A mural of England football stars Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers has been painted on the side of the Classic Fryer fish and chip shop in Quinton, a suburb of Birmingham. The huge lifelike image, created by local guerilla artist Dion Kitson, depicts the players tucking into orange chips, a local delicacy. Installed on Friday afternoon, the mural has since become a viral sensation on social media, attracting a steady stream of visitors.
Community response and business boost
The mural has proven so popular that Classic Fryer's owner, Ramesh Natwadia, has started opening two hours early and hired two extra staff members to meet demand from fans. “Our customers are really happy, they said it’s amazing,” Natwadia said, adding that some have asked him to take photos of them posing with orange chips in front. “They’re not used to seeing people from their local area being famous.”
Local resident Gerdas noted, “They’re local lads. We’re just really proud of them. And it gives Birmingham and the Black Country a big boost.” Some residents have been frustrated to see Bellingham described as from Birmingham, when Stourbridge is in the Black Country. “When somebody becomes famous, everybody wants to claim them. So it’s a credit to him, really, that people are fighting over it,” Gerdas added.
Artist's inspiration and message
Dion Kitson, who has 27,700 followers on Instagram, said the mural had received the biggest response he had ever experienced, including posts from Bellingham and Rogers. “My phone’s been on fire,” he said. Other local businesses are begging him to put up a Bellingham mural on their walls. “It’s a beautiful moment that’ll stay with me for ever, it melts your heart. Football transcends everything,” he added.
Kitson wanted his painting to challenge “the dark side of patriotism” he had seen online and instead “try to channel the correct side of that, with football, sport, local pride, heritage culture and chips – and not to be a statement politically, it’s just about feeling good”. He hoped the focus on Bellingham, who grew up in nearby Stourbridge, would challenge stigma around the Black Country and its industrial legacy. “It’s strange that he’s from our neck of the woods, having role models that sound like us,” he said. “I’m quite protective over the Black Country. I grew up here, and I’ve been in the art world since I was 18, and I’ve had to put up with people thinking I’m an idiot and I’m not educated, and I have more degrees than them.”
Location and local impact
Kitson picked the Quinton junction because it is between Birmingham and Stourbridge. “I quite like the idea that as a school kid or something he would have came through here,” he said. “I like the idea that I can put Dudley or the Black Country or Birmingham on the map.” The mural has attracted attention from a diverse range of visitors, including excursions of pensioners from the local old person’s home and a group of children with Down’s syndrome.
Joan Ingram came to visit after seeing it in the newspaper and on social media. “It gives a sense of pride and not everyone knows about it – there needs to be more attention for it,” she said. “There’s so much love for him at the moment around the area,” she added, noting chants of “Hey Jude” in local pubs. “It’s bringing people together.”
Stourbridge prepares for World Cup
In Stourbridge, local residents are gearing up to support Bellingham for Wednesday's match. West Midlands Railway is offering free train travel on its Stourbridge Shuttle all week. Bobby George, assistant manager at the Cock’N’Bull pub, said it has been fully booked for matches with local fans. “It was a really good crowd – the best you could hope for. The atmosphere was amazing,” he said, adding that Bellingham is “obviously the favourite”. The pub is offering free shots every time England scores. “Bellingham is costing us a lot of money,” he joked.
Dunc Henderson, a tattoo artist at OSC, said he hasn’t done any Bellingham tattoos yet, but might have to get one himself if England win the World Cup. He is considering a realistic portrait, a replica of the Bellingham chips mural, or a slogan like “Hey Jude” or his infamous “Who else?” from Bellingham’s overhead bicycle kick in the last World Cup. Dan Henley from Stourbridge’s AP Morgan estate agent, which has a Bellingham sign in its window, said, “It’s Jude’s home town, and this World Cup he’s absolutely killing it. Stourbridge is pretty small, pretty unheard of, so having someone on the main stage, I think you should shout about it.”
