Banksy reveals his first name in resurfaced interview clip

A recently found interview with the notorious street artist known as Banksy has been discovered, revealing for the first time ever his first name.

In the blog post, it's mentioned that there's a recording from 2003 where a BBC reporter asks Banksy if his real name is "Robert Banks". In response, the artist confirms that his name is indeed "Robbie".

People have been guessing for a while now about who the street artist is. This artist's work is worth tens of millions of dollars and can be seen on buildings, in fancy art galleries, and even on the Israeli West Bank barrier. Some people have thought that the artist might be Robert Del Naja from the band Massive Attack, Neil Buchanan from the TV show Art Attack, or Billy Gannon, who used to be a councillor in Pembroke Dock. Gannon even quit his job in 2022 and said that all the guessing about him being the artist was making it too hard for him to do his work.

Back in 2008, the Daily Mail revealed Banksy's true identity as Robin Gunningham, a previous private school student who was 34-years-old at the time - though Banksy himself denied these allegations. Nonetheless, a lawsuit that is still ongoing threatens to reveal the mysterious artist's full name. The lawsuit involves Banksy being taken to court by a company who claim that he caused significant damage to their reputation through an Instagram post he made in 2022. The post in question read: "Attention all shoplifters. Please visit GUESS on Regent Street. They've taken my artwork without permission, so why can't you do the same with their clothes?"

The recently uncovered interview won't change anyone's mind about Banksy being Gunningham. It's also noteworthy because it's one of Banksy's earliest radio interviews. The interview took place when Banksy was in his twenties and getting ready to open his show, Banksy's Turf War, in East London. He speaks about various topics in the interview, including vandalism accusations. Banksy is not apologetic about his actions and believes that it's a faster and more effective way of getting your point across. He encourages people to go out, have fun, and cause chaos because it will force others to take action and make a change.

You can listen to the complete interview on BBC Sounds through the newest episode of Radio 4's The Banksy Story.