Mural of Faithless' Maxi Jazz unveiled at Crystal Palace's Selhurst Park - photos
Home of his beloved football club
A mural honouring late Faithless vocalist Maxi Jazz has been unveiled outside Selhurst Park, home of his beloved Crystal Palace Football Club.
Maxi Jazz, real name Maxwell Fraser, died "peacefully in his sleep" at his London home on Christmas Eve 2022 aged 65.
Maxi was a lifelong Crystal Palace supporter and an associate director of the club, and two days after his death the team ran out to Faithless’ timeless dance anthem ‘Insomnia’ in their Premier League match against Fulham.
Fans also took part in a minute’s applause and images of Maxi Jazz were displayed on the screens inside Selhurst Park.
Crystal Palace have since enlisted British Street Artist collective MurWalls to create a permanent memorial to Maxi Jazz outside their ground, and it was formally unveiled by chairman Steve Parish over the weekend.
Alongside Maxi Jazz’s face, the mural features the words ‘This Is My Church’ – the opening line from Faithless’ 1998 track ‘God is a DJ.’
“Maxi was just a fabulous, fabulous person. He was a massive supporter of the club. He was a supporter in the absolute truest sense of the word,” Steve Parish said.
“I found an interview Maxi did on YouTube. He said: ‘I’m the happiest fan in the world right now’ – the happiest in the world, and I think we finished 14th that season! He really did love the club, and he did a lot for the club.
“Having a permanent memorial to him here is just fantastic… the way it's been done, and the words that they’ve used from one of Maxi’s songs… it’s just such an amazing, emotional piece of work, so I’m really proud and privileged to be able to unveil it today.”
Parish also said it was “amazing” that the mural can be seen from Maxi Jazz’s regular seat inside Selhurst Park.
He continued: “Maxi really was the embodiment of south London in himself as a person, kind and gracious as he was, and it was represented in his music, his lyrics, his accent – everything about him was pure south London.
“He really is an icon for us as a football club, and while we’ve sadly lost him, he will live on here and in his music for everybody, which is amazing.”
See more musicians honoured with murals:
Malcolm Young
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Malcolm Young
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Eddie Van Halen
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Bob Dylan
Created by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra, this astonishing Bob Dylan mural called The Times They Are A-Changin was unveiled in September 2015. Depicting three photo-realistic images of Bob Dylan from different eras, the mural features kaleidoscopic colours and patterns throughout.
Joey Ramone
Painted by artists Solus and John CRASH Matos, this Joey Ramone mural on Bleecker at the Bowery in New York City was unveiled in September 2015. Featuring Joey Ramone sporting boxing gloves, the mural was created to mark the 40th anniversary of The Ramones' first gig at legendary venue CBGB. The mural was painted over in August 2017.
Debbie Harry and Blondie
In August 2017, the Joey Ramone mural in New York was painted over by esteemed graffiti mastermind Shepard Fairey who created this impressive Debbie Harry and Blondie mural in homage to the legendary now-closed CBGB club.
Black Sabbath
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Lou Reed
This astonishingly life-like mosaic mural of Lou Reed was created by late photorealist artist Chuck Close in 2017. It's located at the Second Avenue Subway in Brooklyn, New York.
Ringo Starr
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David Bowie
Painted by Australian street artist Jimmy Cochra in 2013, the David Bowie 'Aladdin Sane' mural in Brixton became a focal point for mourners upon his death in January 2016.
Joe Strummer
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Prince
Manchester street artist Akse P19 created this Prince mural in the Northern Quarter in 2016 just a few weeks after the music legend's death.
Leonard Cohen
On the 1st anniversary of Leonard Cohen's death in November 2017 a vast 1,000 square metres mural of the singer was unveiled in downtown Montreal. Led by local artist Gene Pendon and internationally renowned American street portrait artist El Mac, Tower of Songs took 2 muralists, 13 assistant artists, 240 cans of paint and thousands of hours of work to replicate a photograph taken by his daughter, Lorca Cohen.
Muddy Waters
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Keith Flint
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Mick Ronson
Late-great David Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson was immortalised as this mural on Greenwich Avenue in his hometown of Hull in 2019. Before fame, Ronson worked as a gardener for Hull City Council.
27 Club mural
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Jimi Hendrix
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Lemmy
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Prince
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Massive Wagons
A massive Massive Wagons 'Full Nelson' mural was unveiled in their native city of Lancaster in July 2018 to celebrate the release of their new studio album. The three-storey painting of the album cover adorned the side of The Pub in Lancaster where the band played many of their early shows. The band tweeted: 'Humbling beyond belief to have this monster mural of the Full Nelson album cover on the walls of our great city of Lancaster!'
Lemmy
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The Rolling Stones
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Ian Curtis
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