Louis Molloy

Louis Molloy is a Manchester-based tattoo artist who designed David Beckham's back tattoo, depicting a bald, winged, angelic figure. Beckham calls the tattoo his "guardian angel" and premiered it in 1999 after work finished in April that year.

Molloy has since completed tattoos on other celebrities including Spice Girls Mel C, Mel B and Victoria Beckham;, all members of Boyzone and fellow Manchunian Ricky Hatton.

Molloy first began tattooing in the 1970s despite the fact that at the time no apprenticeships were available to him due to the seedy sub-culture that tattooing was viewed as. Louis spent most of his later teenage years honing his skills, and was only 18 when he opened his first, Manchester-based tattoo shop, which in the next decade would become a world class establishment.

Some believe Molloy has become known as the tattooist to the stars due to his diverse styles of tattooing, which have twice gained him recognition at the UK Outstanding Artist of the Year awards.

In 2007, Molloy became a part of the Discovery Channel's television team with the programme "London Ink". The show follows the daily happenings at the new shop, in the first series the main focus was on the relationship between Dan Gold and Molloy, who expects his shop to do the finest tattoos in London.