Banksy ‘reveals name’ in unearthed interview

The real name of anonymous and internationally acclaimed street artist Banksy appears to have been revealed in a resurfaced interview.

The supposedly Bristol-born street artist, whose identity has long been shrouded in mystery and speculation, took part in the interview for BBC Radio 4’s PM programme in 2003.

In the recording, reporter Nigel Wrench, who worked as a culture correspondent for broadcaster in the early 1990s, asks him if he is called “Robert Banks”, and the artist replies: “It’s Robbie.”

Back in 2003, Banksy’s show Turf War was being installed in an east London warehouse, featuring graffitied police vans, canvases of helicopter gunships with colourful bows and Winston Churchill with a grass mohican.

Speaking about whether vandalism can be a form of art, he told Wrench: “I’m not here to apologise for it. It’s a quicker way of making your point, right?

“In the same way my mother used to cook Sunday roast every Sunday and says every Sunday, ‘it takes hours to make it, minutes to eat’.”

“And these days she eats microwave meals for one and seems a lot happier. I’m kind of taking that approach to art really. I want to get it done and dusted.”

Banksy’s famous ‘Well Hung Lover’ on Park Street was recreated by artist @_diebroke credit – photo: @tobias_pistola

Banksy rose to fame through a series of graffiti artworks that appeared on buildings across the country. Over the years, he has continued to create artworks in Bristol, from The Girl with the Pierced Eardrum on Spike Island and Mild Mild West on Stokes Croft to Well Hung Lover on Park Street.

“It’s not so much anarchism but I’m interested in justice,” Banksy continued, explaining the themes of his art.

“Who has the right to judge anybody else? If you’ve ever fallen foul of the justice system, it turns you very sceptical about everything. So I like to turn it on his head. I’m into working out who really is the good guys.”

He also suggested anyone can paint over his work and appears to encourage listeners to treat their city “like a big playground”.

He said: “I get a good reaction from most people I think from my work. I’ve even had policemen in the past say they like things about it. I just think it’s my right to go out and paint it.

“Equally, someone has a right to go out and paint over it if they don’t like it. It doesn’t take very long with a bucket of white paint to paint over things.

“It’s better if you treat the city like a big playground. It’s there to mess about with, you know? Go out. Trash things. Have fun.”

An ongoing lawsuit threatens to reveal Banky’s full name. Robin Gunningham was recently named as the first defendant in a legal action accusing the artist and his company Pest Control Ltd of defamation.

It has also been rumoured that Robert Del Naja, of the group Massive Attack, Neil Buchanan, from Art Attack, and Pembroke Dock councillor Billy Gannon are Banksy.

The full interview can be heard on a bonus podcast episode of The Banksy Story, called The Lost Interview, which explores the artist’s rise “from secretive street artist to international icon”.

Main photo: Betty Woolerton

Read next:

• Banksy to stage historic exhibition unveiling 25 years of artwork
• A look at Broadmead in 2032
• Bristol student swipes Banksy’s professorship at graduation

Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: