Painting – Penny For the Guy
Penny for the Guy is a depiction of friends and I that used to make Guy Fawkes out of old clothes and collected money from passers by outside the Claremont pub in Moss Side. One time a drunk from the pub gave us a penny for the guy and he stole it, so we placed Peter in the box with a bag on his head,unfortunately another drunk booted him in the face and somebody threw a banger in his lap for a joke. Moss Side was a rough place to grow up in the 1970’s and 1980’s and kids from poor backgrounds had to find ways of earning money for sweets and fireworks as there parents were not able to fund this.
Painted in Acrylic and Ink using the croquis method to bring the characters to life, Impressionistic Urban Cityscape.
One of eleven paintings of Moss Side past by me, Andrew Alan Matthews. Signed limited edition prints available.
Story and video – Penny For the Guy
Penny for the Guy We made Guy Fawkes And collected money from passers by we didn’t cry yeah Outside the Claremont pub in Moss Side a drunk gave us a penny for the guy and stole it placed Peter in the box with a bag on his head we thought he was dead cos a drunk booted him in the face what a disgrace all in bad taste we all had to laugh it was a gaff then somebody threw a banger in his lap for a joke he smoke thought he would croak yeah Moss Side a rough place to grow up in the 70s and 80s poor kids findin ways to earn money for the honey yeah sweets and treats on these mean streets fireworks and bangers galore we knew the score we used to knock run on the door yeah penny guy what a guy
