Andre Gray tattoo inspired by civil rights activists

Andre Gray has shown off his incredible new back tattoo, which took 72 hours to complete

Watford’s record-signing revealed his spectacular back tattoo on his Twitter earlier this month and the artwork features many key figures in civil rights history.

Gray put plenty of research into the extraordinary tattoo he unveiled to the world this month.

The tattoo, which took 72 hours to complete over nine separate sessions, contains a number of the most iconic leaders of the civil rights movement.

Political figures such as Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Nelson Mandela feature alongside world heavyweight champion boxer Muhammad Ali and reggae musician Bob marley and the famous podium protest at the 1968 Olympic games involving athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos.

Gray called the artwork a ‘masterpiece’ when he posted a portrait of his full back tattoo on social media last week.

The intricate design includes many important moments in black history, including Huey P Newton being freed from jail and Rosa Parks refusing to move from the front of an Alabama bus.

The striker has invested plenty of time, energy and emotion into the planning process of the work of art.

“The civil rights movement is something I’ve looked into a lot,’ Gray told the Telegraph.

“When I was about 23, I started reading up on it all and watching TV programmes.

“You find you read about one person and then you find there is a documentary you can watch about them and then it usually leads on to something else.

“I went to Zanzibar on holiday and there was a lot there about civil rights and there was a museum, where there are old slave chambers.

“It was horrible to go to and they’ve still got the chains there. It opens your eyes a lot. To go to Africa and see some of those things was pretty difficult, but it makes you think.”