News / Arts
DJ Derek mural finally revealed
A two-storey memorial to DJ Derek in Montpelier is close to completion.
The mural covers one side of a house on Richmond Avenue, near to where Derek Serpell-Morris first started DJing.
Scaffolding has now been removed and all that remains to be completed are some sections of the background surrounding his portrait.
The legendary DJ is depicted in monochrome, his distinctive bespectacled face smiling out on the street below.
His great niece Jennifer Griffiths told Bristol24/7 that she was “incredibly happy” with the work to commemorate Derek.
“Originally the artists said they wanted to keep the design for the mural secret. I’m so glad they did because it was wonderful to watch as it took shape.
“We aren’t planning an unveiling, it’s took too big to cover up now.”
Derek was an accountant from Bristol who found fame as a Patois-speaking reggae DJ.
He became a regular on the festival and club circuit, releasing his own compilation album on Trojan records and even appearing in a music video with Dizzee Rascal:
Derek went missing in July 2015. Following a huge manhunt, his body was found by a dog walker in March 2016 near Cribbs Causeway.
The spot was only a few hundred yards from the route of the last bus Derek was known to take, the number 78.
Hundreds of people attended his funeral in St Paul’s.
Read More: Obituary: DJ Derek
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