A huge new mural of punk rock singer and guitarist Pete Shelley has appeared in Leigh, Greater Manchester, this afternoon.
Created in tribute to the late punk rock icon, it sits in the heart of the community where he was born and grew up and still has family today.
Based on the cover of The Buzzcocks’ 1978 single Ever Fallen In Love and a portrait of Shelley, created by artist Chris Gabrin in the same year, it’s been designed by artists Malcolm Garrett and Akse P19.
The latter is well known in the city for his photo-realistic portraits of pop culture icons, and his work is often seen popping up in prime locations across Manchester.
Image: Akse P19
Situated close to Leigh Town Hall and the historic Turnpike Centre, the new mural is Akse’s biggest yet – sitting smack bang in the heart of Leigh. Initiated by The Pete Shelley Memorial Campaign, it has taken over three years of fundraising in order to complete the project.
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At a whopping 200 meters squared, it’s not an easy one to miss if you’re in the area and has taken around a week to complete – with the finishing touches, including a final coat of protective varnish, being applied by the street artist this afternoon.
Whilst the artwork has been unfolding over the past week, locals have had some fun trying to guess who it might be – with Akse posting a range of updates to his social media showing the piece at various stages of completion.
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Sharing an image of the mural with just the hair, background and outline complete, he asked: “Slow progress, can you guess who’s the subject I’m painting?” – and got some surprising responses.
Image: Akse P19
A surprisingly large number thought it could be Ghislaine Maxwell, perhaps created in response to Quebek’s recent Prince Andrew mural which appeared in Manchester over the Jubilee weekend.
Others guessed it could be anyone from Hayley Cropper to Bruce Lee, Jonny Marr, or even Liza Minelli.
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One person commented: “If it’s not Jonny Marr, it’s not too late to make it Jonny Marr anyway”
Another said: “With just that hairstyle I’d have to guess any Mancunian man between the ages 35 – 45?”
A third got it spot on, saying: “Pete Shelley but first thought was Liza”.
The mural is now complete, to the delight of Shelley’s cousins Howard Lycett and Rebecca Hamilton, who still live in the local area.
The pair told Louder Than War: “As a family, we are delighted to have Pete back in his hometown and looking as vibrant as he ever was.
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“Pete was always incredibly proud of his northern roots, and we hope that the mural will help Pete’s legacy live on and inspire more young artists and musicians to break down barriers and follow their dreams”.
Hawksmoor issues statement after ‘kicking out’ Tommy Robinson from one of its restaurants
Daisy Jackson
Hawksmoor has issued a statement after a viral video captured far-right activist Tommy Robinson being asked to leave one of its restaurants.
In the video, staff at the acclaimed British steak house told Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – that he would have to go because members of staff feel uncomfortable serving you’.
The supervisor then politely told the party not to worry about the drinks and that they had been paid for, also handing over a business card for Hawksmoor CEO Will Beckett in case they wanted to discuss the matter further.
Robinson was dining in one of the group’s London restaurants with former prominent EDL member Guramit Singh Kalirai who challenged the staff and asked: “Is it because of the colour of my skin?”
The supervisor responded: “No, no, no. We have a duty of care to our members of staff. We like to look after our people, as I’m sure you can understand.”
After the video went viral on X, Hawksmoor went on to share a statement in response, saying that guests and staff ‘felt uncomfortable and complained’.
The statement, signed by CEO Will Beckett, added that the Hawksmoor team has faced ‘a huge amount’ of ‘quite concerning’ fallout from the Tommy Robinson incident.
He added that ‘this was not about politics or beliefs’.
Hawksmoor’s statement reads: “Our focus is always to give the best restaurant experience to the most people possible.
“On Thursday, a public figure was asked to leave one of our restaurants because guests and staff felt uncomfortable and had complained. The party left peacefully and politely on request.
“This was not about politics or beliefs. Hawksmoor is not a political organisation; we’re a group of restaurants. We want to welcome as many people as possible, regardless of background or views, to our teams or as our guests.
“We’re not trying to engage in a public debate. The team has had to deal with a huge amount of fallout from this, some of which is quite concerning. We would like to get back to focussing on looking after those people, and our guests. Thank you to them, and the many of you who have been so supportive.”
Police release footage of missing Manchester man Adeo Alston-Ekpei’s last-known movements
Emily Sergeant
Video footage showing the last-known movements of a Manchester man who’s been missing for three weeks now has been released.
Detectives at Greater Manchester Police (GMP) are continuing to search for Adeo Alston-Ekpei, who has not been seen since Friday 16 May.
The 25-year-old was seen in Fletcher Moss Park in Didsbury at around 3pm, before later being seen walking down Kingsway away from Manchester and close to the River Mersey, at around 5.20pm that same day.
Multiple lines of enquiry being explored by police at present, but anyone who believes they may have seen him from around this time, is asked to get in touch.
Adeo is described as being a mixed-race male, with long curly black hair and a long singular dreadlock, and bleached eyebrows. He has a cupid’s bow piercing and a right eyebrow piercing. He also has an ‘AKA’ tattoo on his right wrist, and a ‘24’ tattoo in the right side of his chest.
He was last seen wearing long blue denim shorts, an undone green short-sleeved button-up shirt, and white Adidas trainers.
Friends have also recently set up a public fundraiser to help with the search for Adeo.
Adeo Alston-Ekpei has been missing for almost three weeks / Credit: GMP
“We are dedicated to finding Adeo and getting much-needed answers for his family,” commented Detective Inspector Kelly, from GMP’s Manchester district, as the footage was released to the public this week.
“I would ask any residents around the Kingsway area, and surrounding housing estates off Kingsway into Gately, and who may have dashcam or CCTV footage from around this time, to please check and get in touch if you have any information.
“Likewise, if anyone believes they have seen Adeo, please get in touch with one of our officers. Any information is appreciated and investigated as we continue our work.”
#MISSING | We are continuing to ask for information relating to missing Adeo, who was last seen on May 16.
We have additionally released CCTV footage showing Adeo’s last known movements on Kingsway, Manchester.
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) June 5, 2025
A spokesperson for Adeo’s family described the missing man as ‘kind, funny, and intelligent’ with a ‘huge heart’, but they say he ‘wasn’t himself when he disappeared’.
“He may have come across as agitated, lost, or confused,” the spokesperson admitted. “In his last call to his mum, he was in a very vulnerable state.”
Anyone with any information regarding Adeo’s whereabouts is urged to contact South Manchester CID directly on 0161 856 6051 or 0161 856 6063, or you can use the LiveChat function on GMP’s website and quote log number 838 of 18/05/25.
Alternatively, you can report information to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Georgina Pellant -
7th July 2022 
