A David Bowie super fan has promised to donate £5,000 to a homeless charity if the person who vandalised a statue of the late music icon comes forward.
What has been described as the world’s first Bowie statue was unveiled in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire on Sunday (March 25). Bowie is said to have first performed as his Ziggy Stardust persona and debuted two albums at gigs at the town’s Friars music venue in the early 1970s.
The statue, which has been dubbed the ‘Earthly Messenger’, was vandalised in the early hours of Tuesday (March 27), just 35 hours after its initial unveiling. It was covered in graffiti that said “feed the homeless first” and “RIP DB”.
Bowie fan Alex Laurent has now offered to pay £5,000 to a homeless charity if the vandal turns himself in. A press release states that “the sculpture is covered by CCTV 24 hours per day and a clear recording of the gentleman who committed the crime has been circulated”.
The statue has since been restored, with volunteers helping remove paint from the walls and pavement. Organisers have thanked the support they have received since the vandalisation.
Some Dickheads about. Bowie statue vandalised within 48 hours of unveiling pic.twitter.com/u4gBpwSo0M
— Aladinsane (@isthismyemail1) March 27, 2018
Contrary to the vandal’s graffiti message, the statue was paid for by £100,000 raised in a crowdfunding campaign, not by tax-payers’ money.
Deputy Mayor Mark Willis previously said: “I want to point out that this statue received precisely £0 of public money. That’s right, £0. It was entirely funded through crowdfunding, by members of the public, myself included. One of the charities I support monthly is Shelter as homelessness and poverty are absolute scourges on society that need solving.”