Blink-182 star to auction rare Banksy worth millions
Blink-182 star Mark Hoppus is set to auction a rare Banksy painting that is estimated to be worth up to £5m.
The 52-year-old musician, singer and bassist in the punk-rock trio acquired the work with his wife Skye Everly in 2011.
Crude Oil (Vettriano) was first exhibited by Banksy in 2005 and is the anonymous artist’s reimagining of Jack Vettriano’s career-defining The Singing Butler from 1992, which itself was auctioned by Sotheby’s for £744,800 in 2004.
Pic: Sotheby’s
Now, the hand-painted Banksy will be auctioned by Sotheby’s in London, with some of the proceeds to be donated to causes including the California Fire Foundation, which helps people impacted by the LA wildfires, a children’s hospital, and a cancer research centre.
“We loved this painting since the moment we saw it,” Hoppus said. “It’s borne witness to our family over these past dozen years. It hung over the table in London where we ate breakfast and our son did his homework. It hung in our living room in Los Angeles…
“This painting has meant so much to us and been such an amazing part of our lives, and now I’m excited for it to be out there in the world, seen by as many as possible.”
The Blink-182 star said he would also use the proceeds to buy works by up-and-coming artists.
Blink-182 (L-R) Travis Barker, Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge on stage at the Coachella festival in California in 2023. Pic: Amy Harris/Invision/AP
The singer added: “Coming back to punk rock, one aspect of the community I always hold dear is, if you get lucky enough to gain success, you bring your friends with you.
“Larger bands bring smaller bands on tour. We support one another from within. I want to take some of the money from the sale of this painting and use it to buy works from younger, upcoming artists.”
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Hoppus revealed he had been diagnosed with stage four diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in June 2021, but after chemotherapy he announced he was free from cancer just a few months later.
He rose to fame after forming Blink-182 alongside guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge and drummer Travis Barker in 1992, and the trio went on to define the pop-punk genre with hits such as The Rock Show, All The Small Things, What’s My Age Again?, and I Miss You.
DeLonge left the group at the beginning of 2015, but returned in 2022 following his bandmate’s diagnosis.
Hoppus’s memoir, Fahrenheit-182, is due to be released in April.
Banksy painted a series of animal images, including piranhas in a police box, across London last year. Pic: Yui Mok/PA
Crude Oil (Vettriano) will be on display at Sotheby’s in New York this week before being brought to the UK for a preview exhibition starting on 26 February. It will then headline Sotheby’s Modern And Contemporary Evening Auction in London on 4 March.
“Street art and punk rock share the same vocabulary – they speak to the outsider, the rebel and the overlooked,” said Oliver Barker, Sotheby’s Europe chairman.
“Both movements were born from the margins. They challenge authority and re-write the rules, a fundamental trait shared by Mark and Banksy.”
Last year, Banksy made headlines by painting a series of animal works across London, one a day for nine days, including a rhino which appeared to be mounting a parked car, and a gorilla lifting a shutter at London Zoo.
In February, London Museum announced it had acquired one of the works – piranhas painted on a police sentry box, resembling a fish tank.
Creative control of the long-running James Bond franchise has been handed to Amazon MGM Studios, in a joint venture with the current owners.
Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson – who are the daughter and stepson of film producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, the man responsible for developing the Bond franchise into the success it is today – will remain co-owners of 007 intellectual property rights.
The pair own EON Productions, the company behind Bond films including Skyfall and Spectre. It has produced 25 films since 1962.
Craig played Bond for a fifth and final time in No Time To Die. Pic: MGM
The deal follows speculation over when the next Bond movie – and indeed the next Bond – will be announced.
The last film, No Time To Die, was delivered four years ago to rave reviews and box office success. It was the swansong for Daniel Craig in his performance of the lady-loving spy.
Details of the 26th official Bond film – and its new star – are yet to be revealed.
In a statement on EON Productions website, Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios said they were “honoured to continue this treasured heritage” and looked forward to “ushering in the next phase of the legendary 007 for audiences around the world”.
Wilson said that after 60 years spent working across the franchise, he would now be focusing on “art and charitable projects”.
Brian Cox and Barbara Broccoli on the 007: Road To A Million red carpet. Pic: Ian West
Barbara Broccoli said: “My life has been dedicated to maintaining and building upon the extraordinary legacy that was handed to Michael and me by our father, producer Cubby Broccoli.
“I have had the honour of working closely with four of the tremendously talented actors who have played 007 and thousands of wonderful artists within the industry. With the conclusion of No Time To Die and Michael retiring from the films, I feel it is time to focus on my other projects.”
In 2022, Amazon bought MGM Studios, which distributes Bond, for $8.45bn (£6.79bn).
Since the acquisition, the streamer has held the rights to distribute all the Bond movies.
Cox as The Controller in 007’s Road To A Million. Pic: Amazon Prime Video
In the spring of 2023, Amazon Prime Video launched Bond-themed reality show, 007 Road To A Million.
Hosted by Succession star Brian Cox, it offered nine pairs of contestants the chance to win £1m as they travelled through global locations associated with the franchise.
While no one took home the full £1m jackpot, brothers James and Joey did take £150,000. The show was met with a mixed critical reception but was given the green light for a second season.
Manslaughter charges over the death of Liam Payne have been dropped for his friend Roger Nores and two hotel workers.
Rogelio “Roger” Nores, hotel operator Gilda Martin, and head of reception Esteban Grassi were charged in December, two months after the One Direction star’s death at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
At the same time, hotel employee Ezequiel Pereyra and waiter Braian Paiz were charged with supplying cocaine to Payne.
Payne (second left) rose to fame in One Direction. Pic: Ken McKay/Shutterstock
Following an appeal, the manslaughter charges against Nores, Martin and Grassi have now been dropped, court documents show.
The charges against Pereyra and Paiz still stand and they remain in prison awaiting a trial.
Speaking after the ruling, Nores told Rolling Stone: “Glad this is finally over. I’m happy I’m now going to be able to travel to the UK and say goodbye to my friend.”
Nores, Martin and Grassi would have faced up to five years in prison had they been convicted.
Supplying drugs in Argentina carries a sentence of up to 15 years.
The latest court document states that Payne fell from the balcony of his room on the third floor of the hotel at about 5.10pm on 16 October.
In the hours beforehand, the singer had been involved in an argument with two women in the hotel lobby, the court document states, and cleaning staff later reported the television in his hotel room was broken.
Toxicology tests revealed that before his death, he had traces of alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription antidepressant in his body.
His cause of death was “polytrauma” from multiple injuries and internal and external bleeding, a postmortem found.
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