Olympic Way tile murals will soon be on permanent public display!

 Guest post by Philip Grant. (Congratulations to Philip on this achievement as a result of his amazing persistence)

When I wrote last weekend about the heritage tile murals at Olympic Way being on display from 1^st to 21^st March, I mentioned that I was still waiting to receive a reply from Quintain to the New Year’s Day message I’d sent to their Chief Executive Officer.

 

Olympic Way murals on display in February 2020. (Photo by Mark Price, Brent Council)

 

I’m pleased to say that I have now received a letter from James Saunders at Quintain, and this is the good news:

 

‘Thank you for your letter dated 1^st January 2022. We have given your request careful consideration.

 

We share your commitment to celebrating the heritage of the murals and can confirm that when the current advertisement consent for the Spiritflex Vinyl coverings to the abutment walls outside of Bobby Moore Bridge to the South East (SE) and South West (SW) expires on 25^th August 2022 we will not seek to renew that consent.’

 

This means that these mural scenes, on the walls outside of the Bobby Moore Bridge subway at Wembley Park WILL be back on permanent public display by the end of August this year, after being covered with Quintain’s advertising, apart from short “reveals” since the autumn of 2013. 

 

Tile mural scenes on the east wall of the subway. (Composite by Amanda Rose, courtesy of Quintain)

 

I believe that this is an important step towards getting ALL of the murals, celebrating Wembley’s sports and entertainment history, back on permanent public display. But the battle for the murals on the walls of the subway itself (other than the “footballers” mural, which was put on display again in 2019, as a result of efforts by Wembley History Society) will be for another year.

 

The current “reveal” includes the remnant of the original Pop Music / “Live Aid” mural scene, on the west wall of Olympic Way, seen here in an old photograph:

 

The tile mural celebrating “Live Aid” as it originally looked.

 

Around 2006, TfL constructed a stairway down from the bus stop on the bridge to Olympic Way. In the process they removed much of this mural scene, apart from the drummer, and did a “patch up” with a different type of ceramic tile:

 

The “patched up” mural scene in 2012. (Google Street View image, courtesy of Quintain)

 

In his letter to me of 2 March, James Saunders wrote:

 

‘The newer (square format) tiling to the SW abutment staircase that was installed by TFL in 2006 was removed in c.2016 as the tiles were falling off the rendered wall. We would like to engage with you and the Wembley History Society to find the best solution for that area of the walls. The staircase would prevent a full recreation of the original section of the mural showing Mark Knopfler, Tina Turner and Freddy Mercury, but we are keen to reflect aspects of the original design, where possible.’

 

I’m sure that there are plenty of local people with more artistic and design skill than me! Before I take up Quintain’s offer to engage with them over possible design ideas, I would like to throw the discussion open to YOU. 

 

You can see the awkward, tapering shape of the area available for a restored (or new?) mural scene commemorating “Live Aid” at Wembley. Its scale at the subway end would have to fit in with that of the murals in the subway, which immediately adjoin it. Would it be best to retain the drummer section as it is, and design out from that? Or would it be better to replace, the drummer section, in order to give a larger “canvas” for a mural design? 

 

Close up view of part of a mural scene, showing how the tile designs are made.

 

It should be remembered that the mural scenes are made up of different coloured ceramic tiles which are oblong in shape, fixed vertically. The close-up example above (showing the way tiles were used to portray Michael Jackson’s dancing feet, in a mural scene currently hidden behind light boxes in the subway) gives an idea of how the mural designs are made.

 

This is the sorry state of the remains of the “Live Aid” mural scene now:

 

The mural scene, as “revealed” on a wet day in March 2022. (Courtesy of Quintain)

 

Can you help to design a much better tribute to “Live Aid”, please, which will grace the walls of Olympic Way as part of the murals celebrating Wembley’s sports and entertainment heritage for decades to come? If so, please suggest your ideas as a comment below, or send them (with a possible design, if you have one) to Martin. Thank you.

Philip Grant.