91福利社

Believe it or not, some of the most famous musical acts started out as buskers 鈥� the Manic Street Preachers, Bob Dylan, Gerry Rafferty and the Barenaked Ladies.

It鈥檚 one of the oldest forms of entertainment 鈥� acting, singing or playing an instrument in public, in the hope that the passing masses will stop to chuck you a few quid or sometimes pence.

All you need to get started is some discernable talent, something you can upturn to catch money in 鈥� ie: a hat, bucket, or guitar case, a decent repertoire, and you鈥檙e ready to go.

You can listen to some buskers do their thing on 91福利社 Radio Stoke鈥檚 Breakfast Show with Pete Morgan:-

Busking Tips

Appearance 鈥� You need to look good, so you don鈥檛 look downbeat, down-and-out or that you鈥檙e begging.

Smile - You need to show you鈥檙e enjoying it, even if sometimes it鈥檚 tipping down with rain, and you鈥檝e made 47p in the last 3 hours.

Guitarist Hailey Strangelove

听鈥淚 don鈥檛 do it for the money,鈥� says guitarist/singer Hailey Strangelove. 鈥淚t can be lovely at the end of the day, when you see what the public think you鈥檙e worth money-wise, but when the mood takes me, I鈥檒l听 just go and spread a little love.鈥�

Be original 鈥� Don鈥檛 just do what every other bloke with a guitar does, be an individual. 鈥淚 find that everyone knows Wonderwall because it鈥檚 so easy 鈥� anyone who can play guitar can play that,鈥� says busker Shaun Walker 鈥淭here鈥檚 loads of different styles of buskers, you鈥檝e got to find your own鈥�.

Check you鈥檙e legal. 鈥� Some places require you to have a permit to busk, and in some places playing publicly could be illegal. Check before you play.

鈥淚鈥檝e been around Europe doing it 鈥� sat on a bridge in Prague and played.鈥� says African D鈥橨emby Dave . 鈥淚 also played up a mountain, and didn鈥檛 realise it was illegal until I saw people being moved on. I thought the police won鈥檛 be able to get up here in time, so I packed up and went!鈥�

Stand up!

Don鈥檛 sit on the ground 鈥� It鈥檚 best to stand while performing or sitting on a stool. Or you could go the whole hog like clarinet player Eric Newton who runs marathons while playing!

Clarinet player Eric Newton

听鈥淚鈥檝e run 38 marathons playing the clarinet as I go around 鈥� tunes with short notes like When the Saints go Marching In. It would be hard running the marathon playing Aker Bilke鈥檚 Stranger on the Shore. My record is playing When the Saints 648 times in one marathon. I raised a lot of money for charity.鈥�

Be female 鈥� It鈥檚 claimed that on average a female busker earns 3 times what a man earns in the same place, playing the same songs, at the same time of day!

听鈥淚t鈥檚 a bit of a rumour that women are more successful because you very rarely see them. I suppose it鈥檚 a bit of a gimmick!鈥� says Hailey. 鈥淏ut women or men 鈥� it鈥檚 people with charisma and presence (that make good buskers)鈥�

Last but not least: Practice makes perfect!听 - People are more likely to drop money in your hat, if they like what they鈥檙e hearing.