Saturday, 19 December 2009
Busking in Norwich part one
Shortly before Christmas 2005 my friend Eamonn Burgess went out with a hand-held audio recorder interviewing buskers on the streets of Norwich. From the material he gathered we made two short (just under 15 minutes) radio programmes that were broadcast on Future Radio the following spring.
If ever you've busked, considered busking or even casually wondered what it's like for the person behind the guitar (saxophone, tambourine or whatever) then this is for you. It really is most illuminating and very entertaining, although not always for the reasons intended by the featured performers.
Unlike some towns and cities Norwich has a very relaxed attitude towards buskers. There is no police harassment and the council doesn't exercise any 'quality control' making for varied fare. However, the arrival of privately owned 'public' spaces such as Millennium Plain and that bit outside the new mall has altered the lay of the land somewhat.
Part two to follow.
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I busked with Malc in Diss once; we aimed to have a slap up lunch out on the proceeds but ended up sharing a bowl of soup.
ReplyDeleteI like buskers and have busked occasionally myself. It's fun!
ReplyDeleteGood news story, btw
ReplyDeleteI enjoy busking too and it's much more fun with two or more. Andy and I have never quite got it together but there's time yet. What goes in the hat has been quite varied over the years and I don't mean just the monetary value. I've had pieces of fruit and hot drinks (even in summer it rarely feels like a warm activity). The worst was some grass, poorly wrapped in a twist of paper. Fortunately it didn't stay there very long before one of our admirers offered to remove it. We learned later that in fact it really was only grass.
ReplyDeletePart two is, I believe, more interesting and covers people skating nearer the edge of reason. I'll post it tomorrow.