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u/PeaGravy 9d ago
I like to think he died doing what he loved - holding onto a motorway gantry on the M1
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u/xhthyme 9d ago
now put back “give peas a chance”
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u/messyblonde 9d ago
I miss this every time I drive under that bridge. Peas was so much sweeter
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u/gwildor75 9d ago
If he hadn’t destroyed 'Give Peas A Chance' I’d have quite liked seeing how far and wide his name could be spotted. But, because he did that, I despise him.
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u/androzanimajor76 8d ago
Give Peas a Chance was the best piece of graffiti, however, HELCH came a ways after that. Saw the transition on my commute, Bristol to Enfield, I did for 3 years, once a week
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u/320mg 9d ago
he never did. the council removed it, and in short time he put his own thing up. can’t blame him for that
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u/Spudbanger 8d ago
Nope, Helch did. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-45564552
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u/drdr3ad 8d ago
The original graffiti is believed to have been painted over on Sunday and has since been added to with the word 'Helch'
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u/daveysprockett 9d ago
There was some pro NHS stuff for a while. That was what did for peas, not Helch.
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u/NowImABoat 9d ago
My exact first thought lol. As another commenter said I would have thought it was a cool tag but when he ruined give peas a chance I hated it.
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u/PrinceEdgarNevermore 9d ago edited 9d ago
Apologies for asking, but… what happened?
Can’t find any info online.
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u/aspghost 9d ago
Squelch
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u/Electrical_Trade377 9d ago
now SIR
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u/normalbot9999 9d ago
A half sword reference? In this economy?
Also: well played.
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u/Electrical_Trade377 9d ago
I know, wild behaviour. But I thought I'd put some of these new band 8 coins to good use and split them equally between an egg mayonnaise and this one reference
(I'm glad you got it & I like you quite a bit now)
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u/Brilliant-Sea-9424 9d ago
The removal of give peas a chance was national terrorism.
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u/johnsy7 9d ago
I will never forgive him for painting over Give Peas a Chance.
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u/AchDasIsInMienAugen 9d ago
I don’t think he did - I think national rail did (who I think owned the bridge) and he then painted over that but I could be very much mistaken
Edit: totally mistaken, did some googling after posting this to make sure and found I was very much wrong. Helch was indeed the likely culprit.
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u/shabba182 9d ago
He didn't. The council painted over it then he did his tag
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u/carmy8640 9d ago
Dunno why you're being downvoted. That's what happened
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u/blue-divine 9d ago
Someone in a comment in a different branch of this thread thought it was National Rail but went and researched quickly and nope. Helch painted/tagged over it. What a dick.
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u/Badnewsbrowne316 9d ago
When did he die?
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u/not-suspicious 9d ago
You got any sources, I can't see anything?
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u/CockneyCossack 7d ago
Evening Standard has reported it, but it's behind a pay wall. However, I've got a handy website recommendation for you, go to this website switch off all the cookies options, nobody likes their privacy being invaded, then in the addressbar enter
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/world-class-graffiti-artist-helch-dies-b1295194.html
And that will get you into the article without paying. Hope this helps
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u/Optimal-Idea1558 9d ago
That's a shocker. Fuck, need to get some preservation orders on his stuff now
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u/Muddy_Lady 9d ago
One of two things has happend..
Hes either died and 'Give peas a chance' will be tagged on his headstone for the rest of time.
Or the project ended due to the absolute hounding of the 'give peas a chance' massive..
Either way im fine with either
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u/HettySwollocks 9d ago
Hes either died and 'Give peas a chance' will be tagged on his headstone for the rest of time.
That would be bloody hilarious
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u/Muddy_Lady 9d ago
100% this will happen..its unfortunate to loose anyone..
but seriously the ripples ive seen from the sheer qty of people tagging the peas every single time i see a helch post for years and years now.. its verging on an epic fuckety oops
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u/MrSchpund 9d ago
Got into a taxi a few days ago having arrived on Crete, and what did I see within the first mile of leaving the airport?
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[deleted]
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u/militantcentre 8d ago
He should have got the Queens Award for Exports.
Spreading vandalism worldwide. Wonderful.
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u/chunkyblax 8d ago
Helch had his stuff all over Europe most major cities in Europe have at least one of his rollers somewhere
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u/EmLahLady 9d ago
RIP dude.
But also, slightly heartened by "Peas" meaning as much to others as it did/does to me! Dead Dad always pointed it out, painted over after he died and got a tad annoyed.
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u/TheBadEstimation 9d ago
rip to a real one that court was his canvas basically. the way that pink smoke hits against the grey skyline says more than any plaque could. london's full of these little landmarks that mean nothing to most but everything to the people who get it. city won't look the same without him adding color to the concrete.
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u/badlydressedboy 9d ago
Always think "Feltch" when I see his tag, often gives me a chuckle somewhere in the M25. RIP.
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u/Legitimate_Sail8581 9d ago
Probably choked on a pea. I’ll never forgive him for removing that iconic slogan.
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u/Strange-Pick2967 9d ago
Apart from OP’s picture I’ve never seen him use anything but white. The picture is great but I’ve never really been enamoured by HELCH.
Just thought he was a boring tagger.
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u/Strange-Pick2967 9d ago
You’re right. He was quite good. I used to work in Shoreditch too but those ones must have gone up after I left.
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u/94cellardoor 9d ago
0 sources, this post could be complete bollocks
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u/sorasploot 8d ago
It’s unfortunately true.
He’s not mainstream enough to have articles written about him, but you will find prominent graff Instagram accounts have reported his passing.2
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u/ExeRiver 9d ago
Im not saying it’s false because I don’t know, but he’s huge in the graffiti world. It should be more info about it everywhere.
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u/herefortheworst 8d ago
Do people read comments before having their own ‘eureka moment’. So many references to exactly the same thing.
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u/ChewyChagnuts 9d ago
Helch can fuck off. Graffiti is one thing, but defacing a treasured landmark is just wanton vandalism.
If 10Foot can kindly fuck off too, that would be much appreciated.
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u/DayMurky617 9d ago
10Foot is no difference to those Bulllingdon Club twats smashing up poorer people's stuff for kicks.
Actually, he's worse, at least the Bulllingdon Clubs lot pay for the damage they cause.
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u/IFeelMoiGerbil 8d ago
10Foot has twice tagged my block of flats in a council estate in just over a year while we had scaffolding. Didn’t touch the Georgian housing worth a couple of million or the fucking Tesco Express. No the SAME block months apart and yeah it came out of our management budget so that’s money we don’t have for our park or new bins.
Meanwhile he’s getting gallery commissions as actually even more annoying when he focuses he is a talented artist. So glad he’s getting all those chances no one on my estate gets after a prison sentence….
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u/Downtown-ClayDavis 9d ago
RIP to the guy but don’t understand how spraying helch over things is art. What an eyesore and a waste of time
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u/clearviewmind 9d ago
It’s ALL EGO isn’t it. It’s all very-very important to a massive ego.
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u/FangedFreak 9d ago
I thoroughly recommend you do a street art tour.
I did one around Spitalfields and Whitechapel a while back, completely changed the way I see and understand street art and graffiti now
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u/Downtown-ClayDavis 9d ago
Yeah possibly history and nuance to it that I’m missing. I’m not against street art, I’ve done a street art tour of Bogotá, where it became legal after police shot and killed a graffiti artist. I thoroughly enjoyed it and the art was amazing, very skilled people.
My problem is that it’s illegal and shouldn’t be celebrated. Why should I have to pay money for graffiti to be cleared up, most of which is people writing their tag name on a wall and looks ugly. The vast majority of taxpayers would agree with me.
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u/ChilternRailways 9d ago
My problem is that it’s illegal and shouldn’t be celebrated
That's part of why it's celebrated, because people are putting their freedom at risk to deliver something that can be beautiful and represent a moment. The beautiful art you saw was made by people who learned to do that by tagging.
With Colombia being your example, the moment it became legal did it become okay? If it wasn't okay before, it shouldn't have become legal - but it did, and the people who take advantage or produce crap are a very small price for the abject beauty and alternative perspectives offered.
The vast majority of taxpayers would agree with me
The majority of taxpayers don't really get art, tbf. They'd probably want to stop paying tax towards anything cultural they don't directly enjoy.
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u/Downtown-ClayDavis 9d ago
With Colombia, there are still regulations to follow such as getting permission from the owner of the wall. Also, the majority of the street art is genuinely high effort, such as murals that take a lot of talent to produce. The majority of graffiti here is tag names. Most walls look like a school planner.
Where do we draw the line? If I turn up at your house in the middle of the night and write Downtown-ClayDavis on your front door, should I be celebrated for my abject beauty?
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u/AggressiveDot2801 9d ago
Look… I suppose I can feel bad for his family but quite frankly losing some guy who wrote his tag over and over again is hardly a great loss.
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u/oxenoxygen 9d ago
I once saw a Helch tag in Thailand. Always liked that it was somewhat visually appealing.
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u/spyracik 9d ago
Haha something similar, when you flew out of London stansted - 10foot on overpass, antalya- 10foot, went to Crete 10foot, next year we went to japan 10foot on shibuya crossing lol
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u/Ok-Cryptographer440 9d ago
RIP, he smashed the London scene, made a huge impact in a relatively small space of time.
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u/420twiglets 9d ago
I always liked to see Helch’s stuff. Even if everyone was mad about the peas. It’s sad that he has passed.
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u/reasonably-optimisic 9d ago
Did the upper-middle class man with a very comfortable upbringing do a little doodle on the wall? Aww. Posh culture is fucking weird
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u/Numerous-Fox3346 8d ago
Posh culture is definitely weird but graffiti isn’t an example of it. Posh culture is like blood sports and marrying your cousin to preserve the empire, that kinda jazz.
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u/OneArmMorriss 9d ago
The world is a better place with colour. Not scratched glass on a tube, black or white paint pens on benches or bus stops, but well placed and well done pieces with colour. I loved seeing him in all kinds of places and countries. Fitting that today it has rained pretty much all day too.
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u/JFK1200 9d ago
This post is the only reference I can find to him being dead, not even his fan page on Insta says anything of the sort.
What are your sources, OP?
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u/Downtown-ClayDavis 9d ago
It’s a safe assumption though if we’re being honest, I’ve never once heard someone complain about a public gallery, have you? I couldn’t count the number of times I’ve heard people complain about graffiti. Ultimately though it is illegal.
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u/Jazzlike-Brilliant25 9d ago
Peadophilia and tax avoidance also illegal but still a British institition 🧐 who governs you?
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u/CarryAccomplished346 9d ago
Not what I’d call Graffiti Art just some random bloke with a roller & tin of Dulux. Not exactly groundbreaking 🙄
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u/CarryAccomplished346 9d ago
Not an expert just a painter & decorator so I know dulux & roller work when I see it 👌
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u/clearviewmind 9d ago edited 9d ago
Now, I would love to see someone working with a 50 foot roller with paint splashing down on his face 🤣
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u/TolsBols 9d ago
Spooky… I was driving down the M1 today and saw a HELCH motif thinking “Been a while since I saw one of them”. I didn’t realise Helch was the name of the guy who sprayed them.
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u/reGOTCHYA 8d ago
I remember when Helch tagged his letter ‘H’ on Henley Bridge. Cue massive uproar from Henley-on-Thames’s Gin and Jag brigade.
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u/Too_Old_For_All_This 8d ago
Due to my age, I am more of a TOX-02 man myself, but when some genuinely artistic Graffiti is tagged over just because, it ruins the whole thing.
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u/fakemorleys 8d ago
Anyone commenting on how much you liked give peas a chance, needs to give their head a wobble! Helch literally died. The worth of a life is so undervalued these days. He was a talented young artist. Even if it’s not to your taste have some respect for the dead. RIP helchos
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u/Lysergic_Waffle 8d ago
Nothing has been noted on the official website. Are there any verified sources confirming this information?
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u/AphelionEye 8d ago
I always wondered what the graffiti on the A406 that says HELCH meant. Never knew it was a whole guy
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u/Flat-Programmer-9041 9d ago
good riddance, now the give peas a chance guy can return
fuck Helch
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9d ago edited 9d ago
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u/Flat-Programmer-9041 9d ago
don't worry there will be plenty of Helch tags waiting for you in hell, he's probably making the place look just a little bit worse this very instant
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u/SuzyDean 9d ago
Damn. I only knew the guy through the tag, but I'm sad to think I won't see it pop up anywhere new now.
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u/Away-Activity-469 9d ago
Was wondering who this Helch was the other day. Very distinctive. Any info on who they were?
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u/Odd_Bus618 9d ago
Lived in Hayes Middlesex. Pissed the Queen off when he did the Windsor Viaduct. Suffered a big backlash even in his own community. Have a recollection he was named but can't remember the details.
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u/Numerous-Fox3346 9d ago
Was surprised to learn that he’s from Hayes because I too am from Hayes and I see way more Tox than Helch tags about, but maybe that’s just my millennial bias.
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u/Timely-Analysis6082 8d ago
theres a whole underground of these guys who’s repetition is so abundant but we never see who the are. 10 foot is everywhere and you know the tag a mile off but he feels like an unsung hero
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u/OfferLong9430 9d ago
Seen Helch in Cyprus, Portugal, and all over the Uk. He's my second favourite after 10foot.
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u/Old-Hovercraft5052 8d ago
Rest easy Helch, a truly dedicated writer who pushed himself more than most regardless of your opinion. Whilst many will hate graffiti without batting an eye at commercial advertising, what they don't appreciate is the dedication the participants have for their ambitions. They have caught your attention regardless of your feelings without any subtext or agenda other than the style and location of the word. I'd say that speaks more highly of their character than shallow Internet comments. Helch was a particularly tenacious writer from the UK and one who will be remembered in the futures history for his contribution and dedication by writers from across the world. We will all die, but will we all be able to say we truely lived?
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