World

Banksy 'Crazy Beat' Mural Destroyed By Mistake

by candice.tsuei | September 8, 2009 at 10:34 am

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A mural by world-famous graffiti artist Banksy was destroyed after being painted over by Hackney Council. The mural, worth £200,000, was once featured as the cover artwork of the band Blur's single "Crazy Beat."

In 2003, property manager Sofie Attrill gave Banksy permission to paint the mural on the building so it could be photographed for Blur's Crazy Beat. The mural is a parody of The Royal Family waving from the Buckingham Palace balcony. It had been on the side of a privately-owned flat in Stoke Newington, east London. Over the years, it has attracted tourists from all the world and has become a local landmark.

Hackney Council had reportedly made a mistake in Attrill's address, having not updated her records for 25 years. When their written request to remove the mural did not receive any response, they ordered the Banksy to be painted over. Their initial reaction to the incident was:

Alan Laing, the Hackney council cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said the council removed all graffiti regardless of artistic value."Hackney council does not make a judgment call on whether graffiti is art or not, our task is to keep Hackney's streets clean." said Laing.

Later, Laing added that "the council was sorry over the mistake" and that they are now "speaking with her [Attrill] about how to resolve the issue." Attrill described her reaction when she saw the painting was being destroyed:

"The workmen were smiling as they did it - they thought it was funny. I just burst into tears. But a crowd gathered and we managed to get them to stop before destroying it completely."