An offhand tweet from Labour councillor Kevin Peel has landed him in hot water after he mistook a picture of Foo Foo Lammar for serial killer Myra Hindley.
The image of Foo Foo, the legendary Manchester drag queen who had an illustrious career in the city, is part of the new Queerchester mural in the Gay Village.
Over the last year, Queerchester has been working towards creating this mural as 29 artists battled it out to have their designs painted on the wall.
Councillor Peel’s tweet, which has since deleted, said: “Hmm. Not sure how I feel about mass murdereer Myra Hindley on the side of the Molly House.”
In response to the mix-up, councillor Peel has received a cluster of tweets from Queerchester, the community group who raised the funds for the mural, and the held a competition to design the street art.
In a damning tweet, the group said: “Expect complaint made. You are a bully. Nothing more.”
And in another tweet, they added: “Why I am glad Councillor Kevin Peel is no longer LGBT Labour North West lead in Manchester.”
@kevpeel @TheGregling @themollyhouse expect complaint made. You are a bully. Nothing more. @MENnewsdesk @MM_newsonline @canalstmancs @joand7
— Queerchester (@QCexM) September 24, 2014
Why I am glad #CllrKev is no longer @LGBTLabourNW lead in Manchester. @OzzyAustin @bevcraig #unacceptable #community pic.twitter.com/LVVBJOR22T
— Queerchester (@QCexM) September 24, 2014
This morning the Labour councillor released a statement on his Facebook page apologising for the mix-up.
He said: “Last night I had a complaint from a resident about a mural currently being painted on the side of The Molly House which appeared to include a picture of Myra Hindley.
“I walked past myself to check this out and it did in fact look like her.
“I tweeted this to Molly House (in a probably less than tactful way), they clarified what the mural is about, who is in it and showed me a picture of the final version.
“I apologised and the matter was laid to rest.”
More than 950 people voted for their favourite designs online and four winners were announced whose designs have been merged to create the striking and vibrant wall art.
Their visions are being brought to life by graffiti artist Aylo (Hayley Garner) and Cbloxx (Joy Gilleard).
The final picture will be unveiled on Sunday, and people can take a look at the progress being made when the artists are at work from 11.30am to 5.30pm.
“I wasn’t aware in advance of the project as no one had engaged with local councillors,” councillor Peel added.
“We would’ve been extremely supportive of this scheme as we have been with similar ones in the Northern Quarter. The final version looks great and I can’t wait to see it unveiled.”
He added: “There is a lesson here about the immediacy of Twitter which I will certainly reflect on.
“Perhaps others attempting to whip up hysteria by deliberately misleading what happened should also reflect on this.”
Frank ‘Foo Foo’ Lammar started his career singing in east Manchester pubs, while also holding down a day job as general manager of a waste paper recycling plant.
Frank bought his first pub the Picador in 1971, followed by the Celebrity, which became Foo Foo’s Palace in Dale Street.
Over the years the flamboyant entertainer performed for thousands and was much loved for his charity and community work.
Image courtesy of Google Maps with thanks.
