Rapper Aitch admitted he was “the most hated person in Manchester” after a mural of music icon Ian Curtis was painted over with an Amazon Music advert for his album.

The mural was of Ian Curtis, a singer who took his own life at his home in 1980 shortly before the Salford band was due to go on tour in the US. It was put up on Port Street in Manchester city center for World Mental Health Day in 2020.

Aitch’s mural received large criticism from music fans and was also condemned by the artist, Curtis’s former bandmate Peter Hook, and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

In an interview on BBC Breakfast, the Manchester rapper, whose real name is Harrison James Armstrong, stated that he found out about the incident on Twitter and acted immediately. According to Aitch,

“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 continues by saying,

“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,” he said.

“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 putting a stop to it and getting it fixed, and obviously that’s exactly what I’ve done, so I think everyone is my friend again now.”

In a statement, Amazon Music said it had asked an ad agency to create a mural in the rapper’s hometown, but “unbeknownst to us or to Aitch, the wall the agency chose… already had a mural on it”.

“As soon as we learned this, we ordered the production to stop and are working with Aitch to restore or replace the original,” a company representative said.

“Our apologies to all who are justifiably upset.”