I met Ricky Also at the end of his first full day of working on the latest large-scale artwork to appear in North Shields as part of the Elevation wall mural festival. As I approached the former Cliff’s Bakery on Brandling Terrace, now transformed into the newly open Arbor Seven cafe, fellow artist Mark One87 was there chatting, after having begun his own mural at North Shields football club that same week. Ricky had previously participated in the Elements street art festival in Byker, organised by Mark. They were talking about reuniting with some of the other Elements artists, offering a glimpse into the close community of the street art scene.
We discussed how there is a similar sense of community among the folk of North Shields: “Everyone seems to know everything that’s going on!” Ricky grew up in a small town outside Southampton with a similar village feel and industrial past: “Your best hope was to get a job at the oil refinery. Not many people went to university.” He started doing graffiti at the age of eleven: “Nothing illegal, mind! I was into hip hop but rubbish at break dancing, so that was the one thing I could do.” After completing his A levels Ricky had various warehouse jobs before gaining an apprenticeship with a design company, just as it was starting out: “I was their first apprentice and there were only three of us in total. I was able to grow and develop with them.” He went on to work in Australia and then London as a designer: “I was designing billboards but nobody paid any attention.” Then he started doing large-scale murals for pleasure: “There was something about the craft of it that made people stop and talk, it was so social.”
Ricky now runs Paintshop, a design agency, creative studio and gallery in Poole, Dorset, combining the principles of traditional graphic design and typography with the movement and energy of graffiti to help brands connect with new audiences. He regularly takes part in street art festivals around the country and has noticed changes in the scene over the years: “The graffiti jams used to be more informal whereas now the artform is becoming more accepted and appreciated. Street art festivals are increasing in popularity and the people involved are more diverse.” The transformative effect of this public artform is evident: “Murals can change environments and bring people together. Employing a mix of local artists and others from elsewhere can inject energy into a place. The Elevation festival is so nicely curated. Everyone has their own unique style.” Ricky met Stuart Fearn of Elevation at the Elements festival last year: “Stu explained his plans for North Shields and I was keen to be involved.”
Ricky wanted to celebrate the town’s rich musical heritage with links to legendary bands such as the Animals and Lindisfarne as well as the current music scene including the recent success of Sam Fender. The mural features a lyric from the Fender song, ‘That Sound’, which is about craving the music that surrounded him growing up. As Ricky states: “Music is a big part of this town. I went to the Low Lights Tavern and it was open mic night. There was such a focus on originality but the mix of old and young musicians were all so respectful and supportive of each other.” You can almost hear the rhythm tapped out by the playfully laid out interlocking letters of varying sizes in Ricky’s colourful artwork, which is bright and bold yet not too blatant: “I like to disguise the message a bit. People have to work to get it, it’s more rewarding.” As if to demonstrate this, local resident Karina approached the mural on her way home from work to scrutinise what had been spelled out so far: “I think it’s brilliant to have all this art everywhere! It just makes me smile every time I pass.” The conversation moved on to authors and Ricky ended up giving Karina reading recommendations based on a mural he created in Byker inspired by little known local writer, Jack Common: “I like to highlight unsung heroes.”
Even though Sam Fender is not exactly an unsung hero any more, the lyric featured on the mural reflects the power of music in general, and how it means so much to the people of North Shields. Hilton Valentine of The Animals grew up in a nearby street and it is fitting that his legacy as well as that of so many others can be celebrated in this way. The musical past of North Shields is now being built upon by today’s vibrant live music scene and artists like Man Power are paving the way for the future with the successful adaptation of unusual venues for unique music events including King Street Social Club around the corner from Ricky’s mural and the Beacon Centre multi-storey car park in the town centre. As well as paying homage to musical history, ‘I Beg That Sound’ evoques the town’s sense of fun and forward-looking attitude.
The mural also marks the opening of a new business in the building, Arbor Seven cafe. The owners have looked after Ricky well with free coffee and lots of encouragement, which was needed at the start: “The storm delayed things at first, then it was still difficult to use the aerosols in the high winds. But people have been so kind and have kept me going.” This is Ricky’s fourth visit to the North East and he now feels quite at home here: “It’s amazing! I’ve been blown away by the warmth and positivity of this town. The people are so sociable and they are happy to see positive change happening in the area.” The brief was to capture the spirit of North Shields, and Ricky has surely done just that with ‘I Beg That Sound’, perfectly encapsulating the ‘past, present and future’ theme of the North Shields 800 celebrations and uplifting the area by looking forward to bright days ahead.
Elevation is a community arts charity founded by local residents and powered by volunteers. To mark the town’s 800th anniversary, the Elevation wall mural festival has brought together eight talented artists to create a series of large-scale public artworks over the summer of 2025. Selected by a panel of community members, the artists were set the challenge of capturing the spirit of North Shields. Find out more about the Elevation North Shields 800 Mural Trail.
Elevation has been documented and promoted in collaboration with I Love North Shields (www.ilovenorthshields.com) and Sira Studio (www.sirastudio.com).
More articles in this series:
Wall Murals are Coming to North Shields!
Painting the Town: Elevation Mural Festival Update
Other murals in the Elevation North Shields 800 mural trail:
The Siren – Prefab77 – Albion Road
The Chase – Nina Valkhoff – Norfolk Street
North Shields No4 – Anthony Downie – Trevor Terrace
The Spirit of Shields – Mark One87 – North Shields Football Club
