Amid intense new interest in Banksy following the launch of his GoMA exhibition in Glasgow a new BBC podcast believes it has found something intriguing about the elusive artist.
A trailer for the Radio 4 series and BBC Sounds podcast The Banksy Story claims it may contain a recording of the graffiti artist's voice - broadcast for the first time in the UK.
Host James Peak claims the show gets "closer than close to Banksy’s world and the people inside it" with an interview aired on American's NPR radio station in 2005.
It also has an interview with a former member of Banksy's team who claims the artist asked her to kneel on all fours and "pretend to snort a line of cocaine and let me take some photos".
READ MORE: Banksy invites Frankie Boyle to give a guided tour of Glasgow show
In the clip is from the All Things Considered news show on NPR station and was broadcast in March that year just days after the Banksy hung his own work in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
While it is not confirmed whether this is or isn't Banksy, James Peak sounds delighted with the find.
He says: “Is this Banksy’s actual, actual voice? I don’t know … but if it is him, it’s the first time we’ve ever heard him!”
Just three minutes long, the NPR clip hears "Banksy" describe himself as a "painter and decorator".
READ MORE: Why Banksy's legacy should challenged outdated attitudes to graffiti in Glasgow
The hosts says: "We assume that you are who you say you are, but how can we be sure?" The person claiming to be Banksy replies: "Oh, you have no guarantee of that at all."
While the legality of Banksy's work is discussed less now the artist is globally established, in 2005 it was clear that his actions risked serious consequences.
But he says he hung his work in famous galleries because: "You don’t want to get stuck in the same line of work your whole life long, do you?"
He adds, of his work, "I mean, I thought some of them were quite good, that’s why I thought: put them in a gallery.
"Otherwise they’d just stay at home and no one would see them.
"If you wait for other people to latch on to what you’re doing, you’d be waiting for ever.
"You might as well cut out the middle man and just go stick it in yourself."
The NPR host challenges "Banksy" on what he doing, telling him it is illegal but the interviewee replies that the thrill makes it good fun.
"You can't," he replies, "make an omelette [without breaking eggs]" but says he's not keen to be arrested "very often".
He adds: "It’s all about keeping going as long as you can. So, yeah, you have to think about these things.
"That’s the thing: mindless vandalism takes a lot more thought than most people would imagine.”
The series The Banksy Story is available on BBC Radio 4.
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