The Big Issue vendor who William took under his wing: Magazine seller, 61, appeared on stage with Muse, has his own artwork in a London gallery and now swaps Christmas cards with the Prince of Wales

A Big Issue seller who has become pals with Prince William has previously appeared on stage with British rock royalty Muse and even had his artwork displayed at a top London gallery.

Dave Martin, from Derby, has had an extraordinary journey since first becoming homeless after moving to London in 2011, which now sees him exchanging Christmas cards with the future King. 

The 61-year-old has been selling the Big Issue for more than a decade outside a Tesco in Brook Green, west London, making £125 a week from sales of about 50 magazine. 

Alongside his magazine sales, the former garage worker also creates and sells his own art, and has even had his work put on display at the Brick Lane gallery in east London.  

Mr Martin was pictured this week as many fans snapped photos with the Prince of Wales, who had joined him to sell copies of the Big Issue to shoppers outside Tesco in Hammersmith on Monday. 

It's the latest time the heir to the throne was snapped selling the Big Issue with Mr Martin, following similar meetings in 2022 in Westminster and at the Tesco in Hammersmith. Mr Martin has even interview the Prince of Wales for the magazine.

Previously Mr Martin's biggest brush with fame was a Big Issue event where he appeared on stage alongside rock band Muse after they performed an event to raise money for the Big Issue at the Eventim Apollo in March, 2022, which is just a stone's throw away from where the 61-year-old's Hammersmith base. 

'I didn't think it'd get better than that,' he said.

On his website - which he uses to sell his art - Mr Martin says he moved to London in 2011 and soon found himself homeless.    

'I started selling the Big Issue the same year to support myself and I now have a regular pitch outside Tesco in Brook Green,' he writes.

'In 2014 The Big Issue took me to an interactive exhibition at the Tate Modern. I saw lots of great art and was particularly inspired by the work of Matisse, and in 2016 I started making my own abstract art'.

He now makes his own collages out of coloured card including postcards which sell for £10 for a pack of four and wall prints for £35.  

'I explore different colour and shape combinations. I then make prints based on those originals. I've been exhibiting since 2019 and last year my work featured in a group show at the Jealous Gallery,' he explained.

Mr Martin moved from Derby to London and lived rough for three months, when he was approached by a Big Issue vendor who said he could make a living selling the magazine.

He previously told MyLdn about his time sleeping rough: 'That really got to me. In the great scheme of things that's not long, but even one week on the streets is a lot.'

'I was having to beg for food, lumping a big backpack around, and trying to stay dry. The hardest thing is just trying to find somewhere undercover because it's such cold, biting weather that you could get pneumonia.'

He added that people sleeping on the street outside a pub or club often ended up 'getting a kicking because people are drunk and get abusive' and he found  these reactions 'really upsetting' at first.  

'Now, it's water off a duck's back. I'm so used to people giving me funny looks that it doesn't bother me. It's their problem not mine. That's just what you get as a homeless person - people just walk by and don't say a word. I think people don't know what to do or say or how to help, and I suppose it is difficult for them.'

He says the job gave him his self-respect back and allowed him to get a flat in Tottenham and start making art. In 2021, he even had his own exhibition as part of the Works on Paper and Contemporary Painting at Bethnal Green's Brick Lane Gallery.

'I like doing geometric shapes a lot because it just comes naturally to me. I've done a few different commissions with different colours and different designs as well,' he previously told the Big Issue. 

'I like it when that comes to fruition for me. I like creating and when I do create a piece I feel very proud. I know lots of artists aren't ever happy with the finished article but I feel proud.' 

On Monday, the Prince of Wales once again donned his red cap and jacket to sell the Big Issue to people outside Tesco in Hammersmith, West London. 

Beaming William, 41, appeared relaxed as he joined Mr Martin, 61, who has been a friend of the royal since they hit the streets selling Big Issue copies together 18 months ago. 

On Kensington Palace's official X account, Prince William wrote: 'Great to be back with Dave, selling the latest edition of the Big Issue once again!' 

The prince launched his Homewards project this year to end homelessness and has been campaigning for rough sleepers since his mother Princess Diana took him out on the streets when he was a child. 

His visit to Tesco with Dave follows a similar trip out with the Big Issue vendor back in 2022 to mark the future King's 40th birthday. 

On that occasion, William sold 32 copies of the Big Issue in less than an hour as he spent the day on the streets of Victoria, London. 

He also wrote for the magazine, explaining he wanted to shine a light on the issue of homelessness, recalling when he first visited a homeless shelter with his mother, the Princess of Wales. He added that Diana, 'in her own inimitable style, was determined to shine a light on an overlooked, misunderstood problem'.

He even said he plans to take his children Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, to see the work of 'fantastic' organisations he works with 'just as my mother did for me'.

Footage, which was released on his social media, showed William accompanying vendor Dave to sell the magazine, which is sold by people to help lift themselves out of poverty.

On Twitter he said: 'I have always believed in using my platform to help bring attention and action to those who are struggling and I commit to doing what I can to shine a spotlight on this solvable issue not just today, but in the months and years to come.'

In the video, the prince says: 'Homelessness has always stuck with me as a topic and as an issue I want to fight for. 

'Started to kind of feel actually this issue isn't quite as big to tackle as we think. We can fix it. 

'I think that's been a bit of a turning point in my head, where I've seen, okay if we really want to fix homelessness it can be done. We do it together. Give the next generation less chance of being homeless.'

As well as spending time with William, Mr Martine also played a central role in the Ben Eine-curated Big Issue Art Special magazine in March 2020.

While he uses card, scissors and blue-tack to create geometric prints - he's also been taking classes with homeless charity St Mungo's, who provided him with acrylics and oils. 

He added to the Big Issue magazine: 'To start with I just came up with an idea about shapes and colours and then I thought, well, do it on A4. 

'So I got coloured art cards, I'm printing all these shapes – diamonds, squares, circles and what have you – and for some reason I tended to get a good match with the colours. People seem to like my combinations, more so than my shapes.

'I've been thinking about my past, and what gave me the idea – I used to work in a garage in Derby, where I'm from. I used to mix the paint for car spray, using different shades of colours. 

'Maybe part of it came from there. Shapes-wise, I remember my grandmother having a tea mat that was just diamonds, it was an elaborate pattern. When people ask me I usually say it suddenly came to me but I think I got it from there.    

'I'm selling the odd thing now. I've got this guy called Gavin, he does my prints. He's got his own business, he's a designer as well. He'll scan my originals and then he'll make them up. 

'I display some of them on my pitch, some of my customers will pick one and then we'll arrange a meet and do the sale. I sold an original a couple of years ago for £200. We did the sale in Costa! That was through The Big Issue. A woman rang in, a price was discussed and before I knew it I'd got a phone call, we met up and we did the deal.'

Mr Martin also revealed that people have compared his work to Matisse, but he has his own individual style and his inspiration is from himself.      

'I've been in Street Art in the mag a couple of times. It alerted people who see me on my pitch to the fact I was an artist, I think they were quite surprised! Now more people are finding out it's me I'm selling the odd one – I do display my designs on my pitch. With this exhibition coming up things are looking good. I'm even getting a website together'.