A SINGING barber is inviting people to add a tribute to a dedicated NHS mural he commissioned after he suffered a heart attack.
Peter Joannou, 51, wants people to send in their personal messages of thanks and appreciation for the NHS so they can be added to his mural in The Lanes, Brighton.
The messages will be written in multicoloured hearts which will be painted alongside the huge angel, representing NHS staff, that has covered the wall since late 2019.
Peter said he wanted the public to be part of his artwork after being moved by the “outpouring of love” for the NHS during the pandemic.
He said:” I thought it would be nice to share the thank you with other people who might also want to show their appreciation.
“It doesn’t have to be Covid related, it could have been a life-changing experience and they want to share how the NHS helped them.
“The Covid pandemic has made us all so much more aware of the work they do, but they still deserve more recognition.
“When we first put it up it read ‘Save our NHS’ because there was a lot of talk about cuts, but because of the pandemic, we are going to change it to say ‘thank you NHS’.”
Street artist Req, who painted the original mural, is giving up his time free of charge to add the personalised messages.
Peter first came up with the idea for his “angels” mural when he suffered a heart attack on the balcony above his shop in June 2019 while singing for crowds in The Lanes.
The singing barber, who has been entertaining shoppers for more than 8 years, was taken via ambulance to the Royal Sussex County Hospital.
Staff quickly diagnosed that Mr Joannou had suffered a heart attack and performed a medical procedure to unblock an artery.
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He then stayed for 72 hours while being looked after in the cardio ward.
Mr Joannou said the “phenomenal” aftercare team helped him get back on his feet.
To repay the medical team who cared for him, he commissioned the mural on the side of his barber shop, which overlooks Middle Street.
He said that while the mural has a personal importance to him, it has taken on an entirely new significance because of the Covid pandemic.
He said: “A lot of people stop and take photographs and some even stop and have a chat to me about it. There’s been a real nice positive response from it.
“It’s unbelievable. I think we may now change it to ‘we believe’ in angel now because this last year, we’ve all seen them.
“We’re living in strange times but thank goodness they are there for us.”
If you would like to have a dedicated message on the mural, email thesingingbarber@yahoo.co.uk
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