Mysterious street artist Banksy confirms his first name in BBC interview

Banksy, an unnamed street artist, infamous for works that are untraceable, reveals his first name in a lost interview with BBC. A long-lost interview with graffiti artist Banksy, in which he discloses his first name for the first time, has been discovered. In the 2003 tape, a BBC reporter asks if Banksy's real name is "Robert Banks," to which the artist responds, "It's Robbie."

Banksy spoke to former BBC arts correspondent Nigel Wrench on the anti-authority element of his work, which is still evident today, while working on his show Turf War in east London. The BBC has now broadcast the entire interview as The Bansky Story, which is available on BBC Sounds 20 years later. Banksy appeared to confirm his first name during the interview.

Career

Banksy started out as a graffiti artist, painting all over Bristol. Turf War, his first gallery show in the UK, ran over three days in Dalston in 2003 and helped launch him into the British art scene. It contributed to the artist's signature mystique, as the exhibition's location was only revealed one day before it began.

It included graffitied police vans, depictions of Winston Churchill as a grass Mohican and the late Queen as a chimp, and live farm animals covered in the Met Police's blue-checked patterns.

Speculations

The exact identity of the street artist, whose work fetches tens of millions of dollars and has appeared on the sides of houses, in prominent art galleries, and even on the Israeli West Bank barrier, has long been a source of speculation.

Massive Attack's Robert Del Naja, Art Attack's Neil Buchanan, and even Pembroke Dock councillor Billy Gannon have previously been suspects of being Banksy, with Gannon quitting in 2022 and blaming the rumours on his failure to carry out his duties.

Banksy was "unmasked" as Robin Cunningham, a 34-year-old former public school boy, by the Daily Mail in 2008, though the artist denied this. However, an ongoing litigation threatens to uncover his complete name. A firm is suing Banksy, claiming he "gravely harmed" its reputation with a 2022 Instagram post that read, “Alerting all shoplifters. Please go to GUESS on Regent Street. They’ve helped themselves to my artwork without asking, how can it be wrong for you to do the same to their clothes?”

The complete interview can be heard on BBC Sounds in the current episode of The Banksy Story on Radio 4.

FAQs:

Q1: Is Banksy's identity revealed?
Even though the real name of Banksy is revealed, the identity of the artist is still concealed.

Q2: Does Banksy have a wife?
The wife of mysterious artist Banksy is Joy Millward