd v Slovenia

April – Crusaders v Linfield, three Linfield v Glentoran clashes, Beady Eye

May – UEFA Cup final, Man United v Blackpool

June – 3OH!3

August – Edinburgh Festival.

Now, I just need to have something to look forward to in July.

TEENAGE DREAMS, SO HARD TO BEAT …..

Saw today it was mentioned that today marks the 6th anniversary of the death of DJ, Writer and Author John Peel from a heart attack in Peru at the age of 65.

I remember that day I was in BIFHE (Despite it being half-term, I was a very dedicated student) and came home, flicked on Ceefax to see it was the top headline story and was in a state of shock.

I’d always imagined that John Peel would live well into his 90s and die live on air, but summoning enough strength to put on ‘Teenage Kicks’ before signing off just before the fatal moment.

It was well known that the song ‘Teenage Kicks’ by Northern Ireland band The Undertones was his favourite song.

This fact is referenced in a tribute mural painted in Belfast soon afterwards, and still there to this day, which simply reads “TEENAGE DREAMS, SO HARD TO BEAT”

The mural is in East Belfast, at a bridge just as you would be walking towards the Short Strand area.

It also reminded me of a paint tribute to another music figure, Tony Wilson, after his death three years ago, simply reading “TONY WILSON RIP UP THE PUNX”

Unfortunately, that was cleared by the council within a day. Thankfully, Belfast’s tribute to John Peel remains.