Aylesbury’s David Bowie memorial statue vandalised

The world’s first sculpture celebrating the life and work of David Bowie has been vandalised just 48-hours after it was unveiled in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

The statue titled Earthly Messenger was created by Andrew Sinclair and unveiled by Marillion vocalist Steve Hogarth on Sunday afternoon after David Stopps and his wife Sue raised £115,000 on Kickstarter to fund the project.

But just days after it was revealed, “feed the homeless first” has been spray-painted at the base of the sculpture and “RIP DB” on the wall behind.

Hogarth says: “It’s with a heavy heart and despair I hear that within 48 hours someone has defaced Andrew Sinclair’s breathtaking David Bowie double-statue.

“Hopefully this is just a glitch and this fabulous work of art will give people a reason to come to Aylesbury for many years to come.”

David Stopps says they’re currently cleaning the statue and adds (via the BBC): “It is a public piece of art and we will keep looking after it on a daily basis.

“There is a webcam on it ²⁴⁄₇ so whoever did it, we have got them on webcam.”

Bowie, who died in January 2016, premiered Hunky Dory at the town’s Friars Aylesbury in September 1971 and The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars in January 1972 at the same venue.

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