The artist behind the now infamous tag – and the officer who investigated it – have shed more light
19:13, 07 Apr 2026Updated 06:57, 08 Apr 2026
A ‘Howard’ tag in Manchester city centre(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
It was the name that left Manchester baffled. ‘Howard’ got people talking after it began appearing on buildings, bridges and shutters across the city. It left confused locals asking: who on earth is he?
It even led to one of the country’s most famous Howards – Take That’s Howard Donald – issuing a public denial that he was the man behind the tag.
Today (Tuesday, April 7), an artist admitted being the instigator behind the trend. Ben Daye 33, appeared in court and pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal damage.
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He admitted spray painting the name onto the bin store of the then-Thirsty Scholar pub on November 3, 2024, causing £500 worth of damage, and then onto a wall in St Peter’s Square four days later.
Before he was sentenced, Daye shed more light on the inspiration behind the tag. Daye said he was using drugs at the time and he believes was suffering from a ‘bit of a psychosis as I was so sleep deprived.’
Ben Daye leaving Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday(Image: Manchester Evening News)
He told magistrates he had been walking through Piccadilly Gardens at 3am when he met a man who ‘asked for some money as he didn’t have any.’ “I asked his name and he said ‘Howard'” Daye said.
He said after talking to him: “My plan was, I wanted to turn it into a foundation of some sort, to help men with mental health and substance issues.” He said he ‘wanted to put it on the wall as a beacon of hope.’
However, he said: “People started taking it on themselves. It spiralled away from what it was meant to be. It was taken out of my hands.”
PC Nial Vivian, who led the investigation and interviewed Daye, told the Manchester Evening News that Daye had told him that Howard was a ‘homeless guy who reminded Ben of Ben.’
Another Howard tag in the city centre. Ben Daye was only charged with two offences of which this was not one(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
“He said he met this guy Howard, he sort of talked to him and thought ‘oh if a few things had gone wrong or something else had happened in my life, that could have been me.” PC Vivian said.
“Fundamentally he said he just sort of clicked with him, they got on really well, but he felt this guy was a pretty good guy but he had fallen on some hard times which had ended up in him being homeless and it just basically just resonated with him.”
“I think that’s the kind of thing that resonates with a lot of people,” the officer continued. “They say you’re only a couple of pay cheques away from being out on the street. He’s very philosophical at times.”
Asked if he deemed it a piece of social commentary, the officer said: “Yeah, as far as one name can be. That’s what I felt it was. “
PC Nial Vivian(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
Prosecutor Bernardina Radford told Manchester Magistrates Court Daye was ‘responsible for the spray painting of Howard tag across Greater Manchester.’
James Gore, defending, said Daye was only charged with two offences and that if the prosecution were ‘seeking to charge him with other offences they should do so’ as he accused them of ‘seeking to effectively prejudice’ the magistrates’ decision.
He opposed an application from the prosecution for a criminal behaviour order (CBO). The order would prevent Daye being in possession of ‘oil or water-based paint or ink held in an aerosol can, an airbrush, graffiti marker pen or spray gun’ in a defined area ‘save for the purposes of approved employment, education or training.’
A separate hearing was fixed for July where a ruling will be made on the imposition of the order.
A CCTV image of Daye spray painting the tag on the bin store of then Thirsty Scholar pub in November 2024(Image: Greater Manchester Police (GMP))
Daye, of Cobden Street, Moston, said he had undergone detox and was now sober. He was handed a 12 month conditional discharge by magistrates, who also ordered him to pay compensation of £200, costs of £85 and a surcharge of £26.
Chairman of the bench Paul Welsh said: “There was mention of other matters. For our purposes, that’s irrelevant. We sentence only on what we have heard today.”
Mr Welsh said that ‘for people concerned by this, it is a problem.’ “What appears to be a fairly minor offence of criminal damage can be aggravated if people are dealing with a lot of it,” he said. “You are not someone who has any recent convictions. You have not been before us for a very long time.”
Daye pictured by the M.E.N in August 2015(Image: Manchester Evening News)
In August 2015, the Manchester Evening News reported how ‘acclaimed Northern Quarter artist’ Daye had been commissioned to hand paint a £130k Mercedes Benz G-Wagen.
Self-taught Daye said he had had no formal art training, but had worked with companies such as Adidas and had built up more than 400,000 followers on Instagram where he had showcased his work.
“I started drawing names and designs on people’s shoes when I was at school but left when I was in year 10. It just wasn’t for me” he said.
“I don’t really know where I get my inspiration comes from, I just start drawing and it goes from there. I really love doing this and creating pieces of art.”