Lord Mayor to unveil community mural celebrating Sheffield’s legendary King Mojo
“Former Mojo-goers have shared their memories and ideas and people have actually helped paint it”
A major new community artwork celebrating one of the most famous clubs in Sheffield music history will be officially unveiled next month.
The Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Councillor Andrew Sangar, will unveil the finished King Mojo community mural at the Library venue in Attercliffe at 11am on Thursday, October 29.
Sheffield artist Angie Hardwick, lead painters Phil Barnes and former King Mojo artist Paul Norton, and some of the former club-goers and music lovers who have helped create the artwork will also be there for the unveiling.
The event is free open to everyone.
The unveiling will mark the culmination of months of work on a mural that has been shaped not just by its artists and lead painters, but by the memories and ideas of the people who experienced King Mojo first-hand.
Angie Hardwick said: “It’s been really exciting watching the mural develop over the past few months and seeing so many different people become part of it.
“From the beginning, we wanted this to be a genuinely community-created piece of art. Former Mojo-goers have shared their memories and ideas and people have actually helped paint it.”
Phil Barnes – also a former King Mojo-goer - and Paul Norton have worked alongside Angie as lead painters on the project, helping turn the ideas and memories gathered from Sheffield people into the finished artwork.
Paul, whose distinctive artwork adorned King Mojo itself during the 1960s, said: “King Mojo always had an incredible sense of community about it, so it feels absolutely right that so many people have been involved in creating something that celebrates its legacy.”
The mural forms part of the wider ‘Mojo Rising - Celebrating 60 Years of Music and Community’, heritage project supported by a £114,300 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
King Mojo opened at 555 Pitsmoor Road in 1964.
Its extraordinary roll-call of performers included Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Pink Floyd and Small Faces, while its influence on generations of Sheffield music fans has helped it achieve legendary status in the city’s cultural history.
The finished mural will provide a permanent celebration of that story and is set to spend the next few weeks in Attercliffe.
The next King Mojo reunion is set to take place on December 4 at the Library in Attercliffe. Tickets from www.kingmojo.org